Life insurance settlement provider The Lifeline Program is marking its 25th anniversary, observing that company spokesperson, Betty White (the television icon who turns 92 on January 17), has helped educate seniors about life settlements as a means to fund retirement, pay bills, and offset costs of long term care.
Wm. Scott Page, the president and chief executive officer of The Lifeline Program, performed one of the first life settlement transactions in 1989, when he helped an ill friend sell his life insurance policy for cash. Mr. Page started The Lifeline Program shortly thereafter and began assisting other terminally ill individuals with selling their policies and organizing their financial futures.
Today, life insurance settlements represent a billion dollar industry as more than $2 billion worth of policies were purchased in 2012, according to Conning research. The gross market potential for life settlements is expected to exceed $170 billion for the next two decades, according to Lifeline.
“Before The Lifeline Program was created, there was no structure to the life settlement industry,” said Mr. Page. “We helped create best practices, drafted the initial regulatory framework for the industry, and earned some of the first licenses ever issued.”
A key part of the company's evolution, according to Mr. Page, was shifting the mindset about life settlements from that of a niche financial service to a mainstream retirement planning option. To assist in telling its story, the company hired Betty White as its spokesperson.
“When approached about hiring Betty by Stephen E. Terrell, our senior vice president of market development and branding, I thought he was joking,” said Mr. Page. “But she has become the centerpiece of our marketing efforts for the past nine years.”
Ms. White can be seen on the company Web site, marketing materials, and even as a cartoon character explaining how life settlements work. Most notably, the former “Golden Girl” appeared in a music video produced by The Lifeline Program which drew more than 2 million views on YouTube. “It's been a great nine years with The Lifeline Program, and I hope we have many more,” said Ms. White.
“Life settlements are not for everyone, but we know that hundreds of thousands of American seniors can benefit from selling an unwanted or unneeded life insurance policy,” said Mr. Terrell. “It's a financial option which needs more exposure because it can help many people who are still hurting from the economic downturn.”
Learn more: www.thelifeline.com.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].