Life settlement describes the sale of a life insurance policy to a third party buyer and receiving a lump sum amount in cash. When a policy is settled, the original owner is no longer responsible for paying the premiums and will not receive any amount on the maturity of the policy. But if the owner wishes to keep the policy and yet have an urgent financial need, the simple solution is to borrow a loan against the policy.

While borrowing a Life Settlement Loan, the borrower has to clearly state the reason for the financial requirement. This is not the case in settlements, as there no questions are asked about the way the money is to be used. Also, the loan will have to be repaid over a period of time, in monthly installments, as the owner will be keeping the policy. The advantage is that the policy will be still the owners asset and the owner will get the amount of the policy on maturity with all the applicable interests accrued.

For borrowing the loan, the senior adult has to approach the company on which the policy is written. An application form is required to be filled in, which includes personal details about the owner along with the details of the policy. The amount of the loan sanctioned depends on the face value of the policy; it is usually calculated on the basis of a percentage of the policy value. This amount varies from company to company. The company also decides the tenure for the loan and the installments to be paid, applying the rate of interest at that moment. The companies withhold the policy papers until the loan is repaid and the policy is locked. However, the senior adult continues to pay the premiums on it, along with the installment of the loan.

Loan borrowing for senior citizens against their settlement policies is a simple process if their papers are in order. Insurance agents help to quicken the process, but they charge a small percentage as their fee, either from the borrower or the lender; usually the former is the case.