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August 16, 2015

Flooding the Internet with Inaccurate Content about Structured Settlements Helps Nobody

by Structured Settlement Watchdog®

Novation Settlement Solutions is a member of the National Association of Settlement Purchasers for whose ineptitude we owe some gratitude.  You see when members of NASP fail Structured Settlements 101 it lends support to a licensing standard.  Flooding the internet with inaccurate content about structured settlements helps nobody.  It is essential for the safety of consumers and investors that a measurable fundamental body of knowledge is mandatory to legally operate in the structured settlement space.

Here is where Novation Settlement Solutions flubbed their lines, badly

"A structured settlement broker is an individual that negotiates the financial payout of a settlement after a lawsuit verdict on behalf of the insurance company that issues the annuity. This payout can be assigned to one person or to a group, such as a family.  The broker will also set up the time frame for each payout based on the individuals’ needs".

How did Novation Settlement Solutions get it wrong?

  • A structured settlement broker can be an individual or a company
  • A structured settlement is a compromise, and more often than not, parties "settle out of court" and there is no verdict.
  • Generally there is a jury verdict, or there is a bench verdict issued by the judge.
  • A verdict is in favor of the Defendant or in favor of the Plaintiff,  A structured settlement however can be used to settle a no-fault claim.
  • The word "assigned" has a very specific connotation in connection with structured settlements that is not what is described by Novation Settlement Solutions in the excerpt above.   The word " assigned" has a very specific  connotation in connection with the sale and transfer of structured settlement payment rights.  It appears that the Novation has the term muddled.

Novation Settlement Solutions also flubbed naming the top structured settlement issuers

"MetLife, TIAA-CREF, AXA, Allianz Life of North America, Lincoln Financial Group are some of the top insurance companies in the US. These companies own the annuities and pay them out to individuals".

How did Novation Settlement Solutions get it wrong?

  • TIAA-CREF, AXA, Allianz LIfe of North America and Lincoln Financial Group are not structured settlement annuity issuers, therefore they cannot be top structured settlement issuers.  Maybe Novation Settlement Solutions buys the rights to annuities issued by those companies, but they are not structured settlement payment rights or structured settlement annuities.
  • Annuity Issuers do not own the structured settelment annuities that they issue
  • For the most part, structured settlement annuities are used as qualified funding assets [see IRC 130(d)] and are purchased (and owned) by a qualified assignment company. While an annuity issuer and a qualfied assignment company may be related entitites, they are seprate and distinct legal entities. 
  • In the less common "buy and hold", where there is no qualified assignment, the defendant or its insurer would own the structured settlement annuity.

Posted at 04:33 PM in Boca Raton Florida Structured Settlements, Jacksonville Florida Structured Settlements, Misinformation About Structured Settlements, National Association of Settlement Purchasers (NASP), Novation Settlement Solutions | Novation Funding Commentary , Orlando Florida Structured Settlements, Palm Beach Structured Settlements, Structured Settlement Watchdog®, Structured Settlements 101, Structured Settlements in Florida, Structured Settlements in Fort Lauderdale FL, Structured Settlements in Miami Florida area |

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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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  • 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
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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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