by John Darer CLU ChFC CSSC RSP
Symetra Life Insurance Company is pulling out of the structured settlement market. The company will stop accepting new premiums December 14, 2012.
Symetra Life Insurance Company began as a rebrand of the life insurance operations of Safeco Life Insurance Company after a spin off of the operation from Safeco.
Safeco was one of the early dominant players in the structured settlement annuity market. At the time of the spinoff, the company had lost its A+ rating with A.M. Best, and the company was never able regain a dominant position in the market.
In 2006, Symetra significantly harmed its reputation within the structured settlement industry by, in my opinion, establishing a factoring subsidiary
The advertising at the time featured a wealthy-looking, Rasta-haired, prep-style individual, which appeared no more realistic than the scenarios presented by other factoring companies. The timing of this decision could not have been worse
This author publicly resigned his appointment with Symetra in January 2007, feeling (among other things) it inappropriate that a senior executive of the company, continued to serve (instead of recusing herself) on the NSSTA long range planning committee which was having confidential discussions about how NSSTA would deal with factoring, only a few months before the Clearscape Funding announcement that blind sided the industry. The company resigned (or was made to resign…not clear which) from NSSTA, the major industry trade association.
Fortunately respected industry veteran Mal Deener was recruited and put his name and reputation behind the support structure, which includes veterans from GE and The Hartford. Business began to grow again. It took a while but in recent times it was announced that Clearscape would no longer solicit outside factoring business.
A Private Letter Ruling on "restructured settlements" was the lone public highlight of the Symetra factoring venture
One of the most successful developments in Deener's tenure has been the ability to outsource the services of the veteran Symetra structured settlement support services group to Berkshire Hathaway, an indirectly related company that recently returned to the structured settlement market place in a big way. The back up and support has been excellent.
The Symetra withdrawal is part of a "to be expected" consolidation in the structured settlement market place, Hartford Life Insurance Company withdrew earlier this year after returning to the market in 2011
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