"Life Settlement" is the sale of an existing life insurance policy to a third party for more than its cash surrender value, but less than its net death benefit. There are a number of reasons that a policy owner may choose to sell his or her life insurance policy. The policy owner may no longer need or want his or her policy, he or she may wish to purchase a different kind of life insurance policy, or premium payments may no longer be affordable.
"Viatical settlement" typically is the term used for a settlement involving an insured who is terminally or chronically ill. A person generally is chronically ill if the person (1) is unable to perform at least two activities of daily living, such as eating, using the toilet, bathing oneself, or dressing oneself; (2) requires substantial supervision to protect himself or herself from threats to health and safety due to severe cognitive impairment; or (3) has a level of disability similar to that described in (1) as determined by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.A person generally is terminally ill if the person has an illness or sickness that can reasonably be expected to result in death within two years.
Viatical settlements are similar but not the same as life settlements. For a viatical settlement, a person who is selling his policy (viator) is terminally or chronically ill.