Early in 1989, before the word "viatical" was coined, a newly created firm announced it was planning to buy life insurance policies from persons who were terminally ill, pay the subsequent premiums due, and collect the death benefits when the insured persons died.  I wrote an article before the firm bought its first policy.  The article is in our March 1989 issue.

I did not write on the subject again for ten years.  By then there were many firms--and two trade associations--in the viatical business.  Also, the secondary market for life insurance policies had expanded to include life settlements, where insured persons have health impairments but are not terminally ill.  What prompted me to write again on the subject was an amazing letter that is discussed in our March 1999 issue. 

In a secondary market transaction, ownership of a life insurance policy is transferred to an individual or firm that does not have an insurable interest in the life of the insured person.  Instead, the buyer of the policy acquires a financial interest in the death of the insured person.  Furthermore, once ownership of the policy is transferred, the buyer can transfer it to another buyer, who in turn can transfer it to yet another buyer.  Thus there is no telling who may eventually own the policy and have a financial interest in the death of the insured person. 

In March 2000, after I had written several more articles about the secondary market, I assembled them into an 8 1/2" x 11" book.  It contains all my articles on the subject from March 1989 through March 2000.  The title of the book is Viatical Transactions:  The Frightening Secondary Market for Life Insurance Policies.  The book consists of 40 pages of text, an 8-page appendix, a table of contents, and an index.  The price of the book is $30.  To order the book, click here.

After March 2000, I wrote many additional articles about the secondary market.  A memorandum that lists all my articles on the subject is available with our compliments upon request.  The memorandum shows the titles of the articles and the prices of the issues in which the articles appear.