Due to the financial downturn and falling house prices, many seniors who want to move into assisted – living centres are struggling to do so.

Therefore, admissions workers are helping clients find funding through life insurance policies, selling the face value of a life insurance cover to an institutional buyer, which then becomes the owner and beneficiary.

Sally Weber, the administrator of an assisted living centre said: “We've talked to seniors who would like to move in but are hesitant and hoping the market would turn around. Not being able to sell their homes is a huge part of the problem.”

Life insurance companies are also trying to help improve the situation by working with residents to find buyers for policies.

Don Poole, chief operating officer for Life Care said: “Seniors are getting hammered by the economy, but they don't know their life insurance is an asset they can sell if they can't afford the premiums or don't need the policy.”

Life Settlement predicts it can pay 20% to 40% of the policy’s value, compared to 2% to 5% of the value from a cash surrender.

The service is proving to be popular, with 12 people using the programme within just three weeks. Weber said: “We are getting a huge response. This allows people to move while they are still trying to sell their house.”

Using the settlement money to pay for their assisted-living centre accommodations allows them to ride out the market when it comes to selling their home.