August 7, 2026
3:47 pm

Every Document a Provider Will Ask For (2026)

Send one document to start: the policy cover page. That is the first two or three pages of the contract, showing the carrier name, policy number, issue date, face amount, policy type, and the named insured. Nothing else is needed for a preliminary answer, and anyone demanding a Social Security number, a bank account number, or a signed contract before they have seen a cover page is running a different business than the one they described.

The deadline that governs this whole process is not a legal one. It is document staleness. A verification of coverage is typically required to be dated within 30 to 90 days at closing. Medical records generally need to be within the last twelve months. A life expectancy report is usable to most buyers for six to twelve months and then has to be refreshed at real cost. If a file sits idle for two months in the middle, the earliest documents expire and the process restarts from a point you already paid for in time. Keeping the file moving is not impatience; it is how you avoid doing the same work twice.

Below is the complete list, grouped by the stage at which it is actually requested, with a note on what each one is for and where it goes wrong.

In This Article

Stage 1 — The free review: two documents, nothing signed
Stage 2 — Authorizations: what you sign and what it lets people do
Stage 3 — Verification: what the carrier produces
Stage 4 — The closing package
Ranking the alternatives before you assemble any of this
When the paperwork itself tells you not to sell
Frequently Asked Questions

Every Document a Provider Will Ask For (2026)

Stage 1 — The free review: two documents, nothing signed

At this stage nobody should be asking you to commit to anything. The purpose is to determine whether the policy is even a candidate.

Policy cover page or schedule page. Carrier, policy number, issue date, face amount, product type, insured’s name and date of birth. If you cannot find it, this walkthrough shows exactly which page it is. A carrier can reissue a copy in a week if the original is lost.
Most recent annual statement. Shows current cash or account value, any outstanding policy loan, the current premium or monthly deduction, and whether a no-lapse guarantee is on schedule.

Two facts about the insured complete the picture: current age, and a plain-language summary of health — diagnoses, hospitalizations in the last two years, and current medications. That is enough for an experienced reader to say whether the policy is likely to attract bids, likely to attract none, or is disqualified outright.

What should not be requested at this stage: Social Security number, bank details, a signed exclusive representation agreement, or any payment. There is no legitimate reason for an upfront fee in a life settlement, and a request for one is the clearest single warning sign in this market.

Stage 2 — Authorizations: what you sign and what it lets people do

Once the policy is a candidate, the file needs medical and carrier information. That requires your signature on documents that are worth reading rather than skimming.

HIPAA authorization. Under 45 CFR 164.508, a valid authorization must contain six core elements: a specific description of the information to be disclosed, the name of the person or class authorized to make the disclosure, the name of the recipient, a description of the purpose, an expiration date or event, and the individual’s signature and date. It must also carry three required statements: your right to revoke, whether treatment or payment can be conditioned on signing, and the possibility that redisclosed information may no longer be protected by the Privacy Rule.

Read three things on the form: who the recipient is, what the expiration is, and whether the authorization is limited to this transaction. Life settlement HIPAA authorizations commonly run 24 months, which is reasonable given the process length. An authorization with no expiration, or one naming an unlimited class of recipients, is not reasonable. See what a HIPAA authorization actually permits before signing.

Medical records release. Some providers use a separate state-specific release in addition to the HIPAA form, particularly for records covered by heightened protections — substance use treatment records under 42 CFR Part 2, mental health records, and HIV status in several states each require specific consent language. The medical records release step is where most files lose two to four weeks.

Authorization to obtain policy information. A separate form directed at the carrier, permitting release of in-force values and policy status. Many carriers require their own version and will reject a generic one.

Provider and broker disclosures. Under the NAIC Life Settlements Model Act, adopted in some form in the large majority of states, licensees must give the owner specified written disclosures at or before the time of application — including the possible tax consequences, the possible effect on public assistance eligibility, the existence of a rescission period, and, in many states, the compensation paid to the broker. You should receive these before you sign, not at closing. If they arrive at closing, ask why.

Stage 3 — Verification: what the carrier produces

These come from the insurance company, not from you, but you are the one who unsticks them when they stall.

Verification of coverage. The carrier’s written confirmation of the policy’s existence, owner and beneficiary of record, face amount, in-force status, premium mode and amount, outstanding loan balance, and any recorded assignment. Every buyer requires it and none will bid without it. Carriers vary from three business days to four weeks. Many require their own form, an original signature, and notarization. What is on a verification of coverage form is worth knowing so you can spot an incomplete one before the buyer does.

In-force illustration. A projection of the policy’s values forward under stated assumptions. Buyers usually request several: one at current charges, one at guaranteed maximum charges, and one or more solved for the minimum premium to carry the policy to a target age. That last set is the premium load the buyer will have to carry, and it drives pricing as much as life expectancy does. Reading an in-force illustration is the single most useful skill for a seller in this process.

Copy of the full policy contract, including all riders, amendments, and endorsements. Riders matter enormously — a term rider, a chronic illness rider, an accelerated death benefit rider, or a waiver of premium rider can each change the analysis.

Life expectancy reports. Most institutional buyers require two independent reports, ordered from underwriting firms that specialize in this work. Firms commonly used include ITM TwentyFirst, Fasano Associates, Predictive Resources, and Longevity Services. Each produces a mortality table adjustment and a median life expectancy in months. When two reports disagree materially, pricing moves and sometimes stops. What a life expectancy report contains explains how to read one.

Stage	Documents	Who produces them	Typical elapsed time	How long they stay valid
1. Free review	Policy cover page, annual statement	You	Same day	Indefinite
2. Authorizations	HIPAA, medical release, carrier authorization, disclosures	You sign	1–3 days	Often 24 months
3. Verification	VOC, in-force illustrations, full contract, 2 LE reports	Carrier and LE firms	2–6 weeks	VOC 30–90 days; LE 6–12 months
4. Closing	Purchase agreement, ownership and beneficiary changes, W-9, escrow	Buyer, escrow agent, you	2–5 weeks	Until carrier records the change
5. Post-closing	Form 1099-LS, Form 1099-SB	Buyer and carrier	Following January	Keep permanently

Stage 3 — Verification: what the carrier produces

Stage 4 — The closing package

This is the largest stack and the one where signature errors cause the most delay. Expect 30 to 60 pages. Nothing in it should be a surprise if the earlier stages were handled properly.

Life settlement contract or purchase agreement stating the gross offer, any deductions, the escrow arrangement, and the closing conditions.
Change of ownership form (carrier’s version) and, in most transactions, an absolute assignment transferring all rights in the contract.
Change of beneficiary form (carrier’s version).
Seller’s representations and warranties — that you own the policy, that no other assignment exists, that no bankruptcy or judgment encumbers it, and that the information provided is accurate.
Competency attestation. Many providers require a physician’s or attorney’s statement that the owner understands the transaction. For insureds over 80, or with any cognitive diagnosis in the medical file, expect this to be mandatory rather than optional.
Existing beneficiary acknowledgment or release. An irrevocable beneficiary must consent outright. A revocable beneficiary usually signs an acknowledgment.
Spousal consent, required in community property states and by some carriers regardless of state.
Form W-9, supplying your taxpayer identification number so the buyer can issue Form 1099-LS after closing.
Escrow agreement with an independent escrow or trust agent. Funds go into escrow before the ownership change is submitted, and release after the carrier acknowledges the transfer in writing. How escrow works in a life settlement is the mechanism that protects you from transferring a policy and then chasing payment.
Notarizations and witnesses where required. Rules differ by state and by carrier. The notary requirements are the most common reason a package is returned unexecuted.
Contact information for annual verification, since the buyer will need to confirm the insured’s status periodically after closing.

Tax forms after closing. Under Internal Revenue Code section 6050Y, added by the 2017 tax act and applicable to reportable policy sales occurring after December 31, 2017, the buyer files Form 1099-LS reporting the amount paid to you, and the insurance carrier files Form 1099-SB reporting your investment in the contract and the surrender amount. Both are also furnished to you. Keep them; they are what your tax preparer uses to compute the taxable portion. Sales that qualify as viatical settlements under section 101(g) are treated differently, which is a distinction to raise with your own tax professional rather than assume.

Ranking the alternatives before you assemble any of this

The document list above is real work — typically six to twelve weeks of it. It is worth doing only if a sale is genuinely the best outcome. Ranked honestly:

1. Keep the policy and pay the premium if the coverage is still needed and affordable. Zero documents. The death benefit is generally income-tax-free to beneficiaries, which no other option matches.

2. Reduce the face amount. One form, no underwriting, immediately lowers the cost of insurance charge on a universal life policy. Frequently solves the affordability problem outright.

3. Reduced paid-up. One form. Stops the premium permanently, keeps a smaller guaranteed death benefit. No medical records, no life expectancy reports, no escrow.

4. Extended term. One form. Keeps the full face amount for a defined period with no further premium.

5. Accelerated death benefit or chronic illness rider. A physician’s certification and a claim form. Weeks, not months, and no transfer of ownership.

6. Policy loan. One form, typically funded in one to two weeks. Reduces the death benefit and accrues interest.

7. 1035 exchange. Full underwriting on the new contract. Only viable if the insured is insurable.

8. Life settlement. Everything on this page. Usually the largest number, and the only option that requires disclosing your medical history to third parties.

9. Surrender. One form. Ends the coverage for cash surrender value, with gain above basis taxed as ordinary income.

10. Lapse. No documents and no proceeds, plus a possible tax bill if a loan exceeds basis.

When the paperwork itself tells you not to sell

Some files should stop at Stage 2. Recognizing them early saves months.

There are no medical records to retrieve. An insured who has not seen a physician in five years produces a thin file, and a thin file produces a long life expectancy estimate, and a long estimate produces low offers or none. Paradoxically, good health with good documentation and good health with no documentation land in the same place: no market.

The policy cannot be assigned. Group certificates through an employer, association, or union frequently prohibit assignment outright. Read the assignment provision before signing a HIPAA authorization, not after.

The policy is within its contestability period. Most contracts are contestable for two years from issue. Buyers will not assume that risk, and a sale during the period creates problems for everyone.

The loan exceeds the likely offer. Buyers price net death benefit. A heavily loaned policy may have nothing left to purchase.

The owner’s capacity is in question. If a competency attestation cannot be obtained, the transaction should not proceed. This protects the owner, and it is not a hurdle to be worked around.

Chain of title is broken. A trust that was never funded, a deceased owner with no contingent owner named, an unreleased collateral assignment from a paid-off business loan, or a name change never recorded with the carrier. Fix the ownership record first. A buyer will not close on a defective title and should not be asked to.

The household is on, or applying for, needs-based benefits. Proceeds are countable resources for Medicaid and SSI. A closing in the wrong month can cost coverage worth more than the offer.

The face amount is under about $100,000. The market thins sharply below that and effectively closes below $50,000, because a buyer’s fixed transaction costs do not scale down.

Pine Lake Life Solutions provides education and a free policy review. We do not purchase policies and are not licensed in every state, and we never ask for an upfront fee. Send the policy cover page to (305) 209-7183 and we will tell you which of the stages above your policy would actually clear, including when the answer is that it would not clear the first one. A fuller version of the list is at the life settlement document checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does anyone need my medical records to buy a policy?

Because the price depends entirely on life expectancy, and life expectancy is estimated from the medical file. A buyer is purchasing a future payment of a known amount at an unknown date, and the records are the only evidence of that date. If you are not willing to release medical records to third parties, a life settlement is not available to you, and that is a legitimate reason to choose a different option such as reduced paid-up or a face reduction.

Can I refuse to give my Social Security number?

Not at closing. The buyer must file Form 1099-LS under Internal Revenue Code section 6050Y and needs your taxpayer identification number on a Form W-9 to do it. You can and should refuse to provide it earlier. Nothing in the free review or the eligibility stage requires a Social Security number, and a request for one before there is an offer on the table is a reason to slow down and verify who you are dealing with.

How many life expectancy reports will be ordered, and who pays?

Most institutional buyers require two independent reports, and some order a third when the first two diverge materially. The buyer or the broker pays for them; the seller never should. Reports typically cost several hundred dollars each. If two reports differ substantially, ask to see both and ask which underwriting assumptions drove the difference, because that difference is often worth more than any negotiation over the offer itself.

What happens if I sign the closing package and then change my mind?

Most states provide a statutory rescission period, commonly running a set number of days from receipt of the settlement proceeds, during which you can return the money and unwind the transaction. The length varies by state and some states also terminate the right on the insured’s death. Ask for the exact rescission provision in writing before signing and confirm which state’s law applies, because the answer is not always where you currently live.

My policy is owned by a trust. What extra documents are needed?

Expect the full trust instrument or a certification of trust, evidence that the trustee has authority to sell insurance assets, and in some cases beneficiary consents or a court order. If the trust is irrevocable, the trustee’s fiduciary duty analysis becomes part of the file. Trust-owned files take meaningfully longer and require an attorney’s involvement. Start by locating the original trust document, which is more often lost than families expect.

Do I need to keep paying premiums while all of this is happening?

Yes, without exception, until funds are released from escrow and the carrier has acknowledged the ownership change. A policy that lapses mid-process is worth nothing to anyone, and reinstatement generally requires evidence of insurability. If cash flow is the reason you are selling, say so at the outset; some buyers will address premium timing in the purchase agreement, but only if the issue is raised early.

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