First thing, keep accurate records of what happened and the people involved.  The list of people involved is actually quite extensive and goes well beyond just the other person in the accident.  There are the eye witnesses, 0n both sides, these could have been people in the vehicles or people that were bystanders who happened to see how the accident happened.  There are also the police and law enforcement officers you dealt with, it may seem trivial now, but if your car accident claim goes longer than a few months it will be vital to know who the attending officers were should they need to testify for something.

Second thing, make sure the insurance company knows you are considering using a lawyer to file the car accident compensation claims.  Don’t threaten to sue the insurance company just make sure they know you are smart.  If your injuries were minor, meaning you did not lose your ability to earn income, then you may be able to get a just settlement working with the insurance company directly.  However, if you sustained serious injury or experienced heavy hospital time you will be better served getting a lawyer on your side to file the car accident compensation.

Third thing, understand exactly how structured settlements function in the event you are offered a settlement.  Often times the insurance company will offer you a settlement and will structure it over time as a way to replace your income and aide with future medical bills.  It becomes an asset to you and you can sell it later on to people who buy structured settlements.   What you need to have a full understanding of is that these settlements cannot be increased later should you need more money.  This is why having an experienced accident attorney on your side can really help make sure you get the most for your claim.

Car Accident Settlements, and the amounts to claim:

Each accident is different and the damages they caused are wide spread.  In general terms if you seek a car accident lawyer you will get more money than if you try to settle on your own terms.

$150,000 – was awarded to a young women who had been rear ended by someone that was texting.  She claimed bodily damages to her spine in addition to the damages to her car.  That $150,000 will go towards medical bills present and future.

$550,000 – was awarded to a man who was hit on the broad side causing severe damage to his lower body.  As a result he will be unable to work for the next 12 months, the ca accident settlement amount will go towards lost wages and medical expenses.

$1,200,000 – was awarded a mother who was hit while she was loading her kids into her van in a parking lot by a man crossing between the parking lines.  While she was not seriously injured her young child will require physical therapy for a number of years.  Because the child is so young it was difficult to determine a set amount as future side affects are not yet known.

Car accident settlements are different and vary based on the circumstances of the incident.  The amounts are closely related to the damages suffered, the medical bills moving forward, whether there was gross negligence involved and what type of injuries were sustained.  Car accident injury settlement, where the victim was seriously injured will get much more than if the victim was not.  A young girl in Utah was rear ended during rush hour traffic and was compensated enough to pay the loan off on the totaled car and make a $5,000 down payment on the new one.

The settlement itself is negotiated with the insurance company which is why it is a car accident insurance settlement, and because the insurance company will be loaded withe legal representation you will need to do the same.  It is true that the legal team will not get paid unless you win, so call them for a consultation, but it is also true they get a huge commission.  Why does this bother some people?  It shouldn’t, you will still end up getting MUCH more in your pocket from the car accident settlement than you would have without legal representation.

Personal Injury Compensation Claim Amounts

You can expect different amounts for different parts of the body that were injured and what that will mean for your future.  An injury to the head for example will mean more for your ability to function normally than say in injury to your arm or shoulder.  However, even those types of injuries can carry a large weight if they are directly related to how you operate in your normal life.  If you are a tradesmen and need the arm/shoulder to be 100% in order to earn a living your pain and suffering settlement would, again, be different than if you were a desk jockey and a shoulder at 80% doesn’t prevent you from typing.

Compensation for Personal Injury

Actual amounts can vary between $5,000 and $10,000 on up-wards into the millions.  This will also depend on how the accident happened, was it a slip and fall settlement, or were you injured at work.  Was this an aggravated assault or a simple situation where someone just tripped and fell.  In most cases the more important the injured body part, combined with who injured you and the extent of the damage will all raise the amount you receive.

In most court cases you will be awarded a settlement amount of some kind, this settlement will be funded by an insurance annuity that will pay on some pre-determined basis – usually monthly or yearly but the annuity option and structured payments are up to you.  Personal injury compensation is meant to make your life better, and return you to a normal state of living, they are not mean to put you on a yacht in the Mediterranean.

The best thing you can do if you have been involved in an accident is to consult a local injury lawyer, someone in your area who will meet with you at no cost in order to evaluate your claims and help you get started at no cost.  Having a compensation lawyer in your side will make the process much easier, one call – and you will have someone on your team who doesn’t get paid unless you do.

Fixed annuities have very little risk and are usually more easily accessible than say a CD (certified deposit) would be.  They are tax differed meaning you don’t pay tax on them year to year, but you will when you cash out.  Additionally the immediate fixed annuity is popular because it has a higher yield than other low risk investments like bonds, CD’s, treasuries or money market accounts.

Immediate fixed annuities start delivering monthly payments right away until the entire amount put it (the premium) and all the anticipated owed interest have been paid out.  A deferred annuity, as the name implies, is where the payments do not come to you until the annuity has passed its maturation date earning more interest because more money is in the account accruing it, rather than paying it out to you over each months time.  If you have an annuity like this and you want cash for annuity payments you will need to discuss those terms with the financial adviser.

The fixed annuity also offers a payout over lifetime option which would enable you to defer payments received and have them paid out to you in a small amount but over your entire lifetime.  For a lot of people reaching the retirement age this is an attractive option because it insures you receive money each month until you pass on, but if you are thinking you may want to ‘sell my annuity‘ at a later date, this cannot be done.

The Benefits and Features of the Fixed Annuity Settlement

Single Premium – You are only asked to deposit money into one account, 1 time.

Rate Guaranteed – Most contracts will set a fixed rate to be paid on for the life of the annuity.

Minimal Risk – The only way you lose money is if the insurance company loses all of its money and your remaining payouts exceed what is covered by the FDIC.

Income For Retirement – Go into your golden years with the knowledge that you will be receiving secure monthly payments to live on.

Returns on the Fixed Annuity of 3% to 10% – So you are getting a great return on the investment over time.

Life Insurance – An additional life insurance clause will allow your loved ones to continue to receive payments in the event that you die before the annuity is fully paid.

Many different companies will have different ways for selling an annuity you need to make sure you are aware of the annuity selling system they use so you can get the most from the investment.

Be Prepared Before You Call

Before you contact a pedestrian accident lawyer make sure you have done the following.

1.  Filed the proper accident reports with the police.  Have that documentation with you, this will help you get the most car accident compensation should you need it.

2.  Any witness accounts you are able to get a hold of, meaning contact eye witnesses to the accident if there are and make sure they know you are contacting a lawyer and that their testimony of the events may be needed in the future.  Have their contact information ready to give to the attorney’s.

3.  Medical records of the resulting injuries.  If anyone was injured in the accident and sought medical treatment, you need to have a record of that ready.  You may or may not have record of other accident victims, but if you or any of your immediate family needed medical attention have that information ready.

4.  It may be helpful for you to write out what you remembered happening in the accident on paper.  This way you will have a clear idea of how everything happened and you won’t be prone to changing your story around.  It is key that you remain consistent in your recollection of the events.

Once you are ready with all of the above information go ahead and locate a pedestrian accident attorney in your area.  This can be done via the internet, or in the yellow pages.  Do NOT feel bad calling one of the “ambulance chasers” after all that is what they specialize in and they are usually best suited to help you get the most from your claims.  Most vehicle accident attorney will not charge you unless they win the case.  This type of arrangement means they will be entitled to a large portion of the winnings, but your portion will still be much MUCH higher structured payments than what you could have received on your own.

Ask yourself a few questions;

Do I need to get cash for annuity payment because I am in debt?

What will I do with the cash I receive for my annuity payments?

Can I make more money with a lump sum, than I am with the structured settlement payments?

If you have a plan to invest a manage the lump sum payments in a better way than just receiving payments each month and you have had your plan reviewed by some financial analyst or at least a trusted friend who is good with money – then you may be better offer getting cash for annuity payments.  If you have NO plan, and just want the money in a large sum so you can buy material items then you will end up blowing the money and sacrificing your financial future.

Settlements are set up to provide you with income each month for you to live on, so if you can live without the money – meaning you have a job and can pay your own way – you may be better off looking for a company that will buy structured settlements who can give you settlement cash structured for flow.

How to Get Cash for Annuity Payments:

1.  Organize the paperwork for your current annuity. – Meaning, you know the company funding the annuity, the amount of the original payment or payments, the dates and amounts for all future payments, the bank account numbers and contact information.

2.  Start looking for structured settlement quotes. – There will be a number of financial institutions interested in buying your annuity.  You need to contact at least 5 different companies to get a good variety of quotes to compare.  Once you have worked out the best deal for yourself in terms of payment pick the company that most closely matches your requests.

3.  Be Prepared. – You can sell all or portions of your annuity payments, meaning you can sell certain years of the annuity without selling all of it, so keep that in mind.  Also, remember the company buying your annuity payments is going to want to make money themselves and in order to do this they will be offering you much less than what your settlement is actually worth.  Don’t be offended by this, its common and that is why you need to obtain several quotes.

Josh wrote in part, “I just have a lot of bills and things to pay off, my long term annuity isn’t covering my bills and I just want to get out, how can I sell my annuity, or find someone to buy my annuity?”

Josh’s question and problem are not all that uncommon, a lot of readers ask in one form or another – ‘how can I sell my annuity?’  The answer to that is pretty simple, kind of.

If you want to sell annuity payments to a third party company you will need first organize your paperwork and determine how many years of the annuity payments you wish to sell.  Organizing the paperwork should be pretty simple, the important peices of information you need will be name and location of the insurer who is funding the annuity and the account numbers.  You should also familiarize yourself with the annuity selling system that will be used on you.

If you are thinking, ‘Selling my annuity will be hard and too confusing.’ You are right, it can be hard and confusing, but if you find the right company to work with – it can be a lot easier.  There are a lot of structured settlement companies that will offer you a lump sum payment in exchange for future annuity payments.

So now you need to know your options.  You can only sell certain periods of the annuity investments if you choose.  Say you have a 25 year annuity but you want to sell years 10 through 20 for a lump sum.  This would enable you to receive annuity settlement payments from the sale of years 1 through 10 and then 20 through 25, whiles still getting a lump sum for the years 10 through 20.

So now you need to know who is going to be in the market for your annuity payments. Selling annuities successfully is more about finding the right company than you being entirely prepared.  So if you are looking to sell my annuity you need to contact several different structured settlement companies and get annuity quotes.  Doing this will help you get the most cash for annuity payments.

Some things to be aware of before you sell annuities, first, not all states allow you to sell structured annuity payments and you will find this out real quick when you contact your first company for a settlement quote so you know your annuity settlement options.  Second, you should only exchange long term guaranteed income for a short term settlement if you are really in need of it.  If you are losing a lot of money in interest as the result of credit card or other debt a lump sum may be a good idea.  If you are looking to get into a home and the market is really good, and you can get a low APR %, then go for it.  If you have limited earning power and those monthly annuity payments are providing a major source of income for you, then hold onto them.  Settlement cash structured for flow is not always the best for you long term.

So, ‘Can I sell my annuity?’  YES.

Are there companies that are interested in me ‘selling my annuity’? YES.

Do the companies selling annuities offer quotes for me to consider with no obligation? YES.

There is not necessarily a pain and suffering settlement calculator that can just magically tell you how much to expect.  Although you can calculate what you are going to ask for in the claim based on the total medical expenses.  A pain and suffering settlement amount is hard to calculate because of how hard it is to determine what the value of the future pain and suffering will be.

The reason many of us pay such high amounts for insurance is because of the amount of stupid lawsuit settlements that are filed.  So if you are seeking monies that you do not deserve, please don’t – its a burden on all of us.  However, if as the result of an accident you really will face a lot of pain and suffering, then a pain and suffering settlement is EXACTLY what you should seek.

If you are being counseled that you should not seek the advice of an attorney, then you should REALLY be asking yourself, what is the reason they don’t want me to get representation?  What I hear most is that people think they will get their money much faster by working individually with the insurance company.  That can be true, and often because slip and fall settlements or pain and suffering settlements the insurance company just wants to get rid of the case.

The reason the insurance company is so quick to settle the complaint is because the longer you go, the more costly it becomes for them.  If they can low ball you, but you think its a great amount because you have NO experience then they will make off with your money.  So you really should seek legal advice from a personal injury lawyer, or a lawyer who specializes in pain and suffering lawsuits.  Or if this is a workers compensation settlement, then you need to consult a workers comp lawyer.

The thing you need to be aware of is that a lawyer will want to seek out the maximum amount for you, and if your case qualifies they will agree to not take compensation from you unless you win the case.  Having said that – their fee will be fairly high, somewhere near 40%.  Think about it this way though, if you settle on your own for $100,000 but your pain and suffering is worth $800,000 then you would be losing $700,000.  Even after paying the lawyer his $320,000 you would have made $480,000 which is $380,000 more than if you had settled on your own.  You really have no idea what kind of bills you may have to pay in the future and these lawyers have experience with what you can expect as far as what you will need in the future in order to make up for your pain and suffering settlement.

In the end most of the consultations with injury or pain and suffering lawyers will cost you nothing, so there is no reason not to talk with them.

So the first thing you need to do when you get hurt in an accident at work is file the claim.  This will help make sure you are showing the judge that you are sincere in making an actual claim.  The second thing you need to do is get in contact with a workers compensation attorney.  They specialize in making sure you are taken care of and not taken advantage of by the system.  Understand that you will be at odds with both your employer and the insurance company, so not very many people will be on your side when it comes to the finances of the workers compensation settlements claims.

In order to maximize the amount you receive from the WCF, you need to have all your accident paper work in order before meeting with the attorney.  Understand that WCF will have several limits to the amount you can file for the workmans compensation settlements, this will depend on your current income and the length of time you will be out.  In order to get the most for your claim you need to have accurate documents of visits to the doctor and estimates for what future medical expenses will cost.  Keep in mind that not all accidents will be covered by insurance, something like slip and fall settlements fall under different terms than being injured by employer negligence.

Because there is a fixed amount you can claim, you need to do everything you can to maximize the finite amounts.  You have a certain amount of time you can file the claim under in order to get that max amount.  If you do not file the worker compensation settlement within a certain amount of time you will not be able to qualify for a full settlement to get structured payments.

Here is the thing, if you want to sell your annuity because you received a structured settlement as the result of lottery winnings or a lawsuit, then you need to find a reputable company that can quote you on prices to buy the annuity from you.  In this case you really have a structured settlement but because its coming in installments its considered annuity investments.

IF YOU ARE TRYING TO SELL ANNUITIES, then that is something different because you want people to buy the financial product you are selling.  The odds are against you and buying annuity prospects from telemarketing firms is just a waste of money.  Annuity prospects are poorly qualified leads, are often not wanting a sales pitch but more of an information guide.  Especially considering the cost of the annuity, doing that kind of transaction over the phone can be very VERY difficult.

So what can you do to really implement successful annuity marketing?  You need to find sites just like this one, and isolate pages within the site that get absolute unique visitors to pages that talk about the benefits of buying an annuity.  You can ask the webmaster to provide you with stats relating to the unique visitors per day, and the sites those visitors are on.  The annuity marketing will already be done for you, because the person has come to the site, like this one, and is reading information about the benefits of the annuity.  Although some may be wondering how can I sell my annuity, rather than buying one but you can cross that bridge when you get there.

This will allow you access to a group of pre-qualified leads, people who already understand the annuities pros and cons.  At least at this point they are interested in buying one, or hearing from someone who sells them.  Now a site like this may charge you say $100 per month to allow your number to be placed on exclusive pages making you the only one they call if they want to learn more.  If you have been successful selling annuities in the past, then set an amount you are willing to spend to acquire a conversion and budget your internet marketing accordingly.  If you develop a solid annuity selling system you should be able to convert more than the average annuity salesmen.