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Creative Capital Honors Two of its
Brokers as Prelude to Company’s 25th Anniversary
Marking 25 years in an industry that is barely 30 years old is no easy task
when a flurry of other companies have come and gone. In addition, having two
veterans on your team who have been with you almost from the start is reason
to celebrate.
“The development and growth of a company is dependent upon the contributions
made by its people,” Marty Jacobson, one of CCI’s founders and General
Counsel said.
Dennis Waldman, CCI founder and Vice President, said, “The old adage is
true: the success of an organization can be measured in part by the
effectiveness of the personnel who choose to remain and grow with it. Both
Max and Rich are two such people.”
“They have both demonstrated outstanding commitment to the organization
through exceptional work,” Jeff Borow, founder and President of CCI
commented. “This needs to be recognized and appreciation publicly
expressed.”
Max Wernick
Prior to joining CCI Max Wernick was with Cosmopolitan Mutual Insurance
Company from 1961 until 1976 where his various positions included examiner,
claims manager and officer of the claims and legal departments.
Over the years while handling thousands of claims, Max developed a
reputation as a tough but fair negotiator with plaintiff attorneys, some of
whom have developed into today’s “heavy hitters” who know and respect his
capabilities. Max is so well respected on both sides of the aisle that both
plaintiff and defense attorneys regularly utilize his services.
In 1976 he joined a P&C brokerage firm with a life division and worked in
the financial services arena specializing in financial and estate planning.
In 1981 he founded his own structured settlement company, Max Wernick
Associates Inc., which later merged into Creative Capital Inc.
Rich Goldstein
A successful John Hancock Life Insurance Agent and Financial Planner, Rich
joined the Creative Capital team in 1983. His extensive experience and skill
in structured settlement claims include areas such as creative quote design,
negotiation and mediation.
In addition to his experience in the general structured settlement area,
Rich has developed a strong specialization in New York State’s Periodic
Judgment Statutes under CPLR Articles 50-A and 50-B.
Acting for and in conjunction with the Attorney General’s staff of the NY
State Department of Law, Rich has handled some of New York State’s largest
claims. He is well known by many of the Upstate New York judges and is
regularly referred to as “Doctor Goldstein” because of his reputation as a
true specialist knowledgeable in the complexities of the Periodic Judgment
Statutes. Many prominent Upstate New York plaintiff attorneys also call on
Rich to assist in the settlement of their cases.
Plaintiff Protected
Twice by Structured Settlement Act
“The Structured Settlement
Protection Act (General Obligations Law §§5-1701 et seq.) was adopted by
the Legislature to give greater protection to individuals in entering
into a structured settlement agreement...”
So states a recent decision that illustrates the double effectiveness of
New York State’s Structured Settlement Protection Act in protecting
individuals. At the outset, the act requires that the defendant advise
the plaintiff to retain his or her own financial expert and prohibits
the defendant from referring such experts. It’s only by engaging their
own broker that a plaintiff will be able to receive proper advice on the
many issues involved in achieving a fair structured settlement.
The Structured Settlement Protection Act also deals with the regulation
of factoring companies that purchase structured settlement payments at
discounted prices. These rules were invoked in the Matter of the
Petition of Settlement Funding of New York LLC v Solivan when the judge
denied the plaintiff’s request to sell part of his settlement, thus
protecting him from financial loss. The 22-year-old plaintiff was
willing to trade $80,000 in future payments (that had an annuity cost of
$62,525) for an immediate $8,000.
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