European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Raaymann on life insurance to pay the High Cost of dying a amps graphic Sharon Kildany by Tamar Lewin new York times for anyone who is terminally ill with 18 months or less to live Rob t. Worley sr., of Albuquerque n.m., has an offer assign a life insurance policy to his company living benefits inc. And get up to 80 percent of the policy s value now. Worley a two year old company was apparently the first of its kind in the United states but the concept of cashing in life insurance policies Early is gaining popularity As More people confront the rising Cost of dying and More business owners see what looks like a Low risk profit. But in most states insurance regulators have not come to grips with what some say is a potentially exploitative business. A some people make it sound like you re a Crook or you re doing something ghoulish Quot said Worley who works with his son Rob t. Worley jr., an insurance agent. Quot but All you have to do is go to a Hospital and talk to people who Are dying and you will see what a great need there is for this. If sick people have Cash they can get better Quality health care and live with dignity. Without Cash they  what living benefits offers is a contract under which the company is assigned the life insurance policy As the sole beneficiary it takes on responsibility for any premiums due while the policyholder is Given 55 to 80 percent of the face value to spend. The exact amount depends on prevailing interest rates and on a determination by the company a medical panel of How Long the policyholder is expected to live. Quot it has made All the difference in the world to get the Cash that lets me survive independently Quot said David f., who spoke on condition that his full  not be used. A los Angeles aids patient David has cashed in four policies getting More than $100,000 from Worley. Quot they have been nothing but first class with me and i cannot express the state of elation i feel to be Able to pay my own Bills and reap my own Harvest in a Way you never expect when you buy life  Worley said he had bought about 50 policies since starting the company two years ago. Business has been picking up he said and another 50 applications Are under review. New Mexico last year became the first state to address the legality of contracts for such benefits passing a Law authorizing them. The Law prompted by Worley a operations requires companies to make sure that the seller is of sound mind and understands that he is terminally ill. Insurance departments in several other states Are investigating the Issue. Last month in response to an inquiry from a Manhattan druggist who asked if it would be Legal to Start such a business the new York state insurance department published an informal opinion that it was against the Law to solicit or buy a strangers life insurance policy. A if you re terminally ill and destitute and your relative says hell give you Money if you make him your beneficiary that a o.k.,&Quot said Alan Rachlin the insurance department lawyer who made the ruling. Quot but if a stranger who has no insurable interest in you advertises to buy it that violates the Law. It s against Public policy to speculate on  in january Prudential insurance co. Of America announced a plan that would let policyholders have the bulk of their life insurance benefits if the policyholder had six months to live or less or had spent six months in a nursing Home and was unlikely to leave. The new plan is to be offered at first to policyholders in 10 states where regulators have approved it and then expanded As other states approve it. One drawback to the Prudential plan and other such programs has been that life insurance benefits paid before death Are usually taxable while those paid after death Are not. But legislation introduced in Congress would make benefits tax free for policyholders with less than a year to live. The sponsors said Many americans with cancer or aids needed programs like Prudential s to handle astronomical health costs. Quot two More insurers Connecticut Mutual and metropolitan life Are considering plans similar to Prudential a Quot said Robert Waldron a spokesman for the american Council of life insurance an Industry group. Quot everyone knows there s a great need for help in this area with the costs of medical care especially for people with aids. Several people around the United states have seen business potential in meeting that need. Quot we were the first on the face of the Earth to do this but i be had Calls from All kinds of people who see the Market in it Quot said Worley who says he has used several of his other business interests including a baking company and a leasing company to finance living benefits. Worley said he knew of people who were offering Cash for life insurance policies in Miami and new York and that he had had queries from a mortgage banker in Dallas a lawyer in san Antonio and others about starting similar businesses in new York Herman h. Silverman began advertising last fall that his company beat the grim reaper would buy life insurance policies of terminally ill people and pay Cash immediately Quot person with aids terminally Iii need cash7 said his ads in out week a weekly Magazine for homosexuals. Silverman a Brooklyn High school English teacher said that because his business was confidential he could not disclose How Many policies he had bought or any other specifics of his business. In an interview Silverman said he was getting three Calls a Day from prospective clients but a few Days later Silverman who says he chose the  beat the grim reaper from Quot a bit of a sense of humor Quot cancelled his advertising he said he was not aware of the state insurance department ruling but had decided that the business was Quot a thing of the past now that Prudential and other insurance companies Are getting into  but Worley said he did not expect insurance companies to Cut into his business. Quot the people we re dealing with Don t want to wait until they have a life expectancy of less than six months,�?T.�?T he said. Quot they want to use the Money to extend their lives or improve the Quality of their care. We have gotten clients with Prudential policies even after they announced their  some aids groups say that getting death benefits before entering the terminal stage of an illness could do More harm than Good. For one thing those who get substantial death benefits May lose their eligibility for medicaid. Then too the groups say those who think of themselves As about to die May give up the fight to live Quot i can see the justification where you Are clearly terminal Quot said Lewis Katoff director of client services at Gay men s health crisis in new York Quot but you can to predict whether someone with aids is going to live 15 months or five years i was diagnosed three and a half years ago when the evidence suggested i would live about nine months and Here i am. Psychologically it would have been very damaging to give up Stop working and wait to  tuesday March 20, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13