The Exotic Trip
In my past 20+ years of creating thorough settlement plans for clients, I’ve used many different insurance companies to help create the best outcomes. While it’s true that some insurance companies will offer various incentives to get more business, like exotic trips, and that some Insurance companies want to only buy your annuity thru themselves, it’s most important to remember that the person you hire should be loyal to you and you alone. Your consultant is responsible for providing you with the best rates, period, for your structured settlement annuity. I’ve been on exotic trips, and as you can imagine they’re fun, but only because that company happened to have the best annuity rates.
In every case, I survey the market so that I can provide you with the best rate from the most highly rated annuity company. You are welcome to choose a company, whose rate is lower, simply because you like them; you may have had a positive past experience with the company. That’s ok; it means you’ll be making your choice having had all of the pertinent information beforehand.
Additionally, and especially in larger cases, please consider splitting your benefits between different companies. Seems simple enough, yet I’m constantly surprised how many folks were not given the suggestion. If you yourself decide to place your benefits with only one company that’s ok; it should not, however, be de facto.
Strategic Settlements True Story
Consider you’re a 16 year old riding an ATV on your family’s farm. You cross onto a neighboring property and boom, you’re on the ground in pain, left for hours, until you’re found because you’ve ridden thru a metal cable that was strung from tree to tree across the trail; you’re paralyzed from the waist down. Fast forward 2 years; your lawsuit is going to settle; certainly a relief. However, because you’re 16 and the idea of finding a good job down the road feels remote, you wonder how you might make it moving forward. You currently would qualify for government benefits if you were 18, but you know when your case settles you won’t because your settlement will disqualify you. And, the settlement amount of $845,000 won’t be enough to last you for life.
When we got the call, those questions remained unanswered. The answer for this case was to suggest a special needs trust; a trust which can receive your settlement money, while protecting the government benefits necessary to supplement your lifestyle alongside any benefits that traditional financial planning may provide. Adding a tax-free, guaranteed settlement annuity also helped strengthen this ongoing concern.
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