Characteristics of Structured Settlement Payments

There are “guaranteed” structured settlement payments  and there are “life contingent” structured settlement  payments. Guaranteed structured settlement  payments are payable for a fixed period of time regardless of whether the annuitant or payee is living. If the annuitant or payee is no longer living, payment will be made to the payee’s estate or beneficiary for the remaining guaranteed term.

Life contingent structured settlement payments  are based on a variable timeframe in which the insurance carrier will make payments for as long as the annuitant or payee is living. The payments have no minimum or maximum duration – they go on for as long as the payee is living. Payments cease upon the death of the payee.

Many insurance policies are a combination of both types, in which payments will be made for a guaranteed number of years and then will continue to be made if, and only if, the payee is still living.

Can a recipient of life contingent (life only) payments access a lump sum  of money for future non guaranteed payment?  The answer is YES.

At CBC Settlement funding , we are uniquely capitalized to offer lump sum options to individuals who are receiving life only structured settlement  payments.  Despite regulations governing these transactions, many companies simply cannot offer their clients lump sums for life only payments.

Imperial Holdings, Inc. Announces New Structured Settlements Purchase Agreement for up to $40 Million

Imperial Holdings, Inc. IFT +2.86%  ("Imperial"), a specialty finance company with a focus on providing liquidity solutions on individual life insurance policies and purchasing structured settlement payments, today announced that Washington Square Financial, LLC ("WSF"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Imperial, entered into a forward purchase and sale agreement to directly sell up to $40.0 million of life contingent structured settlement receivables to Compass Settlements LLC ("Compass"), an entity managed by Beacon Annuity Fund, LP ("Beacon"), the financing counterparty under the Company's existing life contingent structured settlement receivables facility.

Under the terms of the purchase and sale agreement, and subject to predetermined eligibility criteria and on-going conditions, Compass will commit, in $5.0 million increments, to purchase life contingent structured settlement receivables that WSF will exclusively sell to Compass for a term of twenty-four months. In connection with this arrangement, the Company's existing life contingent structured settlement facility with Beacon has terminated.

Antony Mitchell, Chairman and CEO of Imperial commented, "We are very pleased to have re-established our relationship with Beacon. This new, mutually beneficial agreement will allow us to begin to sell part of our structured settlement receivables immediately, thereby allowing us to enhance our cash flow and continue to service our valuable customer base."

About Imperial Holdings, Inc.

Imperial is a leading specialty finance company that, through its operating subsidiaries, provides customized liquidity solutions to owners of illiquid financial assets. Imperial's primary operating units are Life Finance and Structured Settlements. In its Life Finance unit, Imperial provides premium finance loans to policyholders for the payment of premiums and purchases life insurance policies. In its Structured Settlements unit, Imperial purchases from individuals long-term annuity payments issued by highly rated U.S. domestic insurance companies. More information about Imperial can be found at www.imperial.com .

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of Imperial Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiary companies. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although Imperial believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Imperial's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in Imperial's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website at www.sec.gov . All forward-looking statements attributable to Imperial or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, Imperial does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Imperial Holdings, Inc.

Rescue Capital Releases Structured Settlement True or False Fact Sheet

As part of their commitment to educating consumers about the structured settlement factoring industry and popular misconceptions, Philadelphia-based Rescue Capital releases the first part of their Structured Settlement True or False Fact Sheet. The fact sheet addresses some of the latest crop of mistruths published by bloggers who are often unfamiliar with the industries they are writing about.

Craig Davidson, Vice President of Rescue Capital, stated, “Savvy consumers who attempt to research the industry are inundated with blog posts and other materials. It can be overwhelming since the information is conflicting.” Davidson elaborated further by stating, “Sometimes with search engines you get keyword rich posts designed for SEO. These aren’t always quality posts. In fact, they often contain numerous factual and grammatical errors.”

Rescue Capital, a smaller, agile purchaser of structured settlements and annuity payments based in Philadelphia, believes there is a need to educate the consumer about the advantages and pitfalls of selling future payments.

“When people sell their future payments, many times they are in a difficult place financially. What makes Rescue Capital different is that we try to not only provide competitive pricing; we try to educate consumers about the pros and cons of their financial choices,” said Rescue Capital’s John Zepeda. “If you look at our website, sellers can see a variety of information to help them achieve their financial goals.”

In an ever changing economy being educated on the latest news and trends brings about better decisions, which is a win-win situation for consumers because they understand the process, can determine if selling is right for their financial needs and it allows them to see through the clever advertising. As an emerging leader in the structured settlement purchasing space, Rescue Capital is taking lengths to help the consumer be aware of their options.

"I welcome to opportunity to show consumers the Rescue Capital difference. Our main priority is to ensure the client comes first. We want our customers to feel at ease and not feel like they are being taken advantage of during their time of need,” stated Davidson.

If an Individual Dies, What Happens to Their Structured Settlement?

This generally depends on the nature of the structured settlement . If it is initially set up to compensate the recipient for the duration of his or her natural life, then naturally these payments would end with the passing of the measuring life.

Obviously, this is the preference of defendants in personal injury lawsuits, since their liability goes away once the plaintiff is dead. However, in most personal injury cases, there are often dependent family members to think about – particularly if the injury in question limits the plaintiff’s ability to work.

In some cases, a structured settlement  may be period certain. This means that the payments continue for a fixed period of time, regardless of whether or not the recipient survives. If the recipient dies before the end of the period, the remaining payments either go the named beneficiaries or the estate.

Structured settlements  may also be set up for what is known as joint and survivor benefit.  With this type of arrangement, payments continue to a specified person (“survivor”) upon the death of the primary beneficiary until the term of the settlement  is complete.

If you are receiving payments from a structured settlement and are thinking about final arrangements, it’s a good idea to have a discussion with your attorney or tax professional. Selling structured settlements  for a lump sum  may be a good idea or not, depending on the nature of the agreement. Keep in mind that if your payments are for period certain, those payments will remain tax-exempt for your heirs, whereas any investment income or interest generated from a lump sum will be subject to income tax.

Woodbridge Structured Funding, LLC Wraps Up Record Year

Woodbridge Structured Funding, a specialty finance company that purchases lottery payments, structured settlements, and annuities, is wrapping up a solid fourth quarter with year over year results up more than 50%. 

The company specializes in helping individuals sell annuity payments  for an immediate lump sum. Many annuitants who have sold their annuity payments to Woodbridge Structured Funding have used their lump sum cash payments to pay off mounting debts, or invest in purchasing a home, starting a business, or funding a loved one’s education.

As predicted, it looks to Woodbridge that the merger of structured settlement companies  Peachtree Financial and J.G. Wentworth increased Woodbridge’s market share. Woodbridge Structured Funding remains committed to providing outstanding rates and customer service to each and every client. Adherence to these core principals has allowed for substantial growth.

Vice President Scott Schwartz stated, "2011 saw deal flow in all our business units up 50% year over year.” In addition, Woodbridge Structured Funding expanded operations. “The company has continued to provide strong customer service and competitive pricing and continues to grow with the hiring of our 70th employee in December,” Schwartz said.

Woodbridge Structured Funding, which maintains offices in both Florida and California, holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau – the bureau’s highest possible rating. 

Woodbridge Structured Funding, LLC can be found online at http://woodbridgeinvestments.com 

About Woodbridge Structured Funding, LLC

Woodbridge and its predecessor companies have been pioneers in the financial services industry. Nearly twenty years ago, Woodbridge innovated the purchase of future payments in return for a lump sum. Since 1993, Woodbridge Structured Funding LLC and its predecessor companies and founders, have bought nearly a billion of dollars worth of payments from individuals wishing to sell structured settlements, sell annuity payments or sell lottery winnings , all by working with one satisfied customer at a time.

Merck Frosst settles Canadian class-action suit over Vioxx

REGINA — Pharmaceutical giant Merck Frosst has settled a class-action lawsuit by Canadians who used its controversial heart drug Vioxx.

"We're very happy," said Regina lawyer Tony Merchant, whose firm represented about 1,000 clients. Merchant Law Group was one of 18 firms representing clients in this case.

"This agreement is structured to provide certainty and finality toward resolving Vioxx cases in Canada for a fixed amount," said a notice by executive vice president and general counsel Bruce N. Kuhlik which was posted on New Jersey-based Merck Frosst corporation's website late Thursday. "Under the agreement, there will be an orderly, documented and objective process to examine individual claims to determine qualification."

Under terms of the settlement, Merck will pay a total of between $21.8 million and $36.8 million to resolve all actions and claims against Vioxx in Canada. The settlement includes fixed costs of $6 million in legal fees, $3.5 million for provinces and territories and $1 million for administrative expenses involved in the settlement.

The amount for Vioxx users in Canada will be between $11.3 million and $26.4 million, with the amount determined by the final number of eligible claimants.

All amounts are in Canadian dollars.

"Claims for myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death will be evaluated on an individual basis by an independent administrator based on objective criteria related to various factors, including duration of Vioxx use, age and presence of risk factors. Individual awards for ischemic stroke claims will be a uniform amount not to exceed C$5,000," the posting said.

Putting a human face on this legal issue, Merchant said he was recently thinking of one client, an dedicated amateur athlete who was taking Vioxx for long-distance running "and ended up with a debilitating heart attack that put him in a wheelchair."

"For a person like that, the harm was huge and the harm on his family was huge. You ask for a remedy and then you just give up."

Because the lawsuits go back to 2004 and reflect medical problems before then, the clients to whom Merchant has been talking share an attitude of, "Oh, God, finally!"

As well, "the compensation isn't individually large enough for people to feel that they got this wonderful compensation," Merchant said Thursday afternoon.

"They've got a good conclusion, but not a wonderful conclusion."