Reshaping Structured Settlemts
Sunday, January 13th, 2002 Liability LitigationDuring the mid-1990s, the structured settlement industry was in the midst of modest, if unspectacular, growth. With the stock market surging and Internet companies minting twenty-something millionaires, structures seemed on the verge of becoming outdated alternatives to a dizzying array of high-flying investment plans. What a difference a few years makes. Today, structured settlements are among the hot tickets in tort law. Based on claims settled during the first six months of 2001, the National Structured Settlements Trade Association projects that structured settlement premiums will increase to more than $7.2 billion this year, a 20 percent increase over last year’s levels. Moreover, last year was the structured settlement industry’s best in history, with total premiums running about $6 billion, or 25 percent higher than in 1999.
