That’s right, the Las Vegas Life Settlement Conference is right around the corners… October 3 – 5, 2010. It is located at the amazing Wynn Resort in Las Vegas.

The Life Settlements Conference hosted by DealFlow Media is the largest and most influential event in the business. This is the premier event for hedge fund managers, providers, brokers, investors and attorneys involved in the secondary market for insurance products. The agenda provides the most complete curriculum in the business presented by an international group of speakers, and unprecedented networking opportunities.

Conference Topics:

• The Impacts of U.S. Financial Reform on the Life Settlements Market
• Life Expectancies: Are Investors Developing Their Own Underwriting Expertise?
• Compliance & Rule Making: Developing Regulations to Enact New Life Settlement Laws
• Are Life Settlements a Suitable Asset for the Retail Market?
• New Accounting Standards to Value Settlement Portfolios
• Litigation: What are the Legal Trends Affecting the Market?
• Competing Opportunities & Tradeoffs: Distressed Portfolios vs. Primary Origination
• New Investors: Who are they and where are they coming from?
• Is More Regulatory Oversight in Store for Servicers?
• Keeper of the Keys: Trustees & Custodians
• Status of Synthetics

Costs:
* Life Settlements Conference Registration – $1,695
* Life Settlements Conference Registration + Golf Tournament – $1,795

More Info and Helpful Links:
Life Settlement Conference
Las Vegas Hotel Specials
Dealflow Media Official Conference Page

New Hampshire and Wisconsin have joined with other states in enacting or updating life settlement laws in recent months and California’s Insurance Department issued new regulations just weeks before its new life settlement law was to go into effect on July 1, 2010.

New Hampshire Governor John Lynch (D) signed HB 660 effective June 14, 2010. New Hampshire’s statute is primarily based on the model life settlement law adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (the NAIC), and, among other things, imposes restrictions with respect to stranger-originated life insurance transactions (STOLI):

On May 13, 2010, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle signed into law Senate Bill 513 (SB 513). SB 513 is a hybrid of the NAIC Viatical Settlements Model Act and the Life Settlements Model Act of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), and includes a requirement with some exceptions that life insurance policies be in force for at least five years before they can be sold in the secondary market.

Wisconsin requires life settlement providers and brokers to obtain licenses and imposes on them disclosure and anti-fraud obligations. The purchase price paid to a Wisconsin policyowner for a life insurance policy must be less than the death benefit, but more than the cash surrender value.

On June 11, 2010, the California Insurance Department issued proposed regulations, on an emergency basis, to implement Senate Bill 98 (SB 98) signed on October 11, 2009 by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger which was effective as of July 1, 2010. The new California law targets (STOLI) transactions. SB 98 repeals previous laws regarding viatical settlements, which only applied to life insurance policies belonging to individuals with terminal diseases. SB 98 regulates all life settlements, including sales of life insurance policies by healthy insureds.

Unlike New Hampshire and Wisconsin, California’s updated life settlement law imposes only a two-year ban on life settlements but it establishes a statutory definition of STOLI and classifies STOLI transactions as fraudulent acts. California’s law was primarily based on the NCOIL Model Act.

Source: Lexology

The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) convened its annual Compliance Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The annual gathering is the only conference geared towards the life settlement industry’s compliance professionals and featured the widely popular Legal Roundtable. This year’s event was attended by more than 30 licensed life settlement companies.

“The Compliance Conference always offers attendees a tremendous amount of value as it addresses the most important compliance-related issues of the day,” commented Doug Head, LISA Executive Director. “As the voice of the industry, it is our responsibility to make sure this type of dialogue is occurring within the industry.”

This year, the Conference tackled such issues as due diligence, privacy issues and even featured appearances by Amanda Jolley, Program Supervisor – Enforcement Division – Georgia Department of Insurance, and Amanda Squires (D), Georgia Insurance Commissioner candidate. ”We’re extremely grateful for Ms. Jolley’s and Ms. Squires’ remarks and insights during our meeting,” added Mr. Head.

More info:
Life Settlement Conference

SL Investment Management’s two-year-old Life Plus Life Settlement Fund has earned a 10.26% return since its launch, the Chester, England-based company said in a statement Tuesday.

The fund has experienced $13.3 million in life policy maturities.

SL Investment’s valuation method is unlike other companies that use mark-to-model valuations that can vary greatly, said Investment Director Patrick McAdams. “SL assumes very few maturities will occur shortly after policy acquisition, and use[s] a very transparent actuarially based model to approximate market value,” he said in the statement.

SL Investment is planning to launch a second Life Plus fund. The company, which also works with traded endowment policies, had £930 million ($1.5 billion) under management and advice as of Dec. 31.