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Investment in Life Settlements
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
Investment in Life Settlements
5. Investment in Life Settlements

 

A life settlement contract is a contract between the policy owner of a life insurance policy and a third-party investor who obtains the ownership and beneficiary rights of the underlying life insurance policy. During 2010, the Company formed Tiger Capital LLC (“Tiger”) with a subsidiary of ACAC for the purposes of acquiring certain life settlement contracts. In 2011, the Company formed AMT Capital Alpha, LLC (“AMT Alpha”) with a subsidiary of ACAC and AMT Capital Holdings, S.A. (“AMTCH”) with ACP Re, Ltd., an entity controlled by the Michael Karfunkel Grantor Retained Annuity Trust, for the purposes of acquiring additional life settlement contracts. The Company has a fifty percent ownership interest in each of Tiger, AMT Alpha and AMTCH (collectively, the “LSC entities”). The LSC entities may also acquire premium finance loans made in connection with the borrowers’ purchase of life insurance policies that are secured by the policies, which are in default at the time of purchase. The LSC entities acquire the underlying policies through the borrowers’ voluntary surrender of the policy in satisfaction of the loan or foreclosure. A third party serves as the administrator of the Tiger life settlement contract portfolio, for which it receives an annual fee. Under the terms of an agreement for Tiger, the third party administrator is eligible to receive a percentage of profits after certain time and performance thresholds have been met. The Company provides for certain actuarial and finance functions related to the LSC entities. Additionally, in conjunction with the Company’s 21.25% ownership percentage of ACAC, the Company ultimately receives 60.625% of the profits and losses of Tiger and AMT Alpha. As such, in accordance with ASC 810-10, Consolidation, we have been deemed the primary beneficiary and, therefore, consolidate the LSC entities.

 

The Company accounts for investments in life settlements in accordance with ASC 325-30, Investments in Insurance Contracts, which states that an investor shall elect to account for its investments in life settlement contracts by using either the investment method or the fair value method. The election is made on an instrument-by-instrument basis and is irrevocable. The Company has elected to account for these policies using the fair value method. The Company determines fair value on a discounted cash flow basis of anticipated death benefits, incorporating current life expectancy assumptions, premium payments, the credit exposure to the insurance company that issued the life settlement contracts and the rate of return that a buyer would require on the contracts as no comparable market pricing is available.

 

Total capital contributions of approximately $20,642 and $42,000 were made to the LSC entities during the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively, for which the Company contributed approximately $10,321 and $21,000 in those same periods. The Company’s investments in life settlements and cash value loans were approximately $152,676 and $136,800 as of June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively and are included in Prepaid expenses and other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The Company recorded other income for the three months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011 of approximately $1,961 and $22,638, and approximately $2,051 and $41,524 for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively, related to the life settlement contracts.

 

 In addition to the 249 policies disclosed in the table below as of June 30, 2012, Tiger owned 16 premium finance loans as of the six months ended June 30, 2012, which were secured by life insurance policies and were carried at a value of $1,584. As of June 30, 2012, the face value amount of the related 249 life insurance policies and 16 premium finance loans were approximately $1,606,013 and $83,000 respectively. All of the premium finance loans are in default and Tiger is enforcing its rights in the collateral. Upon the voluntary surrender of the underlying life insurance policy in satisfaction of the loan or foreclosure, Tiger will become the owner of and beneficiary under the underlying life insurance policy and will have the option to continue to make premium payments on the policies or allow the policies to lapse. If a policyholder wishes to cure his or her default and repay the loan, Tiger will be repaid the total amount due under the premium finance loans, including all premium payments made by Tiger to maintain the policy in force since its acquisition of the loan.

 

 The following table describes the Company’s investment in life settlements as of June 30, 2012:

 

(Amounts in Thousands, except number of Life Settlement Contracts) 
Expected Maturity Term in Years
  Number of Life
Settlement
Contracts
   

Fair Value (1)

   

Face Value

 
0-1         $     $  
1-2                  
2-3     1       6,755       10,000  
3-4     3       8,182       15,000  
4-5     3       13,581       30,000  
Thereafter     242       122,574       1,551,013  
Total     249     $ 151,092     $ 1,606,013  

  

  (1) The Company determined this fair value based on 162 policies out of the 249 policies as of June 30, 2012, as the Company assigned no value to 87 of the policies as of June 30, 2012.

 

Premiums to be paid for each of the five succeeding fiscal years to keep the life insurance policies in force as of June 30, 2012, are as follows:

 

(Amounts in Thousands)   Premiums
Due on
Life 
Settlement
Contracts
    Premiums
Due on
Premium
Finance 
Loans
   

Total

 
2012   $ 27,596     $ 702     $ 28,298  
2013     28,713       576       29,289  
2014     30,748       725       31,473  
2015     32,259       1,279       33,538  
2016     50,730       1,256       51,986  
Thereafter     551,851       20,431       572,282  
Total   $ 721,897     $ 24,969     $ 746,866