Death Insurance
Life settlement industry profits off the sickest Americans
In the US, it is common for people with dwindling savings to sell their life insurance policies to the highest bidder for an instant cash payment. This report reveals how the death business thrives on investing in individuals with low life expectancy. Perhaps it is time to ask some questions about the ethics of finance capitalism.
'How do people survive in this country when they don't have money and they're already over retirement age? One of the only options left is to sell your life insurance', says Braedon Schultz, whose terminally ill father had to sell his insurance to a broker. But brokers profit only when the insured die quickly, raising serious questions about the ethics of the industry. 'To do a good job at this you need to have medical professionals who can evaluate medical records', says Mike Fantano, whose business predicts life expectancies. Yet brokers insist they are not actively searching for the sickest individuals. 'We don't want to bet on lives', says company director Dr Jürg Tobler.
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