by Structured Settlement Watchdog
CrowFly, LLC of Buffalo claimed that you can “purchase structured settlement annuities from individuals” (see below). Now that would be a neat party trick!
Before you “invest in social good”, consider that in the majority of cases, structured settlement annuities are purchased by a qualified assignment company or a non-qualified assignment company.
Structured settlement annuities are not owned by individuals
Individuals can’t sell them and therefore you can’t buy them from individuals. This is really basic Structured Settlements 101. Here is the typical language found in settlement documents:
“Neither the Plaintiff, nor the Payee, nor anyone acting on Plaintiff’s or Payee’s behalf: shall have any right of or incidence of ownership whatsoever in the annuity policy; shall have any right to accelerate or defer payments due from the Assignee; shall have any right to increase or decrease any payments due from the Assignee; shall have any other right of dominion or control of or over any annuity policy, which shall be owned exclusively by the Assignee.
Acquired Structured Settlement Payment Rights (Structured Settlement Receivables) are NOT an Annuity and NOT an Insurance Product
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has expressly stated in Statutory Issue Paper No. 160 (issued April 6, 2019) that acquired structured settlement payment rights are not an annuity or an insurance product (i.e., you’re not buying an annuity).
So why would the Buffalo company pay to advertise that you can purchase structured settlement annuities directly from individuals when you can’t?
