J.G. Wentworth Life Settlements LLC Announces Licensing to Purchase Life Insurance Policies in Ohio and Georgia

Bryn Mawr, PA (PRWEB) February 12, 2008 -- Specialty finance company J.G. Wentworth (http://www.jgwentworth.com/) today announced that it is licensed to purchase life insurance policies, or life settlements (http://www.jgwentworth.com/Life-Insurance-Settlement/Life-Settlement.aspx), from consumers in Ohio and Georgia, bringing the total number of states in which it does business in life settlements to 36, plus the District of Columbia.

Through its J.G. Wentworth Life Settlements LLC unit (http://www.jgwentworth.com/Life-Insurance-Settlement/Life-Settlement.aspx), the company provides liquidity options to consumers holding life insurance policies with a face value of more than $50,000, an underserved segment of the life settlements market overall.

With more than $18 trillion of life insurance in force, and over $4.6 billion of life insurance premiums written in Ohio in 2006(1) and $3.8 billion of life insurance premiums written in Georgia in 2006(1), the life settlements segment is by far the largest component of the illiquid financial assets market, in which J.G. Wentworth (http://www.jgwentworth.com/) already has leadership positions in the structured settlement (http://www.jgwentworth.com/Structured-Settlement/Sell-Structured-Settlement.aspx) and annuity segments (http://www.jgwentworth.com/Annuity/Sell-Annuity.aspx).

?Life insurance remains an important financial asset for most families,? said Michael Goodman, CEO of J.G. Wentworth. ?For many, the policy is literally insurance against the loss of income for growing young families. For many others,? he added, ?the need for that insurance has changed over the years, and J.G. Wentworth strives to provide an attractive option for consumers looking to diversify their portfolios, liquefy their assets or sell a product that no longer meets their financial needs.?

Scott Willkomm, Head of J.G. Wentworth Life Settlements, says that the company is coming at the life settlement segment from a completely different angle than many of its competitors. Rather than focusing on large life insurance policies of $5 million or more, J.G. Wentworth is buying policies of $50,000 or more. ?There are more than 350 million life insurance policies in force today and the vast majority of them are for $500,000 or less, which we can reach with our direct-to-consumer model.?

Willkomm added that not only are smaller policies the biggest piece of the market, but by addressing this segment, J.G. Wentworth will bring liquidity to individuals that once only the very wealthy were able to enjoy. ?Too many people view their life insurance policy as a monthly or quarterly obligation that they have to pay. We?re trying to change hearts and minds and to get people to recognize that their life insurance policy is really a financial asset and, like all assets, can be sold according to the needs and wants of the owner.?

Life Settlement services are offered through J.G. Wentworth Life Settlements, LLC and J.G. Wentworth Life Settlements (DE), LLC. Not licensed in all states.

This opportunity is currently open to persons resident in the following states: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, DC, DE, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, WA, WI, WV and WY.

About J.G. Wentworth

J.G. Wentworth, Inc. based in Bryn Mawr, PA, is the nation?s oldest, largest and most respected buyer of deferred payments for illiquid financial assets like structured settlements, annuities and life insurance policies. Since 1992, J.G. Wentworth has purchased over $2.5 billion of future payment obligations from consumers and is also the nation?s largest securitizer of structured settlement and annuity backed notes. The company's notes are rated AAA by Standard & Poor's and Aaa by Moody's.

For more information about J.G. Wentworth, go to www.jgwentworth.com.

(1)    Source: Insurance Information Institute, 2006

For More Information:

Rosalia Scampoli, Marketcom PR

www.marketcompr.com

914-632-0090

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