New York Attorney-General Eliot Spitzer – the man responsible for uncovering unsavoury practices in the US general insurance industry over the past two years – is now focusing his attention on the life market.

According to US news service thestreet.com, Mr Spitzer’s office has issued insurance broker National Financial Partners with a subpoena asking for “information regarding life settlement transactions”.

Industry reports say the “life settlement” business can be used to buy life policies from the terminally ill at discounted rates in the hope that premiums won’t increase too much before the policyholder dies.