Strategic Capital Corporation announces the launch of its new informational website for structured settlement and annuity holders. Strategic Capital Corporation is in business of helping clients exchange their future payments from sources like structured settlements, annuities, casino winnings and lottery winnings for cash.
The new modern website design offers user-friendly navigation and a content rich site which reinforces Strategic Capital as industry experts in the purchase of future payments. The website features a revamped quote request form, simple easy to follow descriptions of the services offered and one click access to the company experts for a no obligation quote or answers to any questions or concerns.
The new site also targets potential Spanish speaking customers by offering a page in Spanish and a dedicated customer service personnel. This option gives Spanish speaking customers an alternative when choosing a company to sell their structured settlement.
“My personal Strategic Team Members, did what they said they would do-and did it when they said they would do it,†Sam, Annuitant. This is just one of the handful of testimonials featured on the website that illustrates Strategic Capital’s genuine passion for helping clients get the most from their future payments.
The experts at Strategic Capital Corporation understand and respect the intricate details that go in to creating a structured settlement and as a result follow a simple straightforward process to better suit clients’ current and future needs. Whether a client needs to pay off medical bills, or further their education, our straightforward process was designed to make the process of selling your future payment fast, simple and flexible.
In what is very good news for those of us who depend on life insurance and annuity companies to provide the products for structured settlements, Prudential Financial and Allstate each posted strong earnings in the last quarter, indicating that the stress of last year may finally be over.
Prudential Financial reported earnings of $538 million for the quarter, with strongest profit growth in their variable annuity and life insurance sales. This continued strength in core products should help stabilize concerns over potential rating drops or a need to raise capital. It also gives those of us who sell structured settlements some breathing room and much-needed good news compared to the last 18 months of trauma.
Allstate earnings exploded from $25 million in the same quarter last year to $389 million in the second quarter of 2009. As we know, the Allstate structured settlement division is on a short leash for the remainder of 2009 due to capacity and case size restrictions. They also terminated their medical underwriting that was likely designed to focus premium into core, moderate size, internally-written structures. It looks as if the steps taken early this year are working. So, much as with Prudential, Allstate now has some breathing room and profits that should lessen rating company concerns and the need to raise capital.
We need all the good news we can get and this is certainly good news.
Now, if we could just get Prudential back into the non-qualified annuity market and get Allstate to lift their capacity/case caps, we might be able to really sell some product!
If you've got a structured settlement and you need to get cash for it, take a moment to consider a couple of very important matters. First of all, it's pretty expensive (to you) to sell your structured settlements for money, at least over the long term. Most people don't realize how much it's going to hurt them and only focus on what they'll get with an immediate lump sum payout.
If you do decide to use a structured settlement brokerage company, you'll need to know a couple of things about the laws regarding this.
First of all, a structured settlement is the periodic payment of damages as arranged by a judgment or settlement to resolve a tort claim. Very often, these periodic payments are tailored and are set up so that they meet the needs of the victim in terms of medical and living expenses. This prevents the victim from having to depend upon taxpayer financed social medicine, welfare, etc.
Laws do protect consumers from brokerage companies that are unscrupulous. Most often, the settlement agreement also specifies a nonassignability clause. Basically, this is unenforceable, though.
It's been estimated that more than 50,000 structured settlements go into the system every year. These settlements give premiums to annuity. What's important to remember is that these premiums are highly favored in terms of the tax treatment you get, whether you are the claimant or the insurer. In turn, this lowers insurers' costs.
Price terms as well are usually pretty unfair to the consumer. In fact, some sales have been shown to be completed with a 12% or 15.8% discount rate, but oftentimes, the rate is as high as 55, 65, or even 75%. The discount rate is calculated on what the purchase price is going to be as well, meaning costs such as brokerage fees that the seller of the contract agrees to. That means that the real cost and rate of the transaction is much lower than the company states it is once everything is said and done. The seller does also not have to be informed of the total cost of the transaction -- at least in terms that are understandable. And because some of the transfer agreements are so unfair, it would appear that there needs to be something put in place whereby consumers are protected from factoring companies that take unfair advantage of them.
Some contend that structured settlement provide crucial financial protection to seriously injured victims, including: protection against premature dissipation of benefits for injured victims; periodic payments tailored to the living and medical needs of the victim and his/her family; and avoiding the shift of responsibility for the victim's care to the taxpayer-financed social safety net. They make the case that that there has been a dramatic growth in the number of factoring companies that are purchasing the future structured payments for a sharply discounted lump sum payment, "taking the structure out of structured settlements. This is a transaction that the injured victim enters into with a 3rd party, completely outside of the structured settlement and without knowledge of the other parties.
Because of this need, a secondary market has arisen whereby companies purchase a portion or all of the individual settlement for one lump sum payment. That lump sum is the result of the discounted present value of the payments the company is purchasing, using discounted rates that average currently between 16 and 18%. These discounted rates take into account the cost of capital, the company's profit, and any inherent risk involved in undertaking the settlement.
All of the careful planning and long term fiscal security for the injured person and his/her family are unraveled by the company offering quick cash at a deep discount for future structured settlement payments. After almost giving away their only assured source of future financial support, many injured victims will face the prospect of public assistance to cover their future medical expenses and basic living expenses.
A structured settlement is usually an annuity set up for recipients of a financial award, normally due to litigation involving an injury or accident. If you are receiving periodic payments from a structured settlement or annuity, you may be interested to know that you can sell part or all of your remaining payments. Selling structured settlements is legal in all states.
You may need court approval in order to sell your payments, but it is your right to receive a lump sum of cash for your structured settlement if you so choose. Many people have found that the small monthly or periodic payments they are receiving are not enough to meet their financial needs or achieve their financial goals. Selling your structured settlement can give you the cash you need to realize your dreams.
You can use the cash for any reason you see fit. Remodeling, starting a business, college education, or any other reason you may have. You do not have to sell all your remaining payments. You can sell a certain number of payments, or you could sell a portion of each of your remaining payments.
You can contact the professional of your choice to help you analyze your situation and your needs, and determine how many payments you would like to sell. The large lump sum you receive in exchange can be a life-changing experience.
Selling your structured settlement is a simple process. You can apply online and a structured settlement expert who will give you an estimate of how much money you could receive in one large lump sum will contact you shortly.
Structured settlements often seem like a great idea until you realize that the small monthly payments do not make a big difference in your overall financial situation. Check into selling some or all of your remaining payments and you could have cash in your hand very soon.
What’s involved when you sell a structured settlement?
If you want to get cash cash for structured settlements, there are some important matters that you should be concerned with. The long term cost of selling your structured settlements for a lump sum payout are substantial. Most people don’t take these costs into consideration and only focus on the immediate impact of a large cash windfall.
What structured settlements mean to most people is that you can get the best possible settlement for everything you might experience — whether it be a slip and fall case to a lifelong injury that’s going to have serious and long lasting consequences. However, structured settlements aren’t just limited to catastrophic injury. In other words, structured settlements don’t just involve lifelong disabilities.
If you’re in a lawsuit, some services “offer” you the ability to “sell” your structured settlements to them. In exchange, they provide you with a lump sum of cash in the event you need this type of financial resource.
There are laws that protect the consumer from unscrupulous brokerage companies. Many times, the settlement agreement contains a nonassignability clause which is basically unenforceable.
Some of the purchase agreements require the consumer to stipulate to a host of provisions which severely restricts consumers rights and raises questions as to their basic fairness. To forestall suit, however, the contracts often require the consumer to defend and hold harmless the purchasing party in any lawsuit.
Price terms as well are usually pretty unfair to the consumer. In fact, some sales have been shown to be completed with a 12% or 15.8% discount rate, but oftentimes, the rate is as high as 55, 65, or even 75%. The discount rate is calculated on what the purchase price is going to be as well, meaning fees such as brokerage expenses that the seller of the contract agrees to. That means that the real cost and rate of the transaction is much lower than the company states it is once everything is said and done. The seller does also not have to be informed of the total cost of the transaction — at least in terms that are understandable. And because some of the transfer agreements are so unfair, it would appear that there needs to be something put in place whereby consumers are protected from factoring companies that take unfair advantage of them.
Some say that structured settlements give financial protection that’s sorely needed to severely injured victims, so that they are protected from having their benefits prematurely dissipated; periodic payments are tailored to the medical and living expenses of the victim and the victim’s family, and it avoids shifting the responsibility for the victim’s care to the social safety net financed by taxpayers. These same people say that factoring companies that purchase future structure payments for sharply discounted lump sum payments are dramatically on the rise. This means that the structure is taken out of the structured settlements, in that the injured victim enters into this with a third party, thus going completely outside of the structured settlement without knowledge of any other parties involved in the structured settlement itself.
According to industry watchdogs, the shady side of the structured settlement factoring business is rapidly growing. One company announced that it has undertaken more than 7,700 structured settlement purchase transactions with a total value of $370 million. During the first nine months of 1997, the same company undertook more than 3,700 structured settlement purchases paying $74 million for $163 million of structured settlement payments.
The National Association of Settlement Purchasers (NASP) is composed of companies that purchase deferred payment obligations, including structured settlements. It is a nonprofit. It was formed in July of 1996, and this organization, along with its member companies, support reasonable regulation whereby the rights of consumers who want to sell structured settlement payment rights are still protected. Because of this, the organization has adopted a code of ethics, including consumer suitability of protection standards. It has also implemented a fraud alert system. The organization seeks to provide claimant representatives and claimants themselves with legal, ethical and efficient means by which to obtain liquid funds from inflexible structured settlement schedules. NASP is active in a number of states, and is currently working to pass comprehensive legislation in those states that would protect the interests of personal-injury victims both when the settlement agreement is reached, and in the event the individual or his/her representatives seek to liquidate a portion or all of the structured settlement in the future.
