Regulation

The European Life Settlement Association (ELSA) has formed a committee to work with European agencies to develop regulations that protect life settlement investors, as well as lobby for the industry's interests.

The new regulatory committee will be chaired by Brian Casey, a partner at the Atlanta office of law firm Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, according to a statement from ELSA on Monday. It will engage with financial regulators in the U.K., Ireland, Luxembourg and the European Union.

Although they took a hit from the recession and from factors endemic to a relatively young product, life settlements are on their way back up, according to stories from NU Online News Service. As buyers become more educated and life expectancies reflect more accurately how long policyholders may live, “quality paper” is on the rise, said Mike Liebowitz, president and chief executive officer of Invescor Ltd., Farmington Hills, Mchigan. Regulation has played its part in helping to stabilize the industry, he added.