Disability Law

2008 NSSTA Annual Meeting - 2

By Patrick Hindert

S2KM summarized the 2008 Annual Meeting of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA) in a prior blog post (2008 NSSTA Annual Meeting - 1). This blog post highlights industry issues and S2KM questions resulting from the NSSTA meeting.

"Transitional Industry" - in his first comments to NSSTA's membership, new NSSTA Executive Director Joseph Ricci characterized structured settlements as a "transitional industry". NSSTA's 2008 President Chris Diamantis and Michael Miller, Chairperson of NSSTA's Legal Committee, reinforced Ricci's perspective of industry change.

Industry Issue: what is the future of structured settlements?

NSSTA's Analytic Framework

• NSSTA's immediate past President Henry Strong identified NSSTA's management priorities during the NSSTA 2007 Fall Meeting:
  • Expand the structured settlement market;
  • Recapture the structured settlement brand;
  • Improve NSSTA's Internet technology competences;
  • Increase NSSTA's financial strength and accountability.
• NSSTA's new President Chris Diamantis identified NSSTA's strategic priorities during the NSSTA 2008 Annual Meeting:
  • Factoring
  • Advocacy and marketing
  • Professionalism
  • Governance and communication

S2KM Questions

• Expand the structured settlement market
  • What market growth would result from successfully integrating structured settlements and other government benefits with legislation and regulations that specifically address structured settlements?
  • What legal authority currently exists for structured settlements and other government benefits - including Medicare; Medicaid; Section 8 Housing; and Veterans benefits?
  • What specific legislation and regulations are necessary and possible to accomplish this integration and market growth?
  • What public policies and other trade associations would favor such legislation and regulations?
  • What is NSSTA's strategy for defining and enacting such legislation and regulations?
  • What NSSTA educational marketing supports this strategy?
• Recapture the structured settlement brand
  • Who has what ownership rights to the "structured settlement" brand?
  • Did factoring companies steal the "structured settlement" brand - or has the primary market abandoned its customers by failing to proactively identify and address customer needs?
  • What impact has NSSTA's post-2001 factoring strategy had upon the growth of:
    • The primary structured settlement market?
    • The secondary structured settlement market?
• Improve NSSTA's Internet competencies
  • How are the world's leading trade associations and communities of practice using the Internet?
  • What about trade associations with whose members NSSTA members regularly interact?
  • What learning strategies and tools do these associations and communities utilize for Internet-based communication, collaboration and knowledge management?
  • What are the current Internet skill sets, applications and tools of NSSTA and NSSTA members?
  • What Internet skill sets, applications and resources are most important for NSSTA and NSSTA's members?
  • How does the Internet impact the structured settlement brand and NSSTA's business model?
• Increase NSSTA's financial strength and accountability
  • What is NSSTA's current financial status?
  • What financial information does NSSTA share with its members?
  • What are NSSTA's options and strategy for increasing:
    • NSSTA membership;
    • NSSTA PAC contributions?
  • Should NSSTA members anticipate dues increases?
  • Are NSSTA dues increases necessary and/or justifiable?
  • From a financial perspective, what are NSSTA's most important resources and priorities?
• Factoring
  • Why is factoring NSSTA's #1 strategic issue?
  • What are NSSTA's current factoring objectives and strategy?
  • What successes can NSSTA identify for its post-2001 factoring strategy?
  • Will NSSTA's new factoring strategy include:
    • Industry leadership for structured settlement factoring transaction issues?
    • Education for NSSTA members and structured settlement stakeholders about the secondary markets?
    • Discussion about best secondary market practices for annuity providers and structured settlement intermediaries?
    • Communication and shared learning with the National Association of Settlement Purchasers (NASP);
    • Review of the NSSTA Bylaw Amendments about factoring?
• Advocacy and marketing
  • What, and to whom, is NSSTA advocating and marketing?
  • What is NSSTA's strategy for growing the structured settlement market?
  • What is NSSTA's strategy for integrating structured settlements with other government benefits?   
    
  • What is NSSTA's Internet strategy for advocating and marketing structured settlements?
  • Which other trade associations represent potential NSSTA partners for advocating and marketing structured settlements?   
  • What is NSSTA's political position for single claimant 468B funds?
• Professionalism
  • What is the status of the Brokers Relationship Initiative (BRI) and the BRI "Standards of Professional Conduct for Structured Settlement Consultants"?
  • Have any NSSTA Directors or representatives compared:   
    
    • The proposed BRI Standards of Professional Conduct (claim management) with the newly enacted SSP Standards of Professional Conduct (settlement planning)?
    • The current NSSTA certification program curriculum (CSSC - claim management) with the SSP certification program (RSP - settlement planning)?   
  • In advocating and marketing structured settlements, when will NSSTA address standards of professional practice for its own members?   
    
• Governance and communication
  
  • What has NSSTA done to identify, recruit and promote the next generation of structured settlement leaders?
  • Who are the next structured settlement leaders?
  • How is NSSTA using the Internet to improve its governance and communication?   
    
  • What is NSSTA's policy and strategy for working with:
    
    • Other trade associations?
    • Structured settlement journalists?
  • Is NSSTA enforcing its recent factoring Bylaw Amendments?   
    
  • How does NSSTA evaluate its own performance - including the performance of its committees and management company?   
  • How can web 2.0 tools and technologies improve NSSTA's performance?

For additional S2KM coverage about NSSTA, see S2KM's Structured Settlement Wiki.

Disclaimer: Patrick Hindert, S2KM's Managing Director and blog author, is a member of NSSTA.  Hindert formerly served as a NSSTA President, Director, Treasurer, NSSTA PAC Chairperson, and Chairperson of NSSTA's Legislation and Regulation Committee.  However, neither S2KM nor Hindert speak for or on behalf of NSSTA or any other trade association.

Full post as published by Beyond Structured Settlements on April 26, 2008 (boomark / email).