Author: Greg Winterton

The past few years have been arguably the most significant ever to those studying longevity and mortality, with a range of issues impacting the field, and consequently, actuaries and risk holders. Greg Winterton spoke to Nicola Oliver, Director of Life and Health at consulting firm Medical Intelligence, to get her thoughts on the current state of the space.  GW: Nicola, you advise actuaries and companies about the impact of the provision of healthcare on longevity and mortality. So, let’s start with Covid-19. What are some of the hangovers in terms of the provision of healthcare that the industry is still…

The reverse mortgage market in the US has had a tough time of it in recent years. The volume of HECM loans in the primary market has been steadily falling over time, from more than 100,000 mortgages annually in the market’s heyday of 2007-2009, to approximately 33,000 in HUD’s fiscal year 2023.   The rising interest rate environment of the past two years has been a contributing factor in the dampening of demand, which, should rates start to come down again in the next year or so, could pick up. But other events have hurt the industry of late. In the…

Many subsets of the alternative investment industry have a preference for either open-ended or closed-ended funds. Hedge funds tend to be almost always open-ended, whereas private equity or venture capital funds tend to be almost always closed-ended.  The life settlement industry hasn’t – yet – settled on one or the other. But anecdotal evidence suggests that, at least at the moment, the closed-ended model is increasingly finding favour.  A couple of reasons exist as to why, according to Patrick McAdams, Investment Director at SL Investment Management.  “It’s a combination of the administrative burden and cash management considerations,” he said. “A…

Last year was one that many in the alternative investment industry would like to forget. Fundraising and deal activity fell significantly as investors rotated to liquid credit opportunities due to the relatively better yield offered by these products, along with a perceived lower risk when benchmarked against a more volatile geopolitical climate.  For those in the venture capital industry, add the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March and the resulting fallout amongst the start-up ecosystem, and you have something of an annus horribilis for the VC folks.  The venture capital-backed life insurance insurtech market certainly took a hit. According…

Life Equity CEO, Scott Willkomm, concluded his tenure as Chair of the European Life Settlement Association last month. Greg Winterton spoke to Willkomm to get his thoughts on his time as Chair at ELSA, and his views on the life settlement market more broadly.  GW: Scott, your term as ELSA Chair concluded at the end of December. You’ve been Chair for a number of years: what will you look back on with pride the most when you hand over the reins?  SW: When I became chair of ELSA, one of the main things I noticed was that we needed a…

The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) accounts for nearly all reverse mortgages in the US, and for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s fiscal year 2022-23, the number of HECMs fell by around 50% when compared to the prior year. Indeed, the industry has been on a general downward slope since the heady days of 2007 – 2009, when more than 100,000 mortgages were issued to Americans each year.  If the industry is to turn the trend around, it will need to navigate some headwinds. Higher interest rates are the obvious challenge du jour, with the US…

Industry group the European Life Settlement Association (ELSA) published new information recently that provides insight into the status of the regulatory environment of the life settlement industry’s secondary market.  The Secondary Market Regulation ‘fact sheet’ shows which states have a regulatory regime, which don’t, which types of companies are regulated (and where), and a list of life settlement providers in each state; ELSA has created what it calls the ‘Licensed Provider Matrix’ (LPM) to illustrate this.  The LPM contains 36 licensed providers; 27 of which are licensed in more than one state, and nine of which are licensed in just…

The UK life insurance industry is currently in a period of rapid change.  Not only are life insurers furiously pricing and bidding on bulk annuity contracts from defined benefit pension funds, but they are also trying to find the talent to beef up their teams to support growth in this market.  Not only are they figuring out how to integrate the array of insurtech products now available to them, but they are also in the midst of a sea change in terms of incorporating generative AI into their businesses.  And not only are they having to spend hours in the…

The equity release market in the UK returned to growth in Q3 this year, the first time in 12 months, according to British industry group, the Equity Release Council.  So, for this month’s poll, we wanted to know whether our readers thought this was a turning point for the industry.  Clearly, there are a lot of bulls out there, as 85.7% of survey respondents thought that the recent growth was sustainable. Only 14.29% were unsure, and nobody thought that the news was a flash in the pan.  The Equity Release Council publishes market statistics each quarter. We’ll have to wait…

ISC Services Chief Development Officer, Chris Conway, has recently joined the Executive Board of industry group, the European Life Settlement Association (ELSA). Greg Winterton spoke to Conway to get his thoughts on the current state of the life settlement market and what his hopes are for 2024.  GW: Chris, let’s start with something of a retrospective. How would you describe how 2023 has been for the life settlement industry overall and why?  CC: My sense of the market is that it is continuing to grow, albeit slowly, due to the recent, significant rise in interest rates, which makes raising capital…