Life Settlement Market Decreases In 2014

NEW YORK, June 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Deal today issued results from its annual survey of the life settlement market showing that transactions declined last year as the face value of life insurance policies sold reached $1.65 billion, a decrease from $2.57 billion the year before. The survey, compiled from information obtained through public records requests to state insurance departments, includes data from 34 life settlement providers, including nine who did not report any activity.

"Although the life settlement market's biggest player, Coventry First, experienced a significant drop-off in business last year, which was the main reason for the market's downturn, other providers and brokers are seeing much more activity due to renewed investor interest," said Donna Horowitz, senior editor for The Deal. "If this trend holds, along with an increased appetite for smaller policies, the market could be poised for growth."

Highlights from the report include:

• The number of policy sales, at 847, represented a 38% decrease in deals from 2013, while the total face value purchased decreased 36%, from $2.57 billion in 2013 to $1.65 billion this year. In all, $314.28 million was paid to purchase policies last year compared to $362.17 million paid the year before by the Top 15 providers.
• Top five settlement buyers:
  • Coventry First led the market in the total number of transactions, buying 161 policies in 2014 compared to 637 policies the year before. Coventry paid $51.82 million and purchased $235.14 million in policies.
  • Life Equity LLC paid $19.48 million, less than half the amount paid by Coventry. Policies purchased by Life Equity LLC totaled $243.61 million in face value, exceeding the face value of Coventry's policies by $8.47 million.
  • Magna Life Settlements Inc. came in third place in the ranking, with 77 transactions last year, compared to 168 in 2013 and a second-place ranking. Magna Life Settlements paid $56.83 million with $168.18 million in face value last year.
  • Settlement Group Inc. fell one spot in the rankings, from third to fourth this year, despite having a higher face value and total amount paid for their transactions. Settlement Group Inc. paid $56.42 million for 75 transactions with a face value of $117.99 million.
  • Montage Financial Group Inc. ranked fifth with 54 settlements, $33.1 million paid and a face value of $191 million.

The full report is available online.

About The Deal
The Deal is a media and relationship capital company providing over 100,000 users with business opportunities sourced from proprietary deal news and a relationship discovery tool. Law firms, investment banks, private equity and hedge funds use The Deal's insight and analysis about potential and announced transactions to find their next deal and BoardEx's service and database for building relationships. The Deal is the institutional arm of TheStreet, Inc. and has offices in New York, London, Washington, D.C., Petaluma, CA and Chennai, India. For more information, visit www.thedeal.com.

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SOURCE TheStreet, Inc.

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