Blog

The Cordero Case

On March 14, 2023, the New York State Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the matter of Cordero v. Transamerica (Cordero Case) – a significant case for structured settlements because it challenges important assumptions about contractual rights and duties among settlement recipients, assignment companies and annuity providers. Plaintiff Lujerio Cordero (Cordero) is/was a structured settlement...

A Structured Settlement Interview with ChatGPT: An Introduction

Introduction ChatGPT is a chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022. You can access a trial version for free. Using ChatGPT’s inquiry process, Independent Life received the unedited answers below to the indicated questions we submitted. *Independent Life does not claim to validate the accuracy, or lack thereof, of ChatGPT’s responses to Independent Life’s questions. Likewise,...

ChatGPT Discusses Qualified Settlement Funds (QSFs)

Introduction ChatGPT is a chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022. You can access a trial version for free. Continuing a structured settlement discussion with Independent Life, ChatGPT responded to our questions below about Qualified Settlement Funds (QSFs)  as well as more general questions about Structured Settlements in this prior Independent Life article. *Independent Life does not...

Assignment of Rights or Delegation of Duties?

Introduction A single structured settlement often involves multiple areas of law – including tort, tax, contract, Social Security, insurance, to name just a few. Sometimes laws impacting a structured settlement not only overlap but also conflict thereby creating potential problems and/or confusion. For example, although structured settlement periodic payments generally are excluded from federal income...

Achieving and Sustaining Structured Settlement Growth

Premium Success in 2022 Propelled by record fourth quarter production exceeding $2 billion of annuity premium, which surprised many industry participants including this writer, 2022 structured settlement annuity production currently is estimated to have exceeded $6 billion. Congratulations to structured settlement professionals, annuity providers and other industry stakeholders who contributed to this success! As an...

Medicare Set-Aside Arrangements

Introduction How strategically important are Medicare Set-Aside (MSA) arrangements for the structured settlement market – and what is the current size and the future potential of this structured settlement submarket? Historically, the exact size of the structured settlement MSA market has been impossible to measure and difficult to estimate. The structured settlement industry reports annuity...