Negotiate Structured Settlements With Your Creditors

Negotiating structured settlements with your creditors is a simple process, always stay in touch with them and keep a log of all telephone conversations and correspondence from them. Make sure if a settlement is struck with one of your creditors to have the terms in writing before you make any payment, this written confirmation is called a Settlement Letter.

In most cases, in order to negotiate structured settlements with creditors a consumer must be at least 90 days behind or delinquent; most original creditors will not listen to or partake in negotiations until then. The best time to settle a credit card account is while it is still with the original creditor and the delinquency time has not exceeded 180 days, arrangements can be made during this time for savings of over 50% on the total debt in most cases.

Staying in touch with creditors during the negotiation stage is a plus and keeping a log of all telephone conversations and correspondence from them is a must. Send all correspondence to creditors via certified mail with a return signature card. If a settlement is agreed upon a settlement letter must be provided before any payment is forwarded, once this letter is received it is OK to make a payment over the telephone only to an original creditor. Never make a payment over the telephone to a collection agency, as they do not follow the same standards that creditors do.

Always negotiate from a standpoint of power, as if the funds were always available to pay for a deal in a lump sum payment. Creditors like the fact that they will get their funds in one payment, always negotiate by keeping them on the edge, not the other way around. Always begin any negotiation by offering as little as possible, usually about 20% or 20 cents on the dollar. Work this percentage up very slowly and never look too eager to settle, never tell a creditor the funds are readily available; always tell them you may come up with them through the help of friends and family. Always set payment or payments for settlements on a date when the funds will be readily available not beforehand.

The help of a strong Hardship Letter explaining why the accounts have fallen behind will always be a big help, these hardships can include medical, loss of income, bankruptcy among other reasons that will carry heavy weight when it comes down to being awarded a reasonable discount on credit card debt.

To sum this article up, always negotiate structured settlements from a standpoint of power; never let your creditor see you sweat; stay calm and let them make as many offers as possible. Never tell them funds are readily available, draft a strong Hardship Letter and never pay for a settlement with out a physical Debt Settlement letter.

Lump Sum Benefits With Structured Settlements

If you are due to start receiving structured settlement payments over a long period of time, chances are you would rather be paid out all at once. In a lot of cases, a person who receives a settlement offer in a claims case or personal injury suit is banking on the money awarded in court to offset their medical, legal, and sometimes mental health bills. A structured settlement disbursement simply is not an option for most recipients that are under the gun to cover such expensive costs immediately after they’ve gone through an expensive legal battle for their winnings.

In these cases, there are great options to sell structured settlement awards to financial institutions and insurance companies that deal with lump sum payouts for settlements. When selling your structured settlement, the first thing to realize is that you will only receive most of your settlement offer in a lump sum payout. The buyer will charge the settlement recipient a fee for exchanging their money with your disbursement (which may last months or years), meaning they will need to offset the cost of this delayed investment by holding onto some of the funds you’ve been awarded.

Long Term Security, With No Surprises.

To recipient, who may buy the it is the long term income source that may not bring any kind of surprises to you. Payments may come every month during running time of a plan. An only risk is, that company that needs to do payments may become bankrupt. Profit depends on time, while you may buy the structured settlement. As settlements are the investment instruments like other, general economic situation may affect greatly on prices. In case, you can buy that as bargain, then it is one good deal.

How Payments Are Calculated?

As said, are totally based on court decision and in case, reason is compensating a few damage that someone has caused to another, target is paying for future injury care. Payer is generally the insurance company. In these cases, there are great options to sell awards to financial institutions and insurance companies that deal with lump sum payouts for settlements. In these cases, there are great options to sell awards to financial institutions and insurance companies that deal with lump sum payouts for settlements. When selling your structured settlement, the first thing to realize is that you will only receive most of your settlement offer in a lump sum payout. The buyer will charge the settlement recipient a fee for exchanging their money with your disbursement (which may last months or years), meaning they will need to offset the cost of this delayed investment by holding onto some of the funds you’ve been awarded.

Gap Insurance For Your Car And What Does It Cost?

Cars are great for transportation, but they’re horrible investments. At no point is that more obvious than when you total your car in an accident. You bought that shiny new Ford Fusion for $20,000 a couple years ago, but you only got $10,000 from the insurance company for it. Even worse, you still owe $13,000 on the car loan.

What’s up with that?

Gap insurance could have made up the difference in this scenario, but increasingly there are other options available.

What is Gap Insurance?

Sometimes referred to as “loan/lease gap coverage” or “upside down insurance,” gap insurance is a specialized form of auto insurance designed to do one thing and one thing only: make up the difference in what you purchased your car for and what the insurance company pays for it in the event it is totaled out in a claim. It’s traditionally sold for a single premium (usually around $300 to $700) by an auto sales guys at signing.

Yes, that auto dealer’s finance manager is an insurance agent too. Well, sort of. He’s usually licensed to sell that gap insurance and something else called “credit life,” which I won’t get into here.

Understanding the Terminology Behind Gap Insurance

To better understand how gap insurance works, you should first understand some basic insurance terminology. Auto insurance is designed to repair or replace losses incurred to your vehicle in such a manner that you neither profit nor lose from the deal. This idea is called indemnification. Indeed indemnification is arguably the single most important concept behind all insurance, not just auto insurance. As an example, a major insurance company recently alluded to indemnification by using the slogan “gets you back to where you belong.”

If it were all about indemnification then insurance would be easy. Of course it isn’t. There are other factors to consider as well. For example, insurers need to know what caused caused your loss. This is known in the industry as the “peril.” Examples of perils common in car insurance include vandalism, theft, and auto glass damage due to “missiles”i.e. rocks).

Now stay with me here.

Some perils are specifically not covered by auto insurance. These are called exclusions. Common exclusions in auto insurance policies include intentional damage and depreciation. By definition, exclusions are specifically listed in your auto insurance policy.

So here’s where gap insurance comes into play. Everyone knows automobile values depreciate over time. Depreciation is a peril because it causes a tangible loss to your vehicle. However, because depreciation is an exclusion in your policy, it’s not covered by your auto insurance. Therefore this is the rationale for the existence of gap insurance. Stick with us and you’ll pass the insurance licensing exam in any state in the country.

Do You Really Need Gap Insurance?

Many people skip gap insurance because frankly they think it’s just another boondoggle the auto dealerships use to line their pockets. That isn’t necessarily true, however it’s also not necessarily true that you always need it. What is necessarily true is that you want talk to your insurance agent before you sign closing documents on a new car.

Chances are you’re going to finance that new car you just purchased anyway, which means you’re going to carry full coverage on the vehicle. You’ll do it if for no other reason than the bank will make you. Failing to do so will compel them to “force place” full coverage insurance on your vehicle. You don’t want to do that.

You do, however, want to see if your full coverage auto insurance includes gap insurance coverage as either an option or as a standard feature. Many companies offer this. In addition, an increasing number of companies offer options that allow you to replace a totaled vehicle with a new one within a certain time period.

Although the depreciation exclusion still exists on auto insurance policies, insurance companies are nonetheless sensitive to these concerns, not to mention eager to retain your business by offering more bells and whistles.