Those ads sure are tempting, especially late at night when you’re tired and prone to worry about all of the needs you have. Selling may seem like the right idea, but here are some good reasons to stick with what you have
A Structured Settlement is Stable Income. One of the reasons structured settlements are so popular for settling personal injury lawsuits – and so popular with buyers looking to invest – is that there is virtually no risk of not receiving your payments. Insurance companies invest the lawsuit proceeds in conservative investments designed to earn interest so they can pay your settlement as promised. The structured settlement buyer is risking little more than his time and some attorney fees to draft and structure the sale. Meanwhile you risk plenty if you let that settlement go. How will you support yourself, especially if your injuries have left you unable to work? How will you meet your expenses without the annuity?
The Sale Won’t Go as Planned. Yes, the ads say you’ll get cash “now” or “fast,” but these are relative terms. If you truly need your cash that fast, a structured settlement sale won’t help. All states have laws governing structured settlement factoring transactions, and all of them take a minimum of 45-60 days to complete the entire transaction. Some states can take months. And there’s always a chance your deal will hit a roadblock: misfiled paperwork, miscommunications, slow mail, etc. Any of these can stretch out the approval process. And remember that, even if all goes smoothly, a judge can nix the deal if s/he doesn’t think it’s in your best interest.
You Can’t Make up the Difference. Your friends and family may tell you that you can certainly earn a better return than what the insurance company is putting toward your annuity. They may be telling you that the insurance company isn’t an investment company, and doesn’t know what it’s doing. You can beat that, they say. Truth is, the folks that insurance companies have investing the funds usually are experts who deal in investments every single day. You may see higher interest rates, but they are more risky and there’s a chance you could lose everything while chasing a few percentage points. And don’t forget that, when you sell, the buyer pays you far less than you would have received over time. They do this by discounting your annuity. This discount rate covers the buyer’s costs and guarantees his profits. If the discount rate is in the double digits, can you truly overcome that deficit with your investments? Unless you’re the next Warren Buffett, it’s not likely.
If you need help selling your structured settlement, annuity or lottery payments,
contact us today. We are here to answer your questions and help you obtain the
highest possible price for your payments.
