by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Delta Settlements gives new meaning to "stealth technology" with its website structurebroker.com in which they provide a "rigged" list of structured settlement brokers (by name and city to maximize local SEO) from EPS, SFA, Brant Hickey Associates, Millennium Settlements, Atlas Settlements and Ringler Associates. Each broker is profiled with a sentence or two from the listed broker's REAL company website, framed by a Delta Settlements header and some strong sometimes absurdly inaccurate canned sales talk, followed by a pitch about why Delta is better with an offer of a second opinion.
Consider this example regarding John Jay Scarola
…"Mr. Scarola’s structured settlement proposals are presented to the plaintiff on behalf of the defense team. The defense usually consists of a large insurance company who is trying to negotiate a complex claim. It is generally known that brokers who represent large insurance companies in these types of negotiations are obligated to act in the best interest of their client"…
Comment: Scarola's papa is one of the most prominent plaintiff attorneys in Florida and to the best of this author's knowledge Jay does not work with insurers.
Similar comments are made about Sean Pendray of Millennium and a number of other Millennium brokers, which runs contrary to how Millennium advertises itself (as the leading provider of structured settlements for plaintiffs).
Here's what Delta says about a West Coast broker with Brant Hickey who I know does mainly plaintiff work,
…."often represents the interests of large insurance companies who are defending against a claim brought by an injured plaintiff. Some of these large insurance companies have internal programs that promote the use of structured settlements as a way to drive in profits to related entities. Essentially, these companies offer structured settlements that are more favorable to their clients, not to the injured party. A higher return on your settlement dollars can be realized with a simple phone call".
in my opinion such advertising is creative, but classless. The Delta Settlements website gets sufficient web traffic by providing otherwise quality content. It does not need to trade on the goodwill of others, particularly when the information is absurdly inaccurate. Others who are profiled by Delta as representing defense and insurers have practices that are wholly or primarily plaintiff oriented.
Cont
rast Delta Settlements' marketing "faux pas" with the Structured Settlement Expert Directory which offers those who voluntarily subscribe, a listing in which there is content that they control, with all content on the online directory carefully managed for relevancy so that ALL those listed benefit.
"Defense exclusive" "plaintiff exclusive" is simply a marketing label , a "faded rose from days gone by". What matters is professional experience and degree of expertise, ethics and knowledge leadership.
And did I hear them say a second opinion here today?
The cow jumped over the moon in the sky-eye
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