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March 22, 2017

Safety of Structured Settlement Annuity Issuers | What Is Surplus?

by John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC

What Does Insurance Company Surplus Mean?

  • Surplus equals Admitted Assets minus Liabilities. 
  • Surplus represents the net worth of an insurer.
  • Surplus is one view of a life insurance company's health. 
  • Structured settlement annuities are issued by life insurance companies.
  • Surplus is one indicator of an insurance company’s financial health. It gives an insurance company another source of funds, in addition to its reserves and reinsurance, if it needs to pay a higher than expected amount of claims.
     

Think of surplus is a Rainy Day Fund, for the Rainy Day Fund  (reserves)

Rainy-day-gif-animation

What Are Insurance Company Reserves?

The purpose of the reserve requirement is to ensure that if a catastrophic event were to happen, with a large percentage of policyholders affected, the company would have enough money to meet the claims. 

A few articles that may be helpful for a deeper dive into reserves

Principle-Based Reserving: A New Way to Insure for Life | American Academy of Actuaries

Generally there are two minimum requirements for insurers - minimum capital requirement and initial free surplus.

The minimum capital requirement is the bare minimum surplus you can ever have.
The initial free surplus is the safety buffer you have to have when starting a new company.

Every state will have its own solvency regulation  [see Statutory Minimum Capital & Surplus Requirements, from the Uniform Certificate of Authority Applications,  National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 2024]. Insurers are also subject to rosk based capital requirements.

For example here are the minimum capital and surplus requirements for life insurers in CONNECTICUT:

                                           CAPITAL                SURPLUS                 MUTUAL SURPLUS

Life insurance                        $1,000,000             $2,000,000               $3,000,000

 (12/09) CGS §38a-72, Reg. 38a-72-1 to 38a-72-13

What is the Life Actuarial Task Force of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)?

The NAIC’s Life Actuarial (A) Task Force was formed to identify, investigate and develop solutions to actuarial problems in the life insurance industry.  Work to keep reserve, reporting, and other actuarial-related requirements current.

Surplus of Structured Settlement Annuity Issuers as a % of general account assets   [as of Year End 2023  Source: Vital Signs Suite/Ebix Exchange]

American General Life Insurance Co,              7.5%       

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.                      6.1%

Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Co.            7.6%

New York Life Insurance Company                 13.5%

Pacific Life Insurance Company                     10.7%

Prudential Insurance Company of America      12.3%

United of Omaha Life Insurance Company         7.8%

USAA Life Insurance Company                         10.5%

 

Image source: Funnfun.in

Last updated November 27, 2024

 
 

Posted at 08:46 PM in Albany New York Structured Settlements, Bowling Green Kentucky Structured Settlements, Bridgeport Structured Settlements, Bronx New York Structured Settlements, Brooklyn New York Structured Settlements, Connecticut Settlement Planning, Detroit Michigan Structured Settlements, Hartford CT Structured Settlements, Lexington KY Structured Settlements, Long Island NY Structured Settlements, MetLife Structured Settlements, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Missouri Structured Settlements, NC Structured Settlements, New Jersey Structured Settlements, New Orleans Louisiana Structured Settlements, New York Life Insurance Co. Structured Settlements, New York Personal Injury, New York Settlement Planning, New York Structured Settlements, Newburgh Structured Settlements, News About Structured Settlements, NJ Structured Settlements, North Carolina Structured Settlements, Pacific Life Structured Settlements, Palm Beach Structured Settlements, Rhode Island Structured Settlements, Rochester Structured Settlements, Sacramento Structured Settlements, San Francisco Structured Settlements, Santa Monica Structured Settlements, Sarasota Structured Settlements, Settlements in Queens County New York, South Carolina Structured Settlements, St. Louis Structured Settlements, Structured Annuity Issuer, Structured Settlement Information, Structured Settlements Florida, Structured Settlements in Florida, Structured Settlements in Ithaca New York area, Structured Settlements in Kentucky, Structured Settlements in Louisiana, Structured Settlements in Michigan, Structured Settlements in Nassau County, NY, Syracuse Structured Settlements, TX structured settlements, VA Structured Settlements, Washington Structured Settlements, White Plains Structured Settlements, WV Structured Settlements |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2025

  • 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 which specializes in assessing mortality risk to price its life insurance and annuity products. 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 2025
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities in 2025? 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 6, 2025
  • 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 2025
    In 2025, you can structure your settlement payments in various ways. A structured settlement allows for multiple payment types within one agreement. You can tailor and merge different structured settlement payments to suit your individual needs, either alone or alongside other financial instruments. If desired, diversify your structured settlement by utilizing multiple annuity issuers, treasury-funded structured settlements, index-linked structured settlement payments, and market-based structured options.
  • Structured Attorney Fees for Tax Deferral for Attorney Contingency Fees
    Structured attorney fees offer a financial strategy that provides a unique method for deferring taxes for attorneys and their firms. Attorneys can structure or defer their legal fees independently of whether the plaintiff structures their settlement. There are various ways to structure attorney fees, including capped or uncapped index-linked structured settlement annuities with payments adjusted according to the S&P 500 or another index's positive changes. Trial lawyers might also opt for a special deferred payment/compensation arrangement if they seek market-based returns without a cap. As the year-end approaches, consider adding structured attorney fee specialist John Darer® to your settlement planning team for 2025.
  • 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 June 19, 2025
  • 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.
  • Intellectual Property Structured Settlements
    While intellectual property wasn’t a common focus for structured settlements, the growth of IP litigation led to some firms, including 4structures.com, LLC, adapting structured settlements in this context. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act shifted some Intellectual Property assets (e,g, patents) from capital gains treatment to ordinary income treatment, while increasing tax rates on lump-sum sales from 20% to 37%, increasing the appeal of structured settlement options for tax planning. Click through for more details!

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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    With a dedicated readership seeking reliable information on structured settlements, John Darer offers reviews, commentary, and opinions on topical issues related to settlement planning. This content is tailored to lawyers, injured individuals and their families, wrongful death survivors, guardians, judges, magistrates, special masters, mediators, administrators, trust companies, insurance executives and adjusters, financial advisers, settlement professionals, insurance regulators, government leaders, law enforcement, buyers and sellers of structured settlement payment rights, the media, and other stakeholders. 4structures.com LLC established this blog in 2005. John Darer®, CLU, ChFC, MSSC, CeFT®, RSP, CLTC, serves as President of 4structures.com, based in Stamford, CT 06902. An experienced structured settlement expert, broker, Certified Financial Transitionist, and Registered Settlement Planner, John Darer holds insurance licenses in 45 states. With 41 years of financial services experience and 31 years specializing in structured settlements and settlement planning, he is a trusted authority in the field. As an investigative journalist and professional commentator, John Darer strongly believes that scrutinizing business practices is both beneficial and newsworthy. He advocates for injury victims, their families, and legal advisers to engage in settlement planning discussions with properly trained, informed, and licensed professionals. His work provides valuable insights and serves as a deterrent for unethical practices, benefitting practitioners, firms, and those under scrutiny. This blog delivers straightforward content with a touch of humor and irreverence, aiming to educate and entertain its audience. 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 X (formerly Twitter) may also receive select content. If you would like to speak with John Darer he can be reached at (888)325-8640 Thank you for reading! Last updated February 18, 2025

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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
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Why Take a Structured Settlement?

  • A structured settlement provides financial security for personal injury victims, wrongful death survivors, and their families by establishing a stable foundation. Each structured settlement features a negotiated, customized stream of payments that can offer long-term, tax-free income for several years or even a lifetime. Unlike other income annuities, a structured settlement annuity can include multiple payment streams, payable in varying amounts at different times and over different periods, to address diverse needs within a single contract. Last updated July 5,2025

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