Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog 2026
Structured settlements expert John Darer reviews the latest structured settlements and settlement planning information and news, and provides expert opinion and highly regarded commentary. that is spicy, Informative, irreverent and effective for over 20 years.
recent posts
- 🔥Founder and Former CEO of 777 Partners, Joshua Wander, Pleads Guilty⚖️ to $500 Million Fraud Scheme — DOJ Confirms Double‑Pledging, Misappropriation of Structured‑Settlement Funds, and Falsified Bank Statements
- The Steering Problem Needs a Wake‑Up Call
- Companies Still Using the Incorrect Term “Secondary Market Annuity”
- Canonical: Non‑Qualified Assignment (NQA)
- ⭐ THE 18–25 GUIDE TO STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS
about
Category: Executive Life Insurance Company of NY (“ELNY”)
Executive Life Insurance Company of New York (ELNY) was a subsidiary of the now‑insolvent California‑based Executive Life Insurance Company (ELIC). ELNY was a heavy writer of structured settlement annuities in the 1980s. It was placed by stuctured settlement brokers in the 1980s despite warnings aboutjunk bond holdings. ELNY was seized by the State of New York in April 1991 and later placed into liquidation August 8, 2013, with its remaining obligations managed by Guaranty Association Benefits Company (GABC)
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First you have allegations against the two largest structured settlement brokerage firms and unnamed “Doe” parties in 2 class action lawsuits over the alleged ill-advised placement of the ELNY products in 1985-1986 and then you have a “suspended” allegation that places the blame on the shoulders of New York’s insurance regulators for what they did…
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Some claim that the 1980s “standard of care” for an insurance agent was to look up and rely on the rating from A.M. Best and ignore other signs of concern. A.M. Best rated ELNY its the highest rating of A+ at all relevant times to the placement of the Westrope structured settlement annuities.
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Plaintiffs should have a settlement adviser as my colleagues suggest, but for reasons that my settlement planning colleagues have left out, namely to assist them with making financial decisions at a time of heightened transition stress.
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EPS Settlements motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit against them is one of the greatest living and breathing reasons why a plaintiff should seek their own independent settlement adviser.
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The “stoning” of structured settlements is a misdirection. Structured settlements were not the problem with ELNY and they are not the problem. To generalize that structured settlements were the problem is not telling the whole story.
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NBC News 4 New York’s segment on ELNY and how its recent liquidation affected ELNY annuitants Glenn Arendsorf and Eric Rabinowitz. whohad their benefits cut by over 50%. Anchor Tom Llamas, interviewed Greenwich CT attorney Eddie Stone and John Darer from 4structures.com LLC
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The distinction between an annuity and an insurance contract is the gravamen of an argument and some interesting lawyering in the Executive Life of NY related class action against EPS Settlements Group in Florida.
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ELNY Hardship Fund was a $100 million fund, voluntarily established by life insurance companies, to make awards to applicants who have demonstrated that they face genuine hardships as a consequence of benefit reductions under ELNY structured settlement annuities established in the 1980s.
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New York Appellate Division, Second Department issued a decision on February 6, 2013, that effectively affirms Justice John Galasso’s April 16, 2012 order placing ELNY in liquidation and approving the ELNY Restructuring Agreement.
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Recognize the symptoms of “rate seduction”. When it comes to your life, It’s not the size of the rate, it’s how long it can perform. Structured settlement diversification is the answer.