Sex, violence and stranger-originated life insurance are at the center of a new novel, “The Death Bond Conspiracy,” written by an unusual author — an insurance agent.
Sex, violence and stranger-originated life insurance are at the center of a new novel, “The Death Bond Conspiracy,” written by an unusual author — an insurance agent.
P.A. “Corky” Gillis, an associate general agent at Capitas Financial LLC, has spent the past 27 years working in life insurance and about 15 years as a life settlements broker.
He also runs an underwriting consultation practice in which he performs contract work for life carriers and attorneys to sniff out suspicious life insurance applications that carry the scent of STOLI — policies that are purchased specifically for resale on the secondary market.
Mr. Gillis parlayed his experience into a 387-page fictional tome, which was published in January.
“The Death Bond Conspiracy,” published by Gillis Publications LLC, follows the adventures of insurance investigator Hunter Knightly as he looks into a bizarre pattern of deaths among affluent seniors in West Palm Beach, Fla.
His prying takes him into the seamy underbelly of the STOLI world, where a Mafia-like entity owns a pool of life insurance policies that cover wealthy people. The rich residents are all clamoring for “free” insurance coverage, but little do they know that an ex-druglord named Juan Pantera Diablo has been hired to orchestrate their murders and ensure the investors get a timely return on their investments.
Mr. Gillis was inspired to write the book after hearing the questions his life settlement clients would ask during their consultation.
“I would explain to the clients that an investor will become the owner and beneficiary of their policy. And I'd get this look from them, like, "Is someone going to come after me if they're a beneficiary of the policy?'” Mr. Gillis said.
“It's kind of weird that someone else is going to own a $5 million policy on your life and you don't know who it is,” he said.
Still, he said, some of his clients are interested in life settlements, and if the price is high enough, they are willing to sell their policies in the secondary market. Understandably, they also have to be reassured that “there won't be some guy” waiting outside with a chair leg, he said.
The book is now in its second printing, following recent media coverage of the life settlement industry. Mr. Gillis is working on a follow-up.
