Unlocking the Hidden Value of Your Life Insurance

Many people reach a point when their life insurance no longer aligns with their financial outlook. Knowing what choices exist can shape long-term stability.

How do you approach a major policy decision with confidence? How do you uncover options that may add meaningful value to retirement planning?

In this episode, Mark Mrky and Rob Haynie talk with Matthew Ganovsky, Founder and President of Abacus Life Settlements, about the shift from viatical settlements to the modern life settlement Market. He explains how institutional buyers evaluate policies, why transparency matters, and how advisors can better guide clients who may be letting valuable policies lapse. 

They also discuss the role of Marketing, rising consumer awareness, and how life settlements may support goals from estate planning to funding care needs.

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About Our Guest:

Matthew Ganovsky, Founder and President of Abacus Life Settlements. Matthew has close to two decades of experience in the areas of life insurance policy and settlement underwriting and is well-known as an innovator and early adopter within the industry.

Prior to launching Advanced Life Settlements in 2000, Matthew was a sales specialist at Medical Escrow Society and focused his efforts in the viatical settlement segment of the market, specifically brokering on behalf of policyholders diagnosed with cancer, ALS, or other life-threatening illnesses.

Matthew has cultivated long-standing and valued relationships with funding sources within the life settlement business and currently oversees all client and policy activity at Advanced Life Settlements. In conjunction with Advanced’s co-founders and co-presidents, Sean McNealy and Scott Kirby, Ganovsky has sold more than $8.5 billion in life settlements and brokered more than 3 thousand life insurance policies.

Matthew has been a member of the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) since 2001. He holds his Life License in the state of Florida and also holds his life and viatical broker’s license in several other states.

What if the life insurance policy your client no longer wants could become the key to paying for long-term care?

In this powerful episode, hosts Mark Mrky and Rob Haynie welcome Retirement Genius Chris Orestis, CSA, Founder and President of Retirement Genius, to unpack the often-overlooked strategy of life settlements—transforming underused life insurance policies into funding solutions for healthcare, annuities, and retirement expenses.

Chris shares how his journey from Capitol Hill to long-term care innovation led him to champion life settlements as a tool of financial dignity. From regulations to misconceptions, he explains why advisors must rethink what’s possible with aging clients’ policies.

What to expect:

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About our Guest: 

Chris Orestis, CSA, is President of Retirement Genius and is a nationally recognized financial, health, long-term care (LTC), and retirement issues expert. He has over 25 years’ experience in the insurance and long-term care industries and is credited with pioneering the Life Settlement Annuity and Long-Term Care Life Settlement over a decade ago. Known as a political insider and senior issues advocate, Orestis is a former Washington, D.C. lobbyist who has worked in both the White House and for the Senate Majority Leader on Capitol Hill. In 2007, he founded Life Care Funding, in 2017, he founded the LifeCare Xchange, and in 2020, he founded Retirement Genius. Chris Orestis is the author of the books Help on the Way and A Survival Guide to Aging. In 2019, Chris was named one of the twenty most innovative people in the insurance industry by the National Association of Independent Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA). Chris is on the Board of Directors for the NAILBA Charitable Foundation, where he founded the Industry Foundation Partnership initiative, a founder and member of the Board of Directors for Insurance Marketing Coalition, and is a member of the Editorial Board for the CSA Magazine. He has been speaking for two decades across the country about senior finance and the secrets to aging with financial and physical health and dignity. In 2019, Chris was named one of the twenty most innovative people in the life insurance industry by the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA). He has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, NBC News, Fox News, USA Today, Kiplinger’s, Investor’s Business Daily, AARP Magazine, PBS, and numerous other media outlets, is a frequent columnist for NewsMax Finance, Broker World, ThinkAdvisor, IRIS, and has been a guest expert on over 100 radio programs and TV appearances.

What happens when a life insurance policy doesn’t perform as expected?

In this episode, Mark Mrky and Rob Haynie chat with Steven Zeiger, from KB Financial, about the often-misunderstood world of life insurance costs and performance evaluations. Steven, known for his independent research and advisory services, offers a fresh perspective on how to assess the true cost of life insurance policies beyond sales pitches. 

Mark, Rob, and Steve discuss: 

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About Our Guest: 

Steven Zeiger serves as a Managing Director of Wealth Management at KB Financial and is a recognized professional in applying prudent investor guidelines to life insurance product selection and portfolio management according to established and proven asset management doctrine. Prior to joining KB Financial, Steven worked for an Austin, Texas firm specializing in Private Placement Life Insurance for ultra-high-net-worth families, where he oversaw marketing efforts for the Northeast.

Life settlements are transforming the financial landscape for retirees, offering a strategic option to unlock hidden value from life insurance policies that might otherwise lapse. 

Yet, many policyholders remain unaware of this powerful alternative—or hesitant about taking the leap. If you’re looking for ways to turn an underperforming policy into a valuable asset, this insight could change everything.

In this episode, hosts Mark Mrky and Rob Haynie chat with Elan Moas — former subprime mortgage underwriter, financial advisor, and author of “Laps: The Universal Life Insurance Whistleblower” — to reveal why universal life (UL) policies often fall short and how life settlements provide a lucrative exit. 

If your clients or loved ones hold life insurance policies that aren’t living up to their promises, life settlements may be the untapped resource they’ve been waiting for.

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About Our Guest: 

With a deep background in financial advisory and underwriting, Elan Moas has become an advocate for policyholders’ rights and transparency within the life insurance industry. His work sheds light on the realities of UL policies and the critical need for policyholders to understand their options, especially as they age.

Life settlements represent a unique facet of the financial world, offering a secondary market for life insurance policies that benefit both policy sellers and institutional investors. 

After selling these policies, some sellers may be concerned about their use. 

This week, we want to address these concerns!

In this episode, Mark Mrky and Rob Haynie sit down with Jose Garcia, Chief Executive Officer at Carlisle Management Company S.C.A., to explore the perspective of a buyer and investor of life settlements. They dive into the mechanics behind selling life insurance policies, the role of institutional investors, and the future of the life settlement industry.

Jose discusses: 

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About Our Guest: 

Having established a fifteen-year track record of success across several sectors of capital markets, including but not limited to emerging markets, structure finance, longevity markets, fund management, and investment structuring, Jose Garcia has most recently put his experience to work in structure finance and bringing investment solutions to investors looking to take advantage of alternative investments. Based in Luxembourg and recognizing that many of the financial market standards and traditional investment sectors are outdated, Jose is launching new investment vehicles utilizing alternative investments as underlying assets in accordance with the global trend for diversification from traditional financial markets. 

Jose has served as Carlisle Financial Group’s Chairman and CEO since 2002, when the company was founded. During his tenure, Jose supervised the acquisition and implementation of a number of companies within financial markets. Carlisle’s two biggest investments were in emerging markets and longevity markets.

Life expectancy is a crucial factor in many aspects of life, such as retirement planning, life insurance, and health care.

But it is also a huge component when selling your life insurance policy!

However, estimating how long someone will live is not an easy task, as it depends on various factors, such as medical history, lifestyle, genetics, and environmental conditions.

In this episode, Mark Mrky and Rob Haynie chat with Vincent Granieri, CEO and Managing Member at Predictive Resources, LLC, to explore the potential of life settlements and how estimating your life expectancy plays an important role in the process.

Vince shares the variability in life expectancy predictions among companies and the blend of data-driven and subjective methods used. Additionally, he also explains the concept of a mortality curve and its role in financial planning for retirees.

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About our Guest: 

Vincent Granieri founded Predictive Resources in 2013 to ensure that the life expectancy provider space remained driven by sound analytics of relevant data. A fully credentialed actuary and Harvard MBA, Vince has over 40 years of experience in life and health insurance, pensions, and related fields, including over 30 years as a C-level executive and 15 years in life settlements. His research on senior mortality has been published and peer-reviewed. He is responsible for scores of innovative improvements to forecasting life expectancy. He is known as a thought leader in life settlements, a pioneer in the application of predictive analytics to actuarial issues, and a direct and candid leader.

Many people buy life insurance policies without fully understanding their options, benefits, and risks.

Life settlements are an alternative option that can help policy owners unlock the hidden value of their life insurance policies and use them for their own needs.

However, life settlements are not widely known or understood by the public, and they face many challenges from the insurance industry that wants to keep them in the dark. 

In this episode, Mark Mrky and Rob Haynie continue the conversation with Alan H. Buerger, Co-Founder and Chairman at Coventry. This time, they explain the multiple reasons people don’t know about life settlements, the need for education about this option, and the resistance from insurance carriers. 

Together, they discuss: 

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About our Guest: 

Alan H. Buerger is the chairman and co-founder of Coventry. Recognized as a visionary and one of the most influential people in the life settlement industry, he has been one of its chief innovators. He is an expert on the convergence of life insurance and capital markets and is known as the voice of the life settlement industry. 

Under Alan’s leadership, Coventry has created a secondary market for life insurance and transformed the life insurance industry by allowing consumers to sell their insurance policies in a free market environment. He has worked continuously to expand the power, value, and flexibility of life insurance. Coventry’s efforts have enabled policy owners to receive more than $4.5 billion for their unwanted policies. 

Alan is the former chairman and a former board member of the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA), which is the life settlement industry’s self-governing body. He is a frequent keynote speaker on a range of subjects, including emerging trends in life insurance, longevity-linked assets, and balancing regulation and opportunity in growing industries.

Life insurance is a valuable asset that can provide financial security for your loved ones. 

But what if you no longer need or want your policy?

Have you heard of life settlements? Wondering how it can help you free up money for your retirement, health care, or other needs?

In this episode, Mark Mrky and Rob Haynie chat with Alan H. Buerger, Co-Founder and Chairman at Coventry. They explore the benefits of life settlements and how it can help individuals maximize the value of their life insurance policies. 

Alan also shares stories that highlight the real-life impact of these financial decisions while analyzing the latest innovations in the life settlements market.

Together, they discuss: 

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About our Guest: 

Alan H. Buerger is the chairman and co-founder of Coventry. Recognized as a visionary and one of the most influential people in the life settlement industry, he has been one of its chief innovators. He is an expert on the convergence of life insurance and capital markets and is known as the voice of the life settlement industry. 

Under Alan’s leadership, Coventry has created a secondary market for life insurance and transformed the life insurance industry by allowing consumers to sell their insurance policies in a free market environment. He has worked continuously to expand the power, value, and flexibility of life insurance. Coventry’s efforts have enabled policy owners to receive more than $4.5 billion for their unwanted policies. 

Alan is the former chairman and a former board member of the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA), which is the life settlement industry’s self-governing body. He is a frequent keynote speaker on a range of subjects, including emerging trends in life insurance, longevity-linked assets, and balancing regulation and opportunity in growing industries.

By now, you have heard Mark Mrky and Rob Haynie talk about how beneficial the life settlement option can be for you and/or your clients.

But who’s really buying these policies? What are investors aiming for? 

Ready to learn more?

In this episode, Mark and Rob sit down with Richard Beleutz, the founder and chief executive officer of AIR Asset Management, to talk about life settlements, but from the buyer’s perspective. 

Mark, Rob, and Rich also unveil the importance of advisors communicating this option to their clients — as it’s a win-win for everyone involved in the transaction.

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About our Guest: 

Richard Beleutz is AIR Asset Management’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for overseeing the firm’s strategic direction and driving growth. He is the Chair of the Executive Committee, the Investment Committee, and a member of the Portfolio Committee. 

Rich has nearly 30 years of experience in various capacities in the investment industry. He has closed over $1B in transactions for companies and investment products, has extensive deal experience in private equity and investment banking, and has an operations background as a former principal of three hedge funds. 

Rich has a well-established track record in the life settlements space, which began in 2006 when he eventually launched his first life settlement hedge fund in conjunction with a life settlement brokerage business and a life expectancy company. 

He also has a background in life insurance and annuities that dates back to 1993, when he began his career as a financial advisor with Ameriprise.

There’s a lot of information about the life settlement industry, making it tough for individuals and financial advisors to make the most out of it.

Luckily, you are about to explore the strategies you need to use life settlements to your advantage.

In this episode, Mark Mrky and Rob Haynie chat with Bryan Nicholson, the executive director of the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA). Bryan explains how the association approaches and promotes life settlements as valuable assets for advisors and consumers.

Listen in as Mark, Rob, and Bryan share the challenges of involving different entities in the life settlement space and the ongoing issue of the Enhanced Cash Surrender Value offer program in the insurance industry.

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About our Guest: 

Bryan Nicholson serves as the Executive Director of the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) and the Executive Director of BAHP: The Center for Baby and Adult Hygiene Products. He specializes in Board of Directors management; communications; conference and event planning, promotion, and execution; executive leadership search; membership development and engagement; strategic planning; operations, program, and project management; and website development. 

Bryan has an M.A. in International Affairs from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at the New School for Public Engagement in Manhattan and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. He is also an active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).