Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and John Darer Reviews

United of Omaha Rolls Out Structured Settlement Annuity Program

by John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC

Welcome back to the "Wild Kingdom" of structured settlements, United of Omaha Life Insurance Company! The Mutual of Omaha subsidiary is in the midst of a roll out which will offer greater choices to structured settlement recipients and increase the competitiveness of the structured settlement marketplace.

A few key facts for those who are interested:

United of Omaha Life Insurance Company

Home Office: Omaha, NE

Financial Ratings

A.M. Best  A+XV (Superior)

Moodys Aa3

Standard and Poor's A+

Weiss Ratings  B+  (apparently better than United States government debt, according to Weiss Ratings' letter system)

• Qualified Assignment Company is Mutual of Omaha Structured Settlements Company  ("MOSSCO"), incorporated in the State of Connecticut.
• United of Omaha Life Insurance Company will issue a guarantee of the obligations of MOSSCO, the assignee.
• Minimum Premium $10,000
• Assignmment Fee $750
• Daily Rates on cases with a size of $250,000 or greater

Structured Attorney Fees and Rated Ages are not offered during the rollout but will possibly be part of the next phase, according to our sources.

United of Omaha is not a Structured Settlement Option in New York

United of Omaha Life Insurance Company structured annuities are not offered in the State of New York. Another Mutual of Omaha subsidiary Companion Life Insurance Company may possibly be a distribution channel for such annuities in the future.

 

Mutual of Omaha Names National Sales Director for Structured Settlements

Mutual of Omaha named Betty Gregware as the National Sales Director for Structured Settlements June 21, 2011. Betty has 20 years of experience with structured settlements working as both a broker and with several life companies, including Genworth and John Hancock and currently serves on the Board of directors for the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA).  I'm very happy for Betty who not only possesses the knowledge that come with her years of experience, but she is well connected, pleasant to work with and very "can do".

Mutual of Omaha is re-entering the structured settlement market in the very near future, according to Melanie Rose, Director, Annuities Product Management, for Mutual of Omaha, the second Omaha Nebraska based company to re-enter the structured settlement market this year. Berkshire Hathaway re-entered the market earlier this year.

 

Structured Settlement Annuities: Interest Among Life Insurers is Increasing As New Companies Enter

Interest in single premium immediate annuities is emerging among insurers, financial advisers and clients, according to the April 2011 issue of Best's Review (p68). Structured settlement annuities combined elements of single premium immediate annuities and deferred annuities as well as other types of cash flows.

The second and quarters are slated to see the largest increase in structured settlement market capacity for some time with the following companies entering or returning and increasing overall capacity

In now

Berkshire Hathaway (returned to the market)

May 1, 2011

USAA Life and USAA Life of NY (wider rollout for use beyond USAA casualty cases)

June 2011 (estimated)

United of Omaha

July 2011

Hartford Life Insurance Company (returning to the market after 1 1/2 years).

Tulsa Oklahoma "head hunter" Richard B. Risk, Esq. didn't kill them after all. Apparently it was just a "flesh wound"

Best Review says (and plaintiff attorneys and plaintiffs should take note) "the problem for advisers has always been that SPIA purchases (and structured settlements) detract from assets under management. a basis for how much advisers get paid in their practices".

CAVEAT TO PLAINTIFF LAWYERS, ADJUSTERS and INJURED PERSONS

While we heartily welcome all these markets back, recognize that life insurance companies are institutional "battleships", that roll out their product slowly so they can gear up their systems to handle capacity. The structured settlement watchdog would like to issue a warning that some early structured settlement broker appointees may attempt to solicit you based on the idea that they have one or more markets than another company. Don't fall for the trap.  There are plenty of high quality structured annuity companies in play now and, regardless of how many markets enter, some of the companies that are already in play have shown stability by having stayed the course during and after the financial crisis.

Also please note that some of the new entrants may be niche players , have unique underwriting requirements and may not offer rated ages.

Mutual of Omaha Structured Settlements Returns to "Wild Kingdom" of Structured Settlement Annuities

by John Darer CLU ChFC CSSC RSP

Mutual of Omaha returned to the structured settlement annuity businesin 2010.  This was great news for injury victims, personal injury lawyers and structured settlement consultants as it offers better price competition and more opportunities for diversification of structured settlements in their settlement recoveries.

Mutual of Omaha has been in business since March 5, 1909, when it was incorporated in Nebraska as  Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Association. A rebranding in 1962 saw the name change to Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company. For 8 years beginnng in 1963 the company sponsored Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom was a staple of family TV on Sunday nights and won 4 Emmy Awards,

According to its 2023 year end financials, United of Omaha, had just over $38.5B in assets.  2023_United_of_omaha_audited_statutory_financial_statements.pdf (mutualofomaha.com)

It's third party financial ratings at the time of posting are:

A.M. Best   A+ (Superior)

Moodys   A1 (Excellent)

Standard & Poors   A+ (Very Strong)

 

Read more about the company history of Mutual of Omaha

Last updated August 26, 2024