Demands have skyrocketed.

Demands have skyrocketed across the country and injured parties can view their injury as a means to winning the lottery. For defendants, this battle is often long and arduous, whether it is a soft tissue injury, a catastrophic injury or a wrongful death claim.  Settling the various claims you face in an efficient and cost effective manner is more important than ever and using a structured settlement is a means to doing so.

Despite all of the hard work by everyone on the defense side, no matter how well the depositions went, or what similar cases settled for in the past, one common denominator rings true.  Every single settlement filters down to needing one thing, more money.

In such an environment, the role of the structured settlement broker remains a key, but often overlooked component of the negotiation process.  Too often defendants reserve the use of structured settlements for cases with catastrophic injuries or high settlement values, when, in fact, nearly 60% of all structured settlements that are placed nationally have a settlement value under $100,000. 

While that may be surprising to read, it makes sense when you really consider the dynamics of the negotiation. The gap between a $500,000 demand and $100,000 authority is significantly more difficult to bridge than the gap between a $10MM demand and $5MM authority.  The economy of scale just isn’t the same.

Every dollar matters in smaller value claims and the plaintiff/claimant is often fighting to be made whole and get back on their feet.  Structure use in cases with settlement value under $1MM is just as important as those cases where the settlement value exceeds your self-insured retention. 

Remember, it costs nothing to secure structured settlement quotes.  Those services are completely free of charge. 

The JCR Broker – More Than Annuities

Beyond the traditional benefits of a structured settlement, a veteran JCR broker will also offer myriad insights into the overall settlement strategy being developed, especially in a mediation setting.  In fact, it is likely that the structured settlement broker has participated in more mediations than everyone in the room, with the only exception often being the mediator. 

A seasoned settlement broker can help identify strong mediators, share settlement values for cases with a similar fact pattern, and offer insights to the negotiation tactics of opposing counsel, as they may have dealt with them in a prior matter.   

Financially, defense brokers can attack outrageous demands and shrink that number to present value costs associated with the life care plan (LCP), economist report and other future needs.  If a Medicare Set-Aside is at play, the structure broker can identify the overlap between the MSA Allocation and the LCP, ensuring that a majority of items are not paid for twice by the defense. 

Select brokers, like those at JCR Settlements, will have access to other financial vehicles, outside of traditional annuity sales.  JCR brokers can create blended financial solutions tailored to the unique needs of the plaintiff/claimant. Such designs will provide guaranteed, tax-free yields to cover known expenses like a life care plan or income replacement. These designs often will also include trust recommendations to preserve government benefits and investment opportunities that provide the plaintiff to better hedge against inflation.

A JCR broker should be able to provide quotes to you within an hour or less from your request, keeping the negotiations flowing.  Now, more than ever, structured settlements can help disputing parties reach resolution more efficiently by providing for the needs of the injured party.

Making a Difference at the Mediation

A seasoned JCR broker will work cooperatively with the mediator, often earning his or her way into the opposing room to discuss the unique needs of the plaintiff/claimant.  That broker will bring an empathetic ear and attention to detail.  They will ask the right questions and elicit insights with which to work, developing creative solutions to the various obstacles prohibiting the plaintiff from being comfortable enough to accept reasonable offers of settlement. 

Many times, once a plaintiff realizes they have been heard, they take ownership in how the financial solution is ultimately prepared. Furthermore a JCR broker will work with them to ensure they understand the mechanics of the financial offers being made and this typically helps the case settle in a more efficient manner.  Good structured settlement brokers understand this dynamic and help their defense clients reach that settlement milestone sooner, rather than later, saving costs and assisting in settling claims in a practical and reasonable format.  Frequently this process helps to save hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of dollars each year for their respective clients.

No other solution enables the defense to offer more money without increasing reserves or authority, or simply paying more to settle the claim.

If we agree that every case is about more money, then a renewed focus on the use of structured settlements should be as important as building the defenses mentioned earlier.