What If The Claimant Says No?

Don't confuse rejection of a structured offer with rejection of settlement. Just like a cash offer, many claimants—and their attorneys—will reject first offers out of hand as a matter of principal.

This gets into one of the oldest "yin-and-yang"'s in structured settlement negotiations: are we going to talk about current cost to the defense or future benefit to the claimant? The claimant wants maximum future value via highest current cost; the defense wants adequate future value at lowest current cost.

Some claimant attorneys claim to reject structures "out of hand", threatening to break off negotiations if another structure is proposed, etc. Some may actually mean it. But in our experience, that has been a tiny minority. As long as you increase the actual value of your next offer, you are bargaining in good faith; by all means continue to make meaningful structured offers.

While receiving the rejection, learn what specifically about the offer was unacceptable and learn what might be. Ask them just exactly what about the design didn't they like. Phrases like "How do you mean?" invite claimants to elaborate on what particular feature of the structure wouldn't work for them. In response, revise your offers in the direction of what they do want.

Frankly, the easiest way to handle claimant objections is to have your broker speak with them directly. Let your broker learn what they didn't like and use their professionals skills to overcome misunderstanding or misinformation. That's their job and what they're paid to do. All you really have to do is keep track of the cost of your offers.