Kiplinger gets it right on structured settlement annuities

It's always nice to be favorably quoted in the press. Recently, Kiplinger columnist and physical injury attorney Dennis Beaver quoted me in his monthly legal advice column. Beaver looked at accident and wrongful death settlements, specifically alternatives to lump sum insurance settlements:

Accident victims need a secure place for their settlement funds. Financial or political uncertainties could do real damage to stock portfolios.... While stock investments have the potential for growth, they can and do fall, bonds can be called, and either can result in serious economic risk....

Among the key points Beaver raised in his column was the importance of choosing a financial expert who has the structured settlement industry's "Certified Structured Settlement Consultant" designation. The structured settlement industry controls access to this program and for decades they have kept out those in the structured settlement purchasing industry:

Make sure your structured settlement consultant has a certification. The University of Texas, among other institutions, runs a certification program requiring graduates to demonstrate competency in insurance and financial strategies. “The program does a good job in promoting industry competence,” says Peter Arnold, a certified structured settlement consultant for 20 years. “It’s also been effective in freezing out people outside the structured settlement industry, especially financial planners and the settlement purchasing industry.”

Click here for Dennis' column. It's worth reading.