Today in the United States, there are many Americans who either don’t have life insurance or are underinsured. This begs a simple question; should something unfortunate happen that results in the loss of your life or that of a family member, how would the financial obligations that are not erased with death be handled?
It may seem like a morbid thought but it is a necessary one, to consider how your assets and money will be appropriated when you are not around to oversee them yourself. Plus, the modern world has given many people more opportunities and ideas on what to do for insurance. One such example is a Viatical Settlement, which can be used instead of a typical life insurance policy.
Unlike life insurance, which benefits close family members in the event of the policyholder’s passing, a Viatical Settlement ensures that a payout (or death benefit) is received by the policyholder themselves before they have passed away. As a result of their growing popularity, (which is itself an effect of an increase in pre-paid funerals and the sophistication of medical care), insurance companies are seeing more people turn to Viatical Settlement companies such as the American Life Fund instead.
How do Viatical Settlements work?
Viatical Settlements work in the following way:
- A life insurance policyholder is diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness which lowers their life expectancy to two years or less.
- That person opts to sell their life insurance policy to a third party, known as a beneficiary, for a lump sum paid upfront that is less than the ordinary death benefit payout would be.
- The third-party beneficiary continues to pay the premiums on the life insurance policy and then claims the death benefit when the original policyholder (the Viator) passes away.
Viatical settlements have become most popular of late in large part to the spread of coronavirus allowing more people to seek clarity on the application process. As many health insurance policies in the United States don’t cover the end of life care and the comfort that assistance brings, it can be a real help to have an extra amount of money available to pay for it.
For those who are considering this type of policy transaction, but are concerned that the payout from the beneficiary is lower than the death benefit, American Life Fund viatical settlements can be up to 70%, according to their website. Plus, the payout is tax-free and once the premiums begin to be paid by the beneficiary, then that is the last time that the Viator needs to interact with them. This means that once the life insurance policy has been sold on, then there is nothing more for the seller to worry about.
Switch attention to a different type of insurance.
For many Americans, the claim of a viatical settlement is far easier than that of a health insurance claim. Health insurance in the U.S. tends to be mainly provided by employers as part of a workplace perk package. What they can and can’t cover is sometimes very difficult to work out, however. In the case of a condition such as hearing loss, a healthcare insurance package will likely cover the diagnosis of the hearing impediment, whereas the subsequent treatment may not be.
Therefore in this instance, it is best to look at private insurers and what they offer. Furthermore, it is best to discuss payment plans for hearing healthcare with audiologists like Hearing Health USA. After all, if you need to use a hearing aid of any description, which is a vital device for the longevity of your quality of life and so must be taken into account, the first step will be taken through them.
Regardless of whether you need an inner ear “invisible” hearing aid, or one of their new Oticon hearing aids instead, the hearing device needs to be paid for, but the matter of who will be footing the bill is a separate matter that they can help advise you of.
It’s possible that your insurer will cover the claim for this type of medical expense, but what to do if it’s denied is appeal with professional legal advice. However, before you even get to that stage, consider this: the law on insurance is changing all of the time in the U.S. and often a financial institution will see personal loan applications to pay for medical treatment. Before borrowing so much money for necessary treatment, compare and contrast insurance policies and see if there is another provider out there for you. Much like the American Life Fund with their viaticals, let the insurance company do all of the additional paperwork.