What is a Viatical?
vi·at·i·cal, vīˈatikəl,/
noun
a financial transaction whereby a person with a terminal illness sells their life insurance policy to a third party for less than the face amount of the policy but more than the cash value in the policy
A viatical is a transaction where the owner of a life insurance policy who has less than 24 months or less to live sells his interest as the insured to a viatical settlement company. The viatical life settlement company makes a cash payment to the insured in exchange for ownership and beneficiary of the life insurance policy. When the insured dies, the viatical settlement company receives a return on its investment in the form of the proceeds from the life insurance policy.
Learn about the benefits of viatical settlements and life settlements, and get your policy appraised before you take the next step. Knowing what your policy could be worth as a life insurance settlement gives you an advantage with the next step of the life settlement process.