The Six-Feet Over/Under

For successful brokers, who typically earn a 6% commission on each transaction, life settlements can be big business. In 2005, National Financial says Advanced's life-settlements business accounted for between 6% and 8% of its $891 million in revenue.

In the coming years, the life-settlements business is only expected to get bigger as the population ages and individuals look for a way to get some quick cash for their retirements. The dollar value of policies sold in 2005 doubled to $10 billion over the prior year. An analyst with Sanford Bernstein predicts the market for life settlements eventually could reach $161 billion over the next few decades.

"We understand 2006 is shaping up to be even stronger than 2005,'' says Bernstein analyst Suneet Kamath, in a recent research report. "As a result, the settlement market could reach $161 billion sooner than we originally expected.''