For many years, life insurers have offered structured settlements for resolving personal physical injury claims between property casualty companies and injured parties. Recently, several life insurers have developed new ways to apply the structured settlement annuity concept to resolve non-physical injury claims, such as Title VII/Discrimination claims.
Using Non-Qualified Annuities (NQAs), the tax liability is spread over time instead of having the full tax burden occur in the year in which the settlement is received. Tax issues can, of course, be very important in designing a financial solution that satisfies all parties in a discrimination settlement. The payment stream can be customized for the situation; the process is quick and easy, and use of an NQA can speed claim resolution.
The employer assigns its payment obligation to a corporate assignment company that purchases and owns the annuity from a highly rated Life Insurance company. The assignment company makes the periodic payments to the plaintiff. Employers are released from their obligation by the transfer to the assignment company; the plaintiffs receive payments over time to meet their needs; and the annuity is backed by the Life Insurance company.
Consider using the NQA for cases involving other employment claims such as wrongful termination and age discrimination, as well as corporate claims involving Professional Errors and Omissions and Directors' and Officers' wrongful acts. Call an EPS Settlements Group Consultant now for additional, helpful information.