by John Darer® CLU ChFC CSSC
One industry commentator alleges that the Society of Settlement Planners was "started a number of years ago by a small handful of this industries (sic) key players "feeling a need to separate themselves from the NSSTA"
Structured Settlements 4Real® : Part of the solicitation letter I and others received dated January 16, 2002 stated the "SSP’s plans are to seek out an educational institution that will administer an accreditation program culminating in a professional designation. Emphasis in this program will be given to the full range of settlement planning needs of injury victims and survivors, and the appropriate strategies, products and services to meet those needs." To many this was a very intriguing prospect although to this day that goal has never been realized. Oddly the horse that The SSP was going to ride on for its credentialing program, former Texas Tech professor Joe Tombs, ended up an affiliate of Settlement Professionals, Inc. as the link from the Settlement Professionals, Inc. website suggests. It is not true that it was started by a few of the industries (sic) key players "feeling the need to separate themselves from NSSTA". In fact at the beginning many SSP members held dual membership in the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA) and The SSP. Only in the last 18 months have certain SSP members ( although few in number) dropped out of the NSSTA. A majority of the few are affiliated with Settlement Professionals, Inc. a company whose President was the Founding President of The SSP. The "need to separate" was borne out of anger over the May 2003 public response to the Treasury Department of Mal Deener, then President of the NSSTA, to a letter to Treasury from lawyers hired by The SSP. It's a free country and people are certainly permitted to join or resign from any association they choose.
Another allegation is that " the NSSTA has served its purpose over the years dealing with such items as legislative issues, it clearly is felt to be lacking in the educational department…..A recent comment "I have learned more in 1/2 day at the SSP annual than 10 years at NSSTA annual".
Structured Settlements 4Real® The NSSTA is thriving with over 1000 members across its different membership categories. Upon information and belief the SSP has less than 60. If you subtract out those members that are from Settlement Professionals, Inc. and the factoring companies, are you really representing the plaintiffs' universe? Today NSSTA is a diverse international forum with members who do defense only, plaintiff only as well as independent experts and other service providers, annuity issuers, trust providers. If NSSTA " has served its purpose" then surely three or four major plaintiff firms would've left NSSTA in the last 4-5 years. One plaintiff structured settlement firm's President was even recently elected to the Board of NSSTA, and others have been! I always learn something at a NSSTA educational forum. And they are getting even better. This takes nothing away from the quality of education material presented at SSP meetings.
One thing readers of SSP propaganda should know that The SSP does differently than NSSTA is that it has taken in lifeline money from the very companies that buy structured settlement payment rights from structured settlement payment recipients (a/k/a factoring companies or transfer companies). The SSP publicly states that it is "an association of structured settlement producers and others who assist claimants in the settlement process" yet consistently fails to admit or make a public statement concerning their obvious inference that factoring is part of the settlement process. They've lost more than one member over it! I have published numerous articles on that subject on this blog and discussed this in 3rd of my recent podcasts with Mark Wahlstrom on The Settlement Channel
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