Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from October, 2018

NATIONWIDE IS NOT ON YOUR SIDE!

We have recently assisted plaintiff’s council and their clients with settling several cases involving Nationwide Insurance as the defendant insurer. In each of these cases our plaintiff attorney client’s told us that the defense council were adamant about Nationwide placing the structured settlement annuity WITH Nationwide Insurance. This would be very difficult since Nationwide does not have their own structured settlement annuity product.  What the defense was really saying is that they wanted their structure broker to get the entire commission on the case. I’m sure they don’t really know that, however, that is what Nationwide tells them to say. Defense council even indicated that they were willing to pay more to settle the case if Nationwide could place the entire annuity with “their” company (i.e., their broker). These kinds of games are going WAY back to the origins of the structured settlement business in the 1980’s when the defense would CLAIM “we can’t tell you the cost of the

Structured Settlement Rates Continue to Improve!

Recently, due to the shift up in interest rates all the major structured settlement annuity markets have improved their rates and this trend continues! For 20 years we have been Michigan's best and only plaintiff focused structured settlement consultant. If you have any questions or would like a custom structured settlement annuity quote on one of your cases please don't hesitate to contact us at  cyril@whitehousellc.com  (734) 433-1670. www.whitehousellc.com 

2018 MAJ No-Fault Seminar

We were proud to be at the annual Michigan Association for Justice No-Fault seminar last week in Novi!  It's always so good to see so many of our friends! For 20 years we have been Michigan's best and only plaintiff focused structured settlement consultant. If you have any questions or would like a custom structured settlement annuity quote on one of your cases please don't hesitate to contact us at  cyril@whitehousellc.com  (734) 433-1670. www.whitehousellc.com 

Structuring Arbitration Awards

Like a judgement/verdict (unless on appeal) 99% of the time an arbitration award,especially if it is binding, cannot use a structured settlement as part of the distribution of settlement proceeds. The reason for this is that there are specific things, which are defined in Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 104(a)(2), which need to be adhered to to make a structured settlement income tax free in the eyes of the IRS.  The two most important items in the Code affecting an arbitration award are as follows: 1.) Both plaintiff and defendant must agree to a structured settlement. Because an arbitration is like a verdict or judgement in that BOTH sides are not agreeing to it this is usually is a deal killer when it comes to trying to structure an arbitration. 2.) The settlement funds funding the structured settlement cannot be constructively received by the plaintiff. This includes funds that are deposited into the plaintiff attorney's IOLTA account since they are technically an agent of the

Death to MSA Annuities?

Death to MSA Annuities? Why You Should Care About Senate Bill 3079 On June 18, 2018, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced Senate Bill 3079, Medicare Secondary Payer and Workers’ Compensation Settlement Agreements Act of 2018 . The Bill introduces several initiatives aimed at streamlining the CMS Medicare Set-Aside review and appeals process, including an option to allow MSA funds be paid directly to Medicare. The Bill suggests an alternative to self or professional administration of a MSA – optional “direct payment” of the MSA to CMS. Not only will the “direct payment” option have the potential to significantly reduce the number of MSA annuities used in Workers Compensation and Liability settlements, it will negatively impact injured parties post settlement: ·     Increased costs since the injured worker will be subject to Medicare co-pays and deductibles. ·     Reduced access to care since the injured worker would be restricted to Medicare-approved providers. ·