NASAA President to Testify on Life Settlements

NASAA President and Colorado Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph is scheduled to testify on April 29 before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging in a hearing exploring the growing life settlement industry and its impact on seniors.  The hearing, “Betting on Death in the Life Settlement Market - What's at Stake for Seniors?” will be held at 2 p.m. in Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

NASAA members have been very active in response to problems associated with viaticals and life settlements, terms which have become interchangeable. Viatical settlements emerged in the early 1990s in response to the AIDS crisis to create opportunities for terminally ill patients to receive money by selling their life insurance death benefits for much more than the cash surrender value available from insurance companies.  The offer and sale of investments in viatical or life settlements has been marked by a wide range of fraudulent practices over the past 20 years.