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.

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The STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS 4REAL® Blog is a highly regarded source for structured settlement news, information, and commentary, led by structured settlement and settlement planning subect mater expert John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC. With two decades of operation, the blog and 4structures.com are recognized as comprehensive resources, offering detailed guides and specialized insights. Established in 2005, the blog caters to a broad audience, including legal professionals, injured individuals, families, and various stakeholders, providing reviews and opinions on settlement planning. John Darer, President of 4structures.com LLC, is a seasoned structured settlement expert with over 40 years of financial services experience and 31 years specializing in structured settlements. Based in Stamford, CT, he is a Certified Financial Transitionist and Registered Settlement Planner, holding insurance licenses in 45 states and the District of Columbia. John Darer is dedicated to transparency and advocacy, he emphasizes the importance of engaging trained and licensed professionals for settlement planning, offering valuable insights through his investigative journalism and professional commentary.

Category: Structured Settlement Factoring Auction Sites

  • Elevate Your Cash Offers: The Power of Competitive Settlement Shopping

    Elevate Your Cash Offers: The Power of Competitive Settlement Shopping

    by Structured Settlement Watchdog® Andrew Carnegie once said “And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department”.   The Structured Settlement Watchdog®, John Darer®, is happy that there is increased competition in the settlement…

  • Imperial SS Company Exec Testifies Discount Rates “Averaging 18-20% a Year”- Report

    Judges in some New York jurisdictions require evidence of competitive shopping on infants compromise cases prior to approving a structured settlement. So why not require a reasonable amount of competitive shopping when someone is seeking Court approval to liquidate them.

  • Structured Settlement Cash Now Victim “It Doesn’t Matter The Loss We Had To Take”

    We believe that pride and unwillingness to shop alternative structured settlement purchasers possibly cost her and her family alot of money. For example she should have gone to a factoring exchange where a competitive bidding process would have taken place.

  • Factoring Industry “Financial Planning” for Tort Victims

    I’m quite confident that the aforementioned level of documentation in a financial adviser or lawyer’s file would not even pass “the smell test” in terms of adequacy of effort to determining a client’s needs, much less whether or not the structured settlement factoring transaction would be in their “best interest”.

  • Structured Settlement Factoring Exchange Announced by SQ

    A factoring exchange is an auction, where those who’ve exhausted all other alternatives and have no other alternative but to sell the rights to part of their structured settlement payments for a discounted amount of cash now. The press release states that in some cases discount rates as low as 7% have been possible.

  • How Are Structured Settlement Transfers Priced?

    by John Darer CLU ChFC CSSC Settlement Quotes, LLC posted a useful explanation of how structured settlement buyouts (structured settlement factoring transactions) are priced. This is a must read for: Holders of structured settlement payment rights who are contemplating selling them to raise cash. Judges Lawyers for tort victims Financial Planners As a reminder, there…

  • Why Is Miami Law Firm Promoting “Cash Now Pusher”?

    Why does the Miami Florida law firm of Gerson and Schwartz , P.A.,a supporter of structured settlements on the one hand, appear to be promoting NATLE endorsed "cash now pusher" Strategic Capital Corporation on its Miami Personal Injury Lawyer blog on the other? Gerson and Schwartz also contends in its post of January 30, 2008…

  • Factoring Exchange Imposes Strict Standards for Funders

    The Settlement Quotes, LLC factoring exchange has published standards for funders who wish to participate on the exchange which has been growing in popularity. "Consistent Rate Standard: It is important that a company demonstrate competitive rates on every transaction they provide quotes for, regardless (of whether) if it is a Settlement Quotes’ client. These rates…

  • JG Wentworth BOOTED off Quote Me A Price Factoring Exchange

    Quote Me A Price (QMAP) is one of the two factoring exchanges in place to help consumers get better deals if they find themselves in financial hardship and have exhausted all other options. It is impossible to have  a fair bidding system unless all members adhere to an ethical bidding standard.

  • SSP Annual Meeting…DealFlow Media Mistakes “Hyenas” Lawyer For “Gorilla”

    Apparently DealFlow Media's Alex Horvath doesn't watch Animal Planet. In a March 6, 2008 story posted on its Structured Settlements Wire, DealFlow Media mischaracterized a panel featuring 3 "experts" at the Society of Settlement Planners Meeting as a fete of sorts…  "SSP hosted NASP" (The National Association of Settlement Purchasers). The experts were reported as…