USDOJ Calendar List of Annuity Brokers | Brokers May Have to Prove Qualifications on Assignments

by John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC

The United States Department of Justice Civil Division published its 2019 Calendar Year List of Annuity Brokers in a Memorandum to All United States Attorneys.

United States Attorneys assign cases on behalf of the United States government

United States Attorneys assign cases for structured settlement annuity brokerage on behalf of the United States government for Federal Tort Claims Act  (FTCA) cases.

Despite the fact that 28 C.F.R. § 50.24 requires each broker to declare, among other things, under penalty of perjury that the broker has substantial experience in each of the past three years in providing structured settlement brokerage services to or on behalf of defendants or their counsel, there are brokers on the list whose websites and marketing to trial lawyers suggest that they perform no defense assigned work.  

With this in mind it's poignant that the nature of the list and the ramifications concerning the declarations are stated in more explicit detail than ever before in the current publication.

"(1) The inclusion of an annuity broker on the list signifies only that the individual declared under penalty of perjury that he or she meets the minimum qualifications required by the Attorney General for providing annuity  The appearance of an annuity broker's name on the list does not signify that the annuity broker actually meets the minimum qualifications or is otherwise competent to provide structured settlement brokerage services to the United States. Title 28 C.F.R. § 50.24 provides the following disclaimers: brokerage services in connection with structured settlements entered into by the United States. Because the decision to include an individual annuity broker on the list is based solely and exclusively on the Declaration submitted by the annuity broker, the appearance of an annuity broker's name on the list does not signify that the annuity broker actually meets those minimum qualifications or is otherwise competent to provide structured settlement brokerage services to the United States. No preferential consideration will be given to an annuity broker appearing on the list except to the extent that United States Attorneys utilize the list pursuant to section 11015(b) of Public Law 107-273.

(2) By submitting a Declaration to the Department of Justice, the individual annuity broker agrees that the Declaration and the list each may be made public in its entirety, and the annuity broker expressly consents to such release and disclosure of the Declaration and list.

Accordingly, any broker being considered for selection should be required to verify at the time of selection that he or she meets the minimum qualifications set forth in 28 C.F.R. § 50.24(a) and is otherwise competent to provide structured settlement brokerage services to the United States". (Emphasis added)