Litigation

WHY Do Certain Structured Settlement Industry Websites Continue to Skirt New York Insurance Law?

Posted on June 13, 2009
This is the FOURTH time that this author has written on the subject in the last year. New York Insurance Law § 2122(b) (McKinney 2000), entitled "advertising by insurance agents and brokers", provides as follows: "Every agent of any insurer...

The Hartford Gets TARPed...To Issue New Stock

Posted on June 12, 2009
Hartford Financial Services Group ("The Hartford") has announced plans to sell up to $750 million in stock and formally announced it will participate in the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP").The participation is not unexpected and various news reports...

How Long Does A Structured Settlement Last?

Posted on June 12, 2009
The question of how long does a structured settlement last is today's Structured Settlement FAQ. The answer is " a structured settlement lasts virtually as long as you want!" A structured settlement is fully customizable and there are many types...

Odd Pigeon Droppings

Posted on June 11, 2009
1+1= Pigeon Hole "Settlement Planning starts from the premise that structured settlements are not the answer to everything that everyone needs or wants to do with their settlement dollars". "Settlement Professionals Inc. is a nationwide Structured Settlement Company" Just an...

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Mattress Savings?

Posted on June 11, 2009
Ma Nish Ta Na? To paraphrase one of "The Four Questions" Why is this day different from all other days? On every other day we see ways that you can save money ON a mattress Today we see how "Sealy"...

Life Insurance Policy Contestable Period

Posted on June 10, 2009
There seems to be some confusion over what the contestable period of a life insurance policy means judging by the following question which appears on another industry website. A visitor to The Settlement Channel writes: "I have noticed lately that...

The True Cost of Poor Settlement Planning

Posted on June 09, 2009
Structured settlements offer many valuable benefits to tort victims. But too much of any "good thing" is not necessarily a GOOD THING. The purpose of this post is to make structured settlement consultants, attorneys , judges and tort victims aware...

Financial Statistics That Shape The Lives Of Tort Victims and Ourselves

Posted on June 07, 2009
Stat 1 The S&P Case-Shiller index of home values has fallen to where it was in 2002. Current national savings rate 5.7%, highest since February 1995. Nearly 6% of fixed-rate mortgages to borrowers with good credit were in the foreclosure...

Pet Care Trusts For Connecticut Tort Victims

Posted on June 05, 2009
Connecticut tort victims with pets would be able establish trusts for the care of their pets under new legislation that won unanimous approval on June 2, 2009 in the Connecticut House. Assuming the legislation is signed into law by Governor...

New Qualifed Assignment Company for AI Life Structured Settlements

Posted on June 05, 2009
The qualified assignment company for structured settlements funded with annuities issued by American International Assurance Company of New York will change to American General Annuity Service Corporation (AGASC) effective with cases locked in or funded on or after July 1,...

Rated Age Abuse of Insurers By Structured Settlement Brokers Under Investigation

Posted on June 04, 2009
The number of rated age requests going to structured annuity underwriting departments with no business to follow is a blood gorged clot, clogging the structured settlement service artery and affecting everyone's ability to service business in the structured settlement industry...

Structured Settlement Market Capacity and Service Issues

Posted on June 04, 2009
One aspect of the withdrawal from the market of Aviva and last quarter's downgrade of Hartford that has yet to be commented on publicly is that the normal "rhythm" of business has been disrupted for the surviving markets, brokers and...

Non Qualified Structured Settlement Annuities..Who Writes Them?

Posted on June 04, 2009
With the announcement by Prudential that it has suspended new business via its Pruco non qualified assignment facility, the market now includes: Allstate International Assignments, Ltd., which funds assigned obligations through Allstate Life Insurance Company and Allstate Life Insurance Company...

Former "Top Young Lawyer" Admits to Being a $9MM Thief

Posted on June 03, 2009
Steven Eugene Cauley, former partner in Little Rock, Arkansas, law firm Cauley Bowman Carney & Williams LLC, pled guilty to charges of stealing more than $9 million of client's money from the case "in re BISYS Securities Litigation 04-3840 in...

Sound Financial Advice From The Genex Capital Proct-ologist?

Posted on June 03, 2009
The following sound bytes come from a video Genex Capital ad featuring Roger Proctor, CEO of the "cash now pusher" "Were you 'taken advantage of', 'pressured into' or 'not properly informed' of the "REAL TERMS" of your structured settlement when...

Purveyor of Structured Settlement Software Drops Trademark

Posted on June 03, 2009
Structureonline has apparently canceled its trademark"structureonline" as of January 31, 2009 according to records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Hindert Spam Farm Goes Sartorial

Posted on June 02, 2009
The latest "dandelion" on the Beyond Structured Settlements spam comment farm is from a custom (bespoke) tailor in Toronto who "had something to say" about NSSTA leadership. If Hindert is not going to post regularly and is either (1) too...

More than Half of Insurance Consumers Now Seek Information Over Internet Says LIMRA

Posted on June 01, 2009
It's no secret that insurance consumers are using the Internet for more information on individual products. Now a 2009 report by The Life Insurance Research and Marketing Association (LIMRA) "Trends in Consumer Internet Use for Insurance: The Growing Role of...

"Pioneers" of PLANTIFFS' Rights Blaze New Trail

Posted on June 01, 2009
Forge Consulting, those pioneers of "PLANTIFF'S" rights seem to have broken new ground, according to the Alexa search metric. One of the keywords that drove the most traffic to the company site is "DEFERD guaranted payments" (undelined for emphasis). Download...

Prudential Explains Why It Is Putting Brakes on Non Qualified Structured Settlements

Posted on May 30, 2009
The official reason given that Pru pulled out of the non qualified structure market was management's perception of limited success, of which 50% was structured attorney fees. It appears management felt that the attorney fee market could be served using...

A Poem Inspired by J.G. Wentworth Chapter 11 Filing

Posted on May 29, 2009
Hello Patrick, my old friend Pardon me I must gloat, again That JG Wentworth who you once embraced, Filed Chapter 11 leaving you disgraced, And the mirth swirling around our brains The "Thought Leader" NOT still remains. In September you...

Prudential Bombshell! No More Non Qualified Assignments Through Pruco!

Posted on May 29, 2009
Effective immediately, Prudential has decided to suspend the sale of annuities in connection with non?qualified assignments through Pruco Assignment Corporation (?PAC?). In recognition of open cases that brokers may currently have pending, PAC is authorized to accept purchase commitments (?lock...

"Worst Slide Story"

Posted on May 28, 2009
If you enjoy gallows humor you will enjoy Walt Handelsman's irreverent cartoon parody of West Side Story which appeared last month in Newsday online. If you can view Flash animation on your computer then follow this link : http://www.newsday.com/media/flash/2009-04/46217527...

Structuredsettlementreferencesonline.com is bloody useless!

Posted on May 28, 2009
Some made for Adsense geek has created a new blog website called "Structured Settlement References Online" that can be found at structuredsettlementreferencesonline(dot) com and is anything but what the name suggests. Much of the information has been culled from the...

John Darer/Jan Schlichtmann Interview on Legal Broadcast Network Voices of The Law

Posted on May 27, 2009
Following is my interview with Jan Schlichtmann which appears on the Voices of The Law Channel of The Legal Broadcast Network. Watch the interview and learn why I became a watch dog and why do what I do. Note: A...

Longer Rated Age Response Times From Structured Annuity Issuers

Posted on May 27, 2009
We are observing a trend of longer response times after submitting medicals for rated ages. What was once the matter of several hours is now taking 24-48 hours in some cases. Whether the cause is a matter of a trimmed...

J.G. Wentworth Bankruptcy Confirmation Hearing June 1, 2009

Posted on May 27, 2009
J.G. Wentworth announced that the confirmation hearing for the prepackaged bankruptcy plan filed May 19, 2009 for its non-operating holding company affiliates has been set for June 1, 2009. J.G. Wentworth reports that over 90% of the term lenders (the...

Registered Settlement Planner Designation Indicates Serious Commitment to Settlement Profession

Posted on May 26, 2009
There is a growing concern on the part of regulatory agencies ? including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Senate Committee on Aging ? that unscrupulous advisors are using dubious credentials to take advantage...

Summit Settlements Channel " I Erased My Stretch Marks in Less Than One Month"

Posted on May 25, 2009
One cannot blame the Legal Broadcast Network for seeking to monetize its channels by selling advertisements, but what one must realize is that many of the ads are contextual in that the ads are matched to the content on the...

State Insurance Department Phone Numbers and Links

Posted on May 25, 2009
4structures.com, LLC has posted a useful web page which contains the phone numbers and links to every state insurance department in the United States. Each state insurance department has a website which contains information useful to consumers, including tort victims...

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