J.G. Wentworth gets life-settlement licenses

J.G. Wentworth Inc. today announced that its life settlements subsidiaries have received provider licenses in 22 states. The Bryn Mawr, Pa.-based company’s subsidiaries, J.G. Wentworth Life Settlements LLC and J.G. Wentworth Life Settlements (DE) LLC, have also filed license applications with five other states that require licensing. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia don’t require licensing for life settlement providers. A life settlement involves the selling of one's life insurance policy to a third party for a one time cash payment. The purchaser then becomes the beneficiary of the policy and begins paying the premiums. Rather than focusing on million-dollar life insurance policies that are no longer needed by their high-net worth owners, J.G. Wentworth is reaching out to individuals with policies worth more than $50,000. “The majority of policies are owned by average individuals and have face amounts of $500,000 or less,” Scott Willkomm, chief operating officer of the company’s life settlements business, said in a statement. “We can efficiently service these policies with our consumer-oriented business model.”