A.M. Best Presents at VLSAA Life Settlement Conference

Business Wire, Nov 2, 2005

OLDWICK, N.J. -- Emmanuel Modu, head of Structured Finance at A.M. Best Co., will be speaking about life settlement securitization at a conference sponsored by the Viatical and Life Settlement Association of America (VLSAA) on November 10, 2005. The conference is held November 9-11 in New York, NY.

Life settlement securitization has generated a great deal of interest in the capital markets. Indeed, some financial institutions have been financing the accumulation of life settlement portfolios they intend to securitize in the future. The life settlement market, however, is one that is filled with unrealistic expectations about the depth and efficiency of the market and the returns that can be achieved by investors. After having studied the life settlement market for the past three years, A.M. Best remains convinced that the growth of life settlement securitization will depend on several critical factors:

--The increased standardization of general methods for establishing life expectancies of insureds;

--Empirical data on mortality trends in existing portfolios;

--The transparency of the pricing of life settlements;

--The adoption of more favorable accounting treatment of life settlements;

--Effective industry regulatory oversight and self-policing; and,

--The establishment of rating agency standards for assessing the credit risks associated with such transactions.

Mr. Modu will discuss these subjects as well as explore the analytical issues associated with life settlements, the lessons learned in past life settlement securitization efforts, the new trends in structures of proposed transactions, and the new rating methodology, Life Settlement Securitization, published by A.M. Best on September 1, 2005.

For more information on A.M. Best's Rating Methodologies or to download a copy of this full methodology report, visit www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.html. The VLSAA's Web site is www.viatical.org.

A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at http://www.ambest.com.