Litigation

LIMRA Report Suggests Structured Settlement Annuities on Track For Benchmark

Posted on August 17, 2010
Structured settlement annuity sales (in the primary market) reached $1.5B for Q2 2010 according to the Life Insurance Market Research Association (LIMRA) U.S. Individual Annuities Second Quarter 2010 Sales Report, which represents 96 percent of the market and was released...

Insurance Industry Stronger Overall Than Banking Industry Says Weiss

Posted on August 16, 2010
"The bulk of the assets in the life and annuity insurance industry are controlled by relatively strong and stable institutions, making it stronger overall than the banking industry," said Martin D. Weiss, president of Weiss Ratings, the only major rating...

Is Indiana Bankruptcy Lawyer a Copy Cat? You Be The Judge

Posted on August 16, 2010
I wonder if B. Scott Skillman appreciates the irony of the cat picture on his Bankruptcy Law Blog. Because apparently he's a virtual copycat! The bankruptcy lawyer from Terre Haute Indiana's piece" Why Do I need to know tax law?"...

"5 Things Every Plaintiff Attorney Should Know About Tax Law": Well NOT Quite!

Posted on August 15, 2010
Pardon me for stepping on the credentialed toes of an LLM in Taxation from the University of Florida and a Law Degree but in this case I can't help myself. The well intentioned effort by Erica Dunmyer of Fort Lauderdale,...

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Rocky Mountain High(er) For Structured Settlement Annuitants

Posted on August 15, 2010
The Colorado General Assembly Digest of Bills for 2010 includes something of interest to those in the structured settlement planning profession. The purpose of this post is to share information with those individuals. This author does not sell to, solicit...

Imperial Holdings Files IPO to Finance Structured Settlement Operation

Posted on August 13, 2010
The inability to get traditional financing is leading some factoring companies to seek equity financing. Indeed on August 12, 2010 an Initial Public Offering (IPO) was announced for the common stock of Imperial Holdings, Inc. According to Reuters the $287...

Rhonda Bentzen LinkedIn. Why Are THESE Companies Omitted by Factoring Intermediary?

Posted on August 13, 2010
Channeling my inner Columbo, "just one more thing"... Missing from Society of Settlement Planners' Treasurer Rhonda Bentzen's published resume on LinkedIn: Structured Financial Associates Stone Street Capital Structured Asset Funding Exploring Bentzen's inconsistency...

No Lapse Guarantee Universal Life: A New Paradigm Shift?

Posted on August 12, 2010
The pull out of Sun Life from the No Lapse guarantee UL market represents the second major life insurer to jettison the popular product in the past couple of years. In early 2009 AXA Equitable stopped offering the product. No...

"We Don't Live on Lump Sums; we live on income": The Case For Annuities-1

Posted on August 11, 2010
In this month's Advisor Today John Rafferty, VP Marketing at American General opines that understanding the "lump sum-to-income" conversion math is not second nature to most people and that a better retirement can be created by helping people adopt an...

Drop in Structured Settlement Annuity Sales? Not Prudential!

Posted on August 10, 2010
Seems like more and more personal injury plaintiffs and their attorneys want a "piece of the rock" these days. Prudential Structured Settlements announced to its distribution network that it had its best sales quarter since it began offering structured annuities...

Structured Settlement Payment Buyer Opportunities of the Week: 5.00% for 4 Years! 5.4% for 8 Years!

Posted on August 09, 2010
If you are looking for an alternative to CDs or bonds for your IRA or pension consider structured settlement payment right, have a look below: Some of the opportunities available this week for those seeking to buy structured settlement payment...

Smith Bucklin and NSSTA: The Story Continues to Bear Fruit, Raises Questions

Posted on August 09, 2010
Diane Swenson, a former Executive Vice President of, with 13 years of service to . the American Tort Reform Association, WAS listed on as the TREASURER of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association Political Action Committee (NSSTAPAC), according to the...

Life Insurance Company Retained Asset Accounts for Policy Death Benefits

Posted on August 07, 2010
The New York Attorney General is conduction an investigation into how life insurance companies handle death benefits. It has subpoenaed a number of companies including Northwestern Mutual, Prudential Financial, Inc, MetLife, inc., New York Life Insurance Company, Genworth Financial and...

Plaintiff Attorneys Warned Of Legal Malpractice From Settlement Planners Who Can't Read Cited Cases

Posted on August 07, 2010
A Society of Settlement Planners Board member needs to get their facts straight. Based on what appears on the Settlement Professionals Inc. website today, former SSP President Jack Meligan, gifted settlement planner from Oregon, a yellow highlighter "black belt", could...

Structured Settlement Broker Relations "Dog Pound"

Posted on August 06, 2010
This morning I received a phone call from a structured settlement broker concerning a case with an approach so boorish it need not be be fully described here. The broker, who was not even insurance licensed in the state where...

Deflation is an Ideal Environment For High Quality Fixed Income Assets- WSJ

Posted on August 05, 2010
Those concerned about yields on structured settlements and other fixed income instruments should have a look at Smart Money columnist James B. Stewart's piece in the August 4, 2010 Wall Street Journal entitled "Defending Against Deflation". He says: "Deflation is...

Financial Literacy Moments of 2010: Blog Rodent Alert-2

Posted on August 04, 2010
Everybody Get up and Do "The Blog Rodent Dance" Jatupat Limpanarom is this week's Blog Rodent for excreting rat droppings on a website that does a pathetic to describe structured settlements on cashforstructuredsettlement.us for what appears to be the sole...

Structured Settlement Malaprop of The Day: The A "Bridge" d Version

Posted on August 03, 2010
"To hold down the cost for the client the structured settlement broker will try to obtain an impaired life expectancy for the claimant". Structured Settlement Company web site 08/03/2010 At 4structures.com, LLC we actually like to keep our clients: (1)...

Structured Settlements 4Real Blog Ranked in Top 15 of Blawgs by Justia

Posted on August 03, 2010
Justia Blawg search has ranked Structured Settlements 4Real 14th in its weekly ranking of legal subject matter blogs (blawgs). Ranking as of August 3, 2010 Blawgs are ranked based on the number of visits to the Blawg from the Justia...

Live From Las Vegas! It's NSSTA v NASP "Celebrity Death Match" ?

Posted on August 03, 2010
I think I've got to the bottom of the controversial decision to move the National Structured Settlements Trade Association Fall Educational meeting from Talking Stick, AZ to Las Vegas. Some say immigration "was a factor" in the decision, but it...

"In Force" Structured Settlement Payment Buyer Opportunities of the Week: 5.01% for 5 Years! 5.4% for 8 Years!

Posted on August 02, 2010
If you are looking for an alternative to CDs or bonds for your IRA or pension consider structured settlement payment right, have a look below: Some of the opportunities available this week for those seeking to buy structured settlement payment...

HaveYou Lost Money? Calculate Your Financial Comeback!

Posted on August 02, 2010
Figure out how much you need to contribute and/or earn in order to get your portfolio back to where it was. Also useful as a savings/retirement plan projection. The New York Times has a very useful interactive graphic calculator. Calculate...

Which legitimate structured settlement industry websites are getting the most Internet traffic? August 2010

Posted on August 01, 2010
Which legitimate structured settlement industry websites are getting the most Internet traffic? Three Month Trailing Top 10 Global Traffic Rank (Alexa Rank as of 08/01/2010) of Structured Settlement and Settlement Planning Industry websites* (+ or- traffic from 06/29/2010 report)...

MetLife Q2 2010 Earnings up 41% from Q1; Structured Settlements Up 9%

Posted on July 30, 2010
The good news on structured settlement annuity issuers continues to pour in. This just in from the MetLife, the country's largest insurer and one of the biggest issuers of structured settlement annuities. "MetLife continued to deliver strong results during the...

Is Buying From Bentzen's "Used Structured Annuity Lot" a Conflict of Interest?

Posted on July 30, 2010
The word from the "dog park" is that Rhonda Bentzen is apparently offering up structured settlement payment rights for purchase to members of the structured settlement industry. The question that LEAPS OUT is how much of a conflict of interest...

NSSTA Regional To Feature Segment On " In Force" Structured Settlement Annuity Mkt

Posted on July 30, 2010
This author has learned that the NSSTA will feature a segment on the In Force structured settlement annuity market at its Regional Meeting in Las Vegas to be held in mid November 2010. It is believed to be the first...

Plaintiff Settlement Solutions: I Hate To Sound Like The FiOs Mom, BUT...

Posted on July 29, 2010
Plaintiff Settlement Solutions says: A structured settlement annuity will guarantee periodic payments over a lifetime or over a specific period of time. Also known as "period certain." An annuity is an investment vehicle in which the plaintiff allows all or...

NSSTA Announces New Mission as "Injury Victims Advocacy Group"

Posted on July 29, 2010
The National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA) has apparently repositioned itself as an "injury victims advocacy group" for structured settlement benefits, according to a press release issued July 29, 2010. The NSSTA is a substantial sponsor of the American Association...

"Value Added Services, Rebating and Inducements Under New York Insurance Law

Posted on July 29, 2010
For those pondering the question concerning the issue of advertising or providing of free or discounted services (such as legal services, discounted mortgage services, pre settlement financing) for plaintiffs or attorneys, in connection with or tied to the placement of...

SSP 2009 IRS Return 990-EZ Confirms Factoring Intermediary is Director of Settlement Planners Society

Posted on July 29, 2010
First we had the verbal information from 4 independent sources. Then we obtained a copy of an broadcasted email from an insider which stated that the reins of Treasurer were bing turned over to the factoring intermediary. Today we have...

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