Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - viatical settlement

 noun  Etymology: probably from viaticum  Date: 1991 an agreement by which the owner of a life insurance policy that covers a person (as the owner) who has a catastrophic or life-threatening illness receives compensation for less than the expected death benefit of the policy in return for a turning over (as by sale or bequest) of the death benefit or ownership of the policy to the other party (as a company specializing in such transfers) — called also viatical