VIATICAL SETTLEMENTS: NO SUICIDE AGREEMENTViatical Settlement Agreement • September 9th, 2021
Contract Type FiledSeptember 9th, 2021Public Act 386 of 1996 regulates viatical settlement contracts. Such a contract is written between the owner or holder of a life insurance policy who has a terminal illness or condition (known as a “viator”) and a person or entity who “buys” the policy at a cost below the amount of the death benefit (known in the act as a “provider”). Under the contract the policyholder gets a proportion of the money while alive that would have been paid out when he or she died, and the purchaser pays the policyholder a discounted amount and then receives the full benefit when the insured dies. The viatical settlement industry reportedly began with AIDS patients but has grown to include policyholders with other life- threatening and terminal diseases. The early access to life insurance proceeds can help to pay for medical care and end-of-life living expenses.