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March 11, 2006

Structured Settlement Broker and Settlement Planning Credentials

by John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC

So what is the significance of all that alphabet soup after your structured settlement broker or settlement planner's name? Why should you care?

The designation of Chartered Life Underwriter ("CLU") is a professional designation (granted by the American College in Bryn Mawr, PA)  that has long been recognized as the foremost professional credential in the industry for life insurance professionals (life insurance category includes annuities). According to the American College, since the CLU designation was created in 1927, approximately 94,000 professionals worldwide have earned their CLU. I am proud to say that I am one of them. Candidates must pass a 10 course curriculum which includes the following :

  • Types of insurance
  • Individual life insurance
  • Needs analysis, surrender options, and
    illustrations; settlement options
  • Net and gross premiums/reserves
  • Surrender values, surplus, and dividends
  • Impaired lives underwriting
  • Formation of the contract
  • Waiver, estoppel, and election
  • Policy provisions
  • Premiums
  • Policy transfers
  • Transfers of property at death
  • Estate administration
  • Lifetime transfers
  • Federal estate and gift taxation
  • Valuation of assets and buy-sell
    agreements
  • Computation of federal estate tax,
    and income-tax issues
  • Planning issues for business owners and professionals

    The designation of Chartered Financial Consultant ("ChFC") remains the most extensive education available for professionals seeking a designation in financial planning. According to the American College, more than 41,000 professionals have attained the ChFC professional designation, enabling them to effectively apply a comprehensive financial planning process to their clients’ needs. I am proud to say that I am one of those professionals. The ChFC program includes all of the courses in the American College's CFP® Certification Curriculum, and builds on that knowledge with advanced coverage of estate, retirement, and financial planning applications.

    The professional designation of Certified Structured Settlement Consultant ("CSSC") is a professional designation program of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA), in conjunction with the University of Notre Dame. Settlement professionals earn the CSSC in recognition of their successful completion of more than 60 hours of course study along with their passing a comprehensive examination covering such topics as insurance casualty claims practice, state and federal laws pertaining to tort settlements, medical reversionary, special needs and other types of trusts, macroeconomics, the art of negotiation and business ethics. Several hundred settlement professionals world wide have earned the CSSC professional designation. I am proud to say that I am one of those professionals.

Other settlement industry professionals may have have legal degrees such as the Juris Doctor ("J.D."), or other professional designations such as the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter ("CPCU"), Chartered Advisor in Senior Living ("CASL") or may be registered with the National Association of Securities Dealers as a Series, 6, 7, 63 or 66. I will cover these and other in another post.

Why should you care? Furthering his or her education is an admirable goal for a settlement professional who you are thinking of retaining to serve you or your client. Structured settlement brokerage and settlement planning are highly specialized sub-industries that are part of the larger financial services industry. The business has always had and always will have dynamic characterisrics and it's important that the person you choose is up to date.

***CLU, CHFC, MSFS and CASL are registered trademarks of The American College. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, Certified Financial Planner in the U.S.A., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Posted at 11:23 AM in Attorney Responsibility to Clients in Settlement Planning Process, Certified Structured Settlement Consultant (CSSC) NSSTA, Chartered Financial Consultant®, ChFC®, Professional Designations Relevant to Settlement Experts, Settlement Planner Credentials, Settlement Planning Issues, Structured Settlement Credentials, Structured Settlements, Tulsa Structured Settlements, TX structured settlements, VA Structured Settlements, Virginia Structured Settlements, Washington Structured Settlements, West Virginia Structured Settlements, Westchester Structured Settlements, White Plains Structured Settlements, Wisconsin Structured Settlements, WV Structured Settlements |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2024

  • What is a Structured Settlement? What You Need to Know
    Structured settlements and what you need to know about them including a helpful introductory video featuring A.M. Best Client Recommended Structured Settlement Expert and Registered Settlement Planner John Darer of 4structures.com LLC
  • How Do Structured Settlements Work? How Structured Settlements Work
    How structured settlements work, including 4structures.com LLC's super helpful structured settlement flow chart/diagram showing how structured settlements fit in on the spectrum of settlement planning solutions.
  • Rated Ages and Structured Settlement Cost
    Rated Ages for Structured Settlement Annuities present advantages to all parties. Shift the mortality risk to a life insurance company whose business it it is to assess mortality risk to price its life insurance and annuities. Rated ages boost your structured settlement annuity benefit per premium dollar, or your yield on lifetime payments. Rated ages help to reduce the cost of funding a Medicare Set Aside arrangement where a Structured MSA, is being used { WCMSA LMSA or NFMSA].
  • Top Structured Settlement Annuity Companies 2024
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities in 2024? A list of current structured annuity issuers, the location of their home offices and their financial ratings from A.M. Best, Moodys, Fitch, Standard & Poors and/or other Tier1 NAIC ratings, with links to their websites and other useful information. Last updated June 14, 2024
  • Treasury Funded Structured Settlements
    Treasury Funded Structured Settlements are a settlement option for the most conservative using the OTHER permissible qualified funding asset under IRC 130(d), United States Treasury Bonds in addition to, or instead of, structured settlement annuities. Treasury Funded Structured Settlements can also be used to fund installment sales, also known as structured sales and other non qualified structured settlements.
  • Compare Structured Settlement IRR to Other Settlement Alternatives
    Use the Taxable Equivalent Yield chart to help compare the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of a structured settlement to other alternative or complementary investments. Need help with the chart? Call 4structures.com® LLC at 888-325-8640
  • Structured Settlement Payments | Types of Structured Settlements 2024
    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments in 2024. With a structured settlement you can have more than one type of payment in a single contract. Different types of structured settlement payments can be customized and combined to meet your needs on a stand-alone basis, or in conjunction with other financial products. Diversify your structured settlement, if you wish, by funding with more than one annuity issuer, with treasury funded structured settlements, index linked structured settlement payments and market based structured .
  • Structured Attorney Fees for Tax Deferral for Attorney Contingency Fees
    Structured attorney fees is a financial strategy that offers a unique way to defer taxes for lawyers and law firms. Lawyers CAN structure their legal fees even if the plaintiff doesn't structure their settlement. There are multiple ways to structure your attorney fees, such as capped or uncapped index linked structured settlement annuities where payments are adjusted based on upside changes in the S&P 500 or another index, Trial Lawyers may also use a special deferred pay/deferred compensation arrangement, if market based returns returns are desired with no cap. Plan NOW for year end! Put structured attorney fee expert John Darer® on your settlement planning team in 2024.
  • Structured Settlement Annuity Company Customer Service Phone Numbers
    Receiving structured settlement payments from your own structured settlement or inherited structured settlement? You'll like this huge time saver. Click the title for a link to a comprehensive list of customer service telephone numbers that includes both current AND former structured settlement annuity issuers and reinsurers. If you have simple bank or beneficiary changes, or if the insurance company that issued the structured annuity has merged, sold or spun off its block of structured annuity business (e.g. Aviva, Allstate, Transamerica, AEGON, GE Capital, Liberty, CNA, Confederation Life), oran annuity issuer has changed its name and you're trying to track them down. Here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last updated May 20, 2024.
  • Structured Settlement Quote Lock-Ins | What You Need To Know
    What does a Structured Settlement Lock-In Mean? How do plaintiffs, defendants and insurers benefit from a structured settlement quote lock in when finalizing a settlement? How does the defendant/insurer/court benefit from using a structured settlement lock-in? Where to be careful when using structured settlement lock ins.
  • What Are Structured Settlement Annuities?
    Structured settlement annuities are annuities that can provide one or more customized annuity payment streams in a single contract. Read about structured settlement annuities here.
  • History of Structured Settlements
    Tracing the roots of structured settlements history from 1918, when Congress exempted damages for personal injury or sickness from income tax, to the establishment of structured settlements as a core personal injury settlement planning tool to the present day.
  • What Are Market Based Structured Settlements?
    Market based structured settlements are an alternative or supplementary structured settlement solution for the plaintiff, attorney or law firm that: 1. Can afford to take some market risk 2. Have discretionary settlement dollars. Claimants and attorneys alike may find that market-based structured settlements provide the opportunity to receive tax-free income, or tax-deferred income, while enjoying growth potential.
  • iStructure |Uncapped Fixed Index Structured Settlement Annuity
    iStructure is an innovative game changing fixed index structured settlement annuity for plaintiffs or attorneys. with an intermediate to long term horizon
  • Structured Settlements and Longevity Risk| What Are the Odds?
    Do your financial resources give you enough road, or will the road run out before you do? A structured settlement annuity helps mitigate the risk of outliving your savings, no matter how long you live. A structured settlement can include one or more customized payment streams and types.

Qualified Settlement Funds

  • What is a Qualified Settlement Fund?
    Qualified Settlement Funds | What You Need to Know
  • Firmwide Qualified Settlement Funds Debunked
    Firmwide qualified settlement funds have been heavily promoted to trial lawyers, but have been debunked in a detailed analysis in a July 2022 legal opinion a tax partner at the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP. Trial lawyers and firms who have established Firmwide QSFs or coinsidering establishing a Firmwide QSF should read the analysis as part of their evaluation.

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  • STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS 4REAL® Blog Is a Popular Source of Structured Settlement News, Information and Commentary, John Darer Reviews, Settlement Planning News and Financial Solutions for over 18 years,
    with a stable readership that seeks credible structured settlement information, John Darer Reviews, commentary and/or opinion about topical issues related to settlement planning, targeted to lawyers, injured persons and their family members, guardians, survivors, judges, magistrates, special masters, mediators, administrators, trust companies, insurance company executives and adjusters, financial advisers, settlement professionals, financial professionals, insurance regulators, government leaders, federal and state law enforcement, buyers and sellers of structured settlement payment rights, the news media and other interested parties. 4structures.com LLC established this structured settlement blog in 2005. John Darer ®, CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT® RSP CLTC, President of 4structures.com, located in Stamford, CT 06902. John Darer is an experienced New York City area structured settlement expert, structured settlement broker, Certified Financial Transitionist, and Registered Settlement Planner. He holds insurance licenses in 45 states, has 41 years financial services experience and 31 years in the structured settlements and settlement planning space. In his capacity as a investigative journalist and commentator, and professionally, John Darer passionately believes that shining the light on a business practice is both healthy and newsworthy. It is in the best interest of injury victims, their families and their legal advisers, that the settlement planning discussion involve those that are properly trained in the topic, properly informed on the topic and, with respect to structured settlements, properly licensed and/or appointed. It has significant instructional and deterrent value to other practitioners and firms as well as those who may be caught in the cross hairs. WHAT YOU GET here is the straight stuff with a touch of irreverence and humor. We hope you enjoy and find the content to be helpful. Subscribe to the structured settlement blog feed, or a specific category feed through your blog reader, or through the Subscribe button at the top left of this page. Followers of JDDarer™ on Twitter may also receive select content. If you would like to speak with John he can be reached at (888)325-8640 Thank you for reading! Last updated July 10, 2024

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Structured Settlement Best Practices Corner

  • New York Insurance Advertising law requires the full name of the Insurer to be listed along with the city and state of the principal office. Stating that you represent these fine companies using Insurance company logos without the preceding information are also illegal
  • When it comes to settlement documents it is the ultimate responsibility of the lawyers or claims adjusters who receive input concerning the structured settlement aspects of the documents to actually read the entire document, exercise independent thought and advise their clients properly
  • Be aware that financial advisors use of testimonials is prohibited or restricted
  • Most states require that Testimonials represent the CURRENT opinion of the person who made the testimonial. Be prepared to back it up.
  • Number of States That Prohibit Payment of QSF expenses by licensed agents and brokers
    5 Survey not yet complete.

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Why Take a Structured Settlement?

  • A structured settlement offers guaranteed financial security to personal injury victims, wrongful death survivors and their families. A structured settlement involves a customized stream of payments, provides long-term stable tax-free income, for a period of years or a lifetime. Unlike other income annuities. a structured settlement annuity can have multiple payment streams to address multiple needs in a single contract.

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