The phrase points two ways. Payees search it meaning they want to sell; investors search it meaning they want to buy. This page is written for the first group, because that is who this site serves, and the most useful thing it can say is that there is no shop window: every sale here is a one-off negotiation followed by a court application.
There is no listing, and that is the point
Settlement payments are not sold on an exchange. A payee approaches a buyer or a buyer advertises to payees, an offer is made on that specific schedule, and the two negotiate. Nothing is listed publicly because the transaction cannot complete without a court, and the court is looking at that payee's circumstances rather than at a market price. The absence of a price list is why comparing two written offers is the only real leverage a payee has.
What the buy side is doing
A buyer is acquiring a stream of payments from a highly-rated life insurer at a discount, which is why the market exists at all: the credit risk is small and the return is the discount. The trade body's reported discount range is between 9% and 18%. Knowing that the buyer's return is the discount reframes the negotiation, because every point you argue off the rate is a point that moves from their return to your cheque.
What a Texas court has to find
Texas puts the requirement in the form of an effectiveness rule rather than a penalty. No direct or indirect transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall be effective and no structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer shall be required to make any payment directly or indirectly to any transferee unless the transfer has been approved in advance in a final court order based on express findings by the court. Those findings include the best interest of the payee, taking into account the welfare and support of the payee's dependents, and that the payee was advised in writing to seek independent professional advice.
Questions people ask about structured settlements for sale
Does a court really have to approve this?
Yes, in every state. The federal exception in 26 U.S.C. 5891(b) applies only where the transfer was approved in advance in a qualified order finding it is in the best interest of the payee, taking into account the welfare and support of the payee's dependents.
What is the single biggest variable in the price?
The discount rate, and after that how far in the future the payments fall due. The reported range across the market is between 9% and 18%.
Do you take a share of what I get?
No. Buyers pay a flat fee for the enquiry itself, never a share of the discount and never anything contingent on a transfer completing.