Beyond Structured Settlements

Structured Settlement 2009 Strategic Analysis

S2KM has begun a mid-year 2009 strategic analysis of the structured settlement industry. This analysis includes attending and reporting about 2009 structured settlement professional stakeholder meetings plus continuing conversations with structured settlement industry leaders.

To organize and publish S2KM's findings and analysis, S2KM is developing, and plans to publish and update, a related public wiki titled "Structured Settlements 2009". Here is a preview of this S2KM public wiki home page.

Purposes of S2KM's Structured Settlements 2009 wiki

• Provide S2KM with a dedicated online resource to identify, capture, organize and publish 2009 structured settlement strategic analysis.
• Demonstrate how blogs and wikis can interact to improve strategic analysis and learning.
• Encourage structured settlement knowledge leaders and professional associations to endorse, encourage and participate in strategic industry analysis.
• Help all structured settlement stakeholders to better understand, improve and grow structured settlements.

Table of Contents - includes references to related 2009 conference presentations; subject to continuing wiki updates:

• S2KM primary analytic resources - S2KM blog reporting for:
  • 2009 structured settlement stakeholder meetings - the Table of Contents incorporates and features educational discussions from the following conferences:
    
    • NSSTA 2009 Winter Meeting
    • ASNP 2009 Annual Meeting
    • SSP 2009 Annual Meeting
    • NSSTA 2009 Annual Meeting
  • Structured settlement professional stakeholder association prior year meetings
  • Related topics and knowledge leaders:
    
    • Settlement consulting;
    • Tim Nay Interview.
• S2KM's transitional perspective - structured settlements are undergoing two primary transitions:
  • From claim management to settlement consulting:
    • NSSTA: Settlement Consulting - Joseph DiGangi
    • SSP: Settlement Planning Industry Update - Patrick Hindert.
    • SSP - State of the Art Settlement Planning - Joseph Tombs
    • NSSTA: Looking Forward - Chris Diamantis and Dan Durbin.
  • From historic communication, learning and work processing to Internet-based models:
    • NSSTA:Web 2.0 - Patrick Hindert.
• Public policy - no 2009 stakeholder association discussions.
• Legislation and regulations
  • Existing
    • Federal
      • SSP: Tax Panel - Richard Risk; Sylvius von Saucken; Peter Wayne.
    • State
      • SSP: Judicial Approval of Minors Settlements - Phillip McCrury.
      • NSSTA: Exemptions for Structured Settlement Payments - Craig Ulman.
  • Proposed - no 2009 stakeholder association discussions.
    • Federal
    • State
  • Political strategy
    • NSSTA: Federal Entitlement Programs - Andrew Imparato.
    • NSSTA: Washington Reports - Eric Vaughn.
    • SSP: AAJ Strategy - John Bowman.
    • NSSTA: Federal and State Issues - Len Blonder.
    • NSSTA political speakers:
      • Senator Richard Durbin (D) from Illinois;
      • Senator Charles Grassley (R) from Iowa;
      • Congressman Charles Rangle (D) from New York;
      • Congressman Kendrick Meek (D) from Florida;
      • Congressman James Langevin (D) from Rhode Island;
      • Congressman Joseph Crowley (D) from New York;
      • Congressman Dave Camp (R) from Michigan;
      • Congressman Brian Higgins (D) from New York;
      • Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D) from Pennsylvania;
      • Congressman Joseph Courtney (D) from Connecticut;
      • Plus the Chiefs of Staff for four congressmen.
• Case law
  • SSP: Litigation and Legislative Update - Anthony Alfieri.
  • NSSTA: Spencer v. Hartford - Michael Miller.
  • NSSTA: Fresno County Factoring Cases - Illana Hanau.
• Primary and secondary markets
  • NSSTA: Secondary Market Update - Michael Miller and Illana Hanau.
• Government benefits
  • NSSTA: Federal Entitlement Programs - Andrew Imparato.
  • ASNP: Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance - Mark Popolizio.
  • ASNP:Lien Resolution Strategies - William Browning; Mark Popolizio; Sylvius von Saucken.
  • SSP: MMSEA Section 111 - Mark Popolizio.
  • NSSTA: Medicare Panel - Roy Franco; Mark Popolizio; David Korch; Rafael Gonzoles.
  • NSSTA: Medicaid Panel - John McCulloch; Timothy O'Driscoll; Dennis McAndrews
• Structured settlement economics
  • ASNP: Structured Settlement Annuities - Jack Meligan and Michele Whitmore.
  • SSP: Life Insurance Insolvencies - Eric Nordman.
  • NSSTA: Financial Strength Ratings - William Pargeans.
• Structured settlement funding products
  • NSSTA: 468B QSFs - Henry Strong, William Winslow, James Klapps.
  • ASNP: Structured Settlement Annuities - Jack Meligan and Michele Whitmore.
  • ASNP: 468B QSFs - Richard Risk and Jason Lazurus.
  • SSP: Settlement Trusts - Christi Fried.
  • SSP: Settlement Trust Software - David Eichenbaum.
• Transactional analysis
  • ASNP: Anatomy of a SNSP Case - Frank Johns, Kevin Urbatsch, Patrick Hindert.
• Stakeholder associations
  • NSSTA (2), SSP and ASNP 2009 meetings.
• Ethics
  • NSSTA: Business Ethics - Father Oliver Williams.
  • NSSTA: Business Ethics - Mike Jones.
• Standards
  • SSP: Registered Settlement Planner - Joseph Tombs.
• Business models
  • Claim management
    • NSSTA: Plaintiff and Defense Brokers - Ronald Sullivan, James Early, Roger Bernstein, Bruce DeBacher, Michael Goodman.
    • SSP:Structured Settlement Insolvencies - Randy Dyer.
    • SSP: Growing Structured Settlements - Randy Dyer.
    • SSP: In-House Structured Settlement Programs - Kevin Mack.
    • NSSTA: Minnesota Bridge Collapse - Jerry Lothrop.
  • Settlement consulting
    • NSSTA: Settlement Consulting - Joseph DiGangi.
    • ASNP: Integrating SNSP with an Elder law Practice - Tim Nay and Sandy Conley.
    • ASNP: Marketing to the Trial Bar - Frank Johns, Jason Lazurus, Kevin Urbatsch.
    • SSP: State of the Art Settlement Planning - Joseph Tombs.

Settlement Consulting - 3

In prior posts about settlement consulting, S2KM:

• Reviewed Joseph DiGangi's discussion at the NSSTA 2009 Winter Meeting titled: "Comprehensive Settlement Consulting in the 21st Century". See: "Settlement Consulting".
• Continued DiGangi's discussion by asking questions and offering comments about "settlement consulting" definitions and scope. See: "Settlement Consulting - 2".

This S2KM post outlines settlement consulting history - from a structured settlement perspective.

S2KM's structured settlement history diagram (developed with graphic artist Keith Burtoft) concludes with the founding of the National Association of Medicare Set-Aside Professionals (NAMSAP) in 2005.

Beginning in 2005, S2KM has continued to monitor structured settlement history by attending and reporting about settlement consulting conferences addressing structured settlements.

For the past three years, S2KM has also published annual reports about structured settlement developments:

• Structured Settlements in 2008;
  
• Structured Settlements in 2007;
• Structured Settlements in 2006.

Using the same categories as S2KM's structured settlement history diagram, here are some of the more recent settlement consulting highlights:

Social Security

• Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA);
• The Ahlborn Case (2006) - see John Campbell's analysis of the Eighth Circuit's decision which the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed.
• Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA);
• Additional MSA rules for structured settlements (2008);
• New POMS for Special Needs Trusts (2009) - see David Lillesand's report;

Taxation - see related articles on the Wood & Porter website:

• Banks and Banaitis cases (2005) - attorney fees;
• Murphy case (2007);
• IRS Letter Ruling 200836019 (2008) - Non-qualified 130 assignments and attorney fees.

State Legislation (2005-2008) - see Release 45 of "Structured Settlements and Periodic Payment Judgments" (S2P2J).

• Structured settlement protection statutes;
• Uniform Trust Code;
• UCC Article 9 anti-assignment provisions;
• Medicaid annuity rules.

Other Developments

• Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP) founded (2007);
• AIG receives $150 billion U.S. Government bailout (2008);
• Joseph Ricci replaces Randy Dyer as NSSTA Executive Director (2008);
• SSP publishes its "Standards of Professional Conduct" (2008) and begins its Registered Settlement Planner (RSP) certification (2008);
• American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners (AANLCP) founded (2008);
• Several annuity providers depart the structured settlement market (2005-2008);
• Structured settlement annuity premium remains level at $6 billion per year (2001-2008);
  
• Structured settlement surveys identify a larger market (2006-2008);
• Settlement consulting bloggers and podcast providers emerge (2004-2009).

For reasons why S2KM views 1982, 2001 and 2008 as strategically important for structured settlements, see "Structured Settlements in 2008 - 1".