A new financial tool is now available for senior citizens. Life Insurance Settlements are quickly becoming a way for seniors to receive money from an under performing or costly life insurance policy.

A life insurance settlement is the sale of a life insurance policy (whole life, term, universal life, etc.) covering the life of one or more individuals with an ?ascertainable and limited? life expectancy. A life insurance settlement is usually most beneficial seniors over the age of 65.

Some basic qualifications for a life insurance settlement are the above-mentioned age and health requirement, policy is assignable and beyond the contestability period, and the policy must be issued by a US insurance company. The higher the insurance company rating could provide a higher settlement amount.

The policy owner is paid a lump sum in cash in exchange for transferring ownership of the policy and premium requirements to the purchasing funder or company. The amount paid to the seller is stated as a percentage of the policy?s face amount and is calculated based on the specific life expectancy of the underlying insured. Each life insurance settlement amount is calculated on a case-by-case basis.

The popularity of life insurance settlements is due to the fact that if a policy owner was thinking about letting a policy lapse or surrender, they now have the opportunity to receive a payout larger than the surrender value. ?It just doesn?t make sense, that seniors nationwide are letting life insurance policies lapse after paying years of premiums?. ?By just exploring the option of a life insurance settlement they could be gaining thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars they never knew were available to them,? says Grant Shellhammer of www.LifeSettlementPro.com. Another benefit is that there are no fees or obligations to have a policy evaluated to see if a life insurance settlement is available.

There are numerous other benefits to policy owners through a life insurance settlement. These include relief of costly premium expenses, higher cash payout than the surrender value, cash payout instead of a policy lapse, additional funds for retirement and other endeavors, funds for health related expenses, and other estate and financial planning needs.

To sum things up, a life insurance settlement is a strong and beneficial financial tool for senior citizens nationwide. Consumers now have options to receive more money versus the previous options of only a cash surrender or policy lapse. With the consumer friendly approach of a life insurance settlement, the market will continue to grow.