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March 22, 2012

Hartford Life Insurance Company to Exit Structured Settlement Business

by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC

Hartford Life Insurance Company will cease writing new structured settlement annuity business effective April 27, 2012. The Hartford had only re-entered the business last summer after a brief hiatus, but pressure put on the parent company to narrow the company focus to its property casualty business by major shareholder John Paulson,  was the impetus to the action.  Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. also announced it will stop selling individual annuities and seek buyers for parts of its life-insurance unit, according to various news reports today.

The important thing for Hartford annuitants is that Hartford Life Insurance Company IS NOT going out of business. It is only ceasing writing new business in the structured settlement market segment.

Hartford previously exited the structured settlement business in October 2009 "as part of the company's decision to exit the institutional business" , spokesman David Potter said on August 23, 2011- Forbes   Here is the video podcast that Mark Wahlstrom and I published October 30, 2009.

Despite this, "revisionist historians" Tulsa attorney Richard B. Risk, Jr. and Patrick Hindert continue to mischaracterize the 2009 withdrawal (Risk on his website, Hindert on his S2KM  blog) as the result of the settlement of the Spencer v Hartford lawsuit when none of the other attorneys associated with the lawsuit make the same claim.  Proud of success yes, but those attorneys have moved on.

Hartford CEO Liam McGhee is quoted in Bloomberg News March 21, 2012 that he opted against the complete breakup advocated by billionaire John Paulson because it wasn’t the best way to create value. 

Credit-default swaps on Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. fell by the most in a day since Nov. 30, 2011. The cost to protect debt tied to Hartford Financial from default for five years slid to the lowest level since August 2011, according to Bloomberg.

Posted at 12:19 AM in Albany New York Structured Settlements, Annuity News, Baltimore Structured Settlements, Bridgeport Structured Settlements, CT Structured Settlements, Hartford CT Structured Settlements, Hartford Financial Services Group, Hartford Life Insurance Company, Spencer v Hartford, Structured Settlement Annuity, Structured Settlement Industry News |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2023

  • 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 2023 A.M. Best Client Recommended Structured Settlement Expert and Registered Settlement Planner John Darer® of 4structures.com® LLC
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  • Rated Ages and Structured Settlement Cost
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  • 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.
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    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
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    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments. 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 .
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  • 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?
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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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