by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC
Since Barco Assignments, Ltd. was setup as a non qualified assignment company to support the Liberty Mutual structured settlement program, in the late 1990s, others have followed to the former British colony that is the birthplace of the Grammy award winning singer Rihanna.
Barbados is a well regulated Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development approved domicile. Founded in 1961, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is comprised of 34 countries and intended to stimulate economic progress and world trade. Barbados is the only independent Caribbean nation which has substantially implemented the OECD’s internationally agreed tax standard and offers a well-regulated, transparent and supportive environment for business.
In addition, Barbados has an expanding network of double taxation treaties, including the USA, which offers tax advantages to investors that use Barbadian resident entities to conduct business in other countries. An International Business Customer Charter details the commitments of regulatory agencies to provide swift, efficient and professional service to the international business sector. In this respect, Barbados enjoys significant advantages over other jurisdictions.
Barbados regulators are the Central Bank of Barbados, the Financial Services Commission, and the International Business Unit. More information on Barbados' financial services industry at www.investbarbados.org.
In a clear indication that using a Barbados offshore assignment company for non qualified structured settlements has gained greater acceptance due to the favorable tax treaty between the United States and Barbados, one can point to Allstate Life Insurance Company and Prudential Insurance Company of America, which had non qualified assignment companies on the island when their non qualified assignment programs were operational.
In addition to BARCO (Liberty), whose structured settlement obligations transferred by non qualified assignment are backed by a Notice of Financial Commitment from Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, a life insurance company regulated in all 50 U.S. states [with a further guarantee of Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston by 100 year old Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, a leader of insurance that every business must buy (workers compensation)] , there are other entrants who use Barbados that service the U.S. Market.
- Structured Assignments Inc. (Midwest Trust non qualified assignment facility using United States Treasury obligations). Formerly known as Treasury Funded Structured Settlements International, or TFSS-I for short. This is a non annuity funded non qualified structured settlement facility that can also be used for structured installment sales, structured settlements and structured attorney fees
- Havelet Assignment Company. an independent assignment company that will take on non qualified assignments for claimants or for structured attorney fees, as well as structured installment sale obligations through a subsidiary Havelet Assignment (Structured Sales) Limited. Havelet's structured installment sale plan involves the purchase of a fixed annuity as a funding asset however, unlike BARCO Assignments Ltd, the annuity while qualified for US tax purposes is issued by a life insurer that is not domiciled in the continental USA.
For more information about non qualified assignments please contact John Darer at 888-325-8640
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