Portfolio sellers and MLA clients have found that our Officer’s Certificates (“OCs”) can provide significant added value. Based on a diligence review of each policy, MLA can provide certain representations and warrants that the seller needs to make, decreasing seller’s exposure to certain potential liabilities. In MLA’s experience, these OCs also increase the price a buyer is willing to pay for a policy or portfolio. MLA suggests that the following risks be covered by OCs:
- Presence of insurable interest at policy’s inception
- Unlikelihood of an insurer successfully voiding the policy
- Completeness of the file
- No encumbrances
- No irrevocable beneficiaries
- Contestability period has passed
- Absence of third party rights associated with the policy
- Others on request
The OCs are fully customizable and the reps and warrants made can adjusted depending on the needs of the client. The OCs are generally created concurrently with buyer’s diligence, after the parties have a sense of what, if any, value such OCs can add to the purchase price ultimately paid to Seller.