There are people out there hoping you’re going to die in a hurry. That’s right. They’re in the viaticals industry. It’s been an industry mired in scandal and controversy for about 10 years, yet it’s still around and people continue to get taken. The idea is that someone with a terminal disease and a life insurance policy sells off his or her policy for money. The person who buys it gets a much larger death benefit from the policy. And the quicker someone dies, the better off the person who bought it is. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scamsters in the business who have created “risk pools” where people buy parts of policies. But, in a lot of cases, there was no policy for sale. It was all made up. The shocking news is that AIG, one of the most respected insurance companies, was involved in selling these “death futures” contracts. So, if you have an insurance policy, you need to watch out if you’re planning to sell lit. A new twist has also been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal lately. Basically, salespeople are targeting elderly people and convincing them to buy a life insurance policy that the salesperson’s company pays for. If the buyer dies in the next two years, the family gets all of money. But if the buyer lives longer than two years, the person has the buy the rights back. Otherwise the company gets the benefit on the policy. So, an absolute stranger will approach you to try to “rent” your life. Several states are challenging these purchases, which is good news. But they’re out there, so beware.