Keeley Hazell-1
Structured Settlement
Imperial's structured settlement department is a member of the National Association of Settlement Purchasers. Run by Deborah Benaim, the senior management team has been involved in structured settlements since the inception of the industry, although Imperial has only been around since 2007. Imperial asserts that it pioneered the revolution of the industry by minimizing payment time to approximately 40 days time. This has been reported to be more advertising hype than substance. On April 22, 2010.
Imperial's structured settlements department secured a $250 million deal in financing for both Life Contingent and Guaranteed Payments.Their advertisements include television commercials, radio ads, and monthly mailers, resulting in marketing costs of $14,000 imbeded in each customer transaction.imperial-funding039s-high-interest-rates-criticized-court
Knowing that discount rates were falling dramatically for structured settlement payments, Imperial's stockholders rushed through a public offering in early 2011. Investment banking firm FBR is rumored to have looked the other way.
Imperial charges among the highest interest rates to its customers in the industry often above 20 percent a year. Courts have denied Imperial's requested transfers because its offered price was not "fair and reasonable". See In the Matter of the Petition of Imperial Structured Settlements, Petitioner, SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, QUEENS COUNTY, 2009 NY Slip Op 51625U;24 Misc. 3d 1226A; 899 N.Y.S.2d 60; 2009 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1981, July 23, 2009, where the court criticized Imperial for paying only one third (1/3) of the discounted present value and denied the transfer.
