Planet Insurance

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In July last year, the Pensions Institute of the Cass Business School published Death Shall Have No Dominion: Life Settlements and the Ethics of Profiting from Mortality.

This report is interesting as the basis of the investment is protection insurance – whole of life (WOL) policies – sold before death and because it promises returns on investment of between 8%-11%. The market is currently over $18bn and was expected to grow to $160bn in the next few years but that forecast may be an underestimate as it was made before the recession. So what is going on in this obscure part of planet insurance? Brokers are buying WOL policies from people aged over 65 with medical problems likely to result in death in three to 15 years and selling them to investment compan...

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