by Structured Settlement Watchdog®
Maryland SSPA is now The Chastity Belt of Structured Settlement Regulations
The State of Maryland has applied the chastity belt of structured settlement protections including mandatory registration and a surety bond requirement that went into effect October 1, 2016.
Maryland Structured Settlement Protection Act Requirements
To ensure that the type of cases like Access Funding are avoided in the future and companies are discouraged from engaging in deceptive and dishonest practices, the Maryland SSPA includes strict provisions that regulate the transfer of structured settlements.
This includes:
- A requirement for transferees to provide payees with a disclosure statement
- A requirement for transfers of structured settlement rights to be filed in a court located in the county where the payee lives
- A requirement for transferees to become registered with the Attorney General and prohibiting them from filing a petition for a transfer unless registered
- The Bill also establishes registration requirements, such as a $2,000 registration fee – $1,500 of which are returned if the application for registration is denied.
- A requirement for transferees to file a $100,000 surety bond with the Attorney General
- A right of the Attorney General to suspend or revoke registrations of transferees as well as to impose penalties in certain cases
With a surety bond agreement, if the bonded structured settlement factoring company engages in fraudulent or deceptive practices, payees/obligees have the right to file a claim against the surety bond and receive compensation up to the full sum of the bond – $100,000. In return for extending compensation to payees/obligees, the surety bond company has to be repaid by the bonded company for its financial backing.
John Darer’s 2015 White Paper on the Structured Settlement Secondary Market
In my 2015 whitepaper and in numerous blog posts over the past two decades, I have advocated for a regulator empowered to fine, suspend, or revoke the registration of companies engaged in fraudulent or deceptive practices. Beginning in Maryland in 2016 and later in other states, at least in one state, such a regulator exists. At a 2016 meeting in Arizona of the National Association of Attorneys General, a representative from the Maryland AG’s office participated in a panel discussing regulatory developments, alongside representatives from the National Association of Settlement Purchasers and the National Structured Settlements Trade Association. There remains more work to do.
Last updated December 17, 2025