Settlement Loans

Introduction

If you have a lawsuit pending to recover damages against someone whose negligence caused you to be injured or harmed, the case may take months or even years to make its way through the court system. The attorney you trust to handle the case assures that your claim for damages is strong and will produce a favorable settlement or jury verdict. Waiting can be difficult when you are temporarily or permanently unable to work and do not have money to cover basic living expenses on top of a mounting stack of unpaid medical bills. A settlement loan may provide a solution to your financial distress.

Lawsuit settlement loans, which you may also see offered as lawsuit loans or pre-settlement funding, provide cash advances based on the strength of a lawsuit and the value of an expected settlement or judgment. Unlike traditional loans that obligate you to make monthly payments to repay them, settlement funding companies agree to look only to the settlement or judgment in the lawsuit for repayment of the money advanced to you plus the interest and fees charged for it.

A lawsuit loan gets repaid when you win, but in the unlikely event that you lose, you owe nothing to the lawsuit loan company. The company assumes the risk and agrees not to look to hold you or your personal assets liable for the cash advance or the interest and fees. 

Pre-settlement funding can be an extremely useful option for preventing financial pressures from forcing you to settle your lawsuit for less than its worth just to get money to pay bills. However, before you submit an application to borrow money against a lawsuit, continue reading to learn more about them, including their pros and cons, in order to make an informed decision.

Key Takeaways

• Settlement loans go by several names, including lawsuit loans, lawsuit funding and pre-settlement funding.
• Settlement funding advances money against the expected settlement value of a pending lawsuit.
• Companies offering cash advances charge interest until the money is repaid.
• These are non-recourse loans, so you owe nothing to the loan company if you lose the case.
• The funding process includes an evaluation of the likelihood of a settlement or judgment in your favor and its anticipated value.
• Taking a cash advance has its pros and cons that you need to know and consider before you apply for one.

What Is A Settlement Loan?

Several names are used by companies in the settlement loan industry to identify the service they offer to plaintiffs with pending lawsuits that seek monetary damages. Some of the names include:

• Settlement loan
• Pre-settlement funding
• Lawsuit funding
• Lawsuit loans 

No matter the name assigned to it, the purpose of a consumer submitting an application is to have a case approved for funding of a cash advance. The amount that a funding company approves represents a percentage of the value of an expected settlement in your lawsuit.

The money that you get as a settlement advance may be used for any purpose that you choose. However, you may not use the funds to pay attorney fees or costs associated with the lawsuit.

Although frequently associated with a car accident, medical malpractice and other types of personal injury lawsuits, lawsuit loans are available to plaintiffs with other types of claims against defendants. Lawsuits other than personal injury claims eligible for consideration for funding include:

• Commercial lawsuits
• Wrongful death and estate litigation
• Class-action lawsuits 
• Wrongful termination and employment discrimination cases

As long as the primary relief sought in the lawsuit is monetary damages or money for the plaintiff, it may be eligible for settlement funding. For example, a divorce case or other type of family law matter would not be eligible for pre-settlement funding because the money damages are not the primary relief sought on behalf of the plaintiff in the lawsuit.

How Does A Settlement Loan Work?

An important thing to keep in mind about settlement loans is how they differ from traditional loans, such as car loans and mortgage loans. When you apply to a credit union or traditional lender for a loan, the approval process primarily focuses on your ability to make the monthly payments to repay the debt, so they are called “recourse” loans because the lender looks to you for repayment. As a result, the lender asks for employment and income verifications and a credit check. 

In contrast, the application and underwriting process to obtain a lawsuit loan does not ask for information about your employment or personal finances, nor does the funding company do a credit check because you are applying for a non-recourse loan. The company only asks for documents and details about your lawsuit in order to evaluate the likelihood that you will win and the value of an expected settlement or jury award. It cannot go after you personally for repayment.

Repayment of the money advanced for lawsuit funding comes from the settlement funds paid by the liability insurance company on behalf of the defendant. If you were to lose the lawsuit or the settlement does not provide sufficient money to repay the money owed the loan company, you are not personally liable.

The legal funding company assumes the risks associated with lending money based on an anticipated settlement or judgment. The company also risks an outcome in the case that produces a favorable result that is lower than the valuation it used to determine how much to advance to you. 

Settlement funding companies charge interest on the money you get, and some companies charge additional fees. The amount charged in interest or fees is to compensate the company for lending money to you and assuming the risk of loss if the lawsuit does not end as anticipated.

What Is The Interest On A Settlement Loan?

Companies offering lawsuit advances generally set their own rates for the interest and fees they charge. Interest rates as high as 60% have been reported. However, it is possible to find lower rates by shopping and comparing the costs quoted by several companies. For example, LawsuitLoans.io offers some of the lowest rates in the industry starting at 2.5% simple interest per month. 

When shopping for a cash advance, be mindful of the dangers of compound interest. Simple interest calculates the cost of the money borrowed by applying the interest rate against the amount of the money that you actually receive. For example, if you borrow $10,000 at 2.5% simple interest per month from LawsuitLoans.io, the cost would be $250 a month for each month until repaid from your settlement. However, if a lender compounds interest, the interest rate quoted is charged on the cash advance and the interest. The result is that you pay more than with simple interest because you pay interest on interest.

What Happens If I Lose My Case and Don’t Get A Settlement?

The non-recourse feature of a lawsuit cash advance means that you have no personal obligation to repay the money advance or the fees and interest charged for it. The company funding the loan assumes the risk of loss if you do not win the lawsuit or if the settlement does not cover all that is owed. You should not accept a cash advance until your attorney reviews the written contract between you and the funding company to ensure that it contains non-recourse language.

Do Banks Give Settlement Loans?

Banks and credit unions offer traditional types of financing. They do not offer settlement loans, which are offered by third-party settlement funding companies.

Pros of Settlement Loans

The benefits people get from the ability to have access to money upfront instead of waiting until for a settlement differs depending their individual circumstances, but for most people, the pros of settlement loans generally include the following:

• Immediate access to money for paying bills, taking care of home or car repairs, paying tuition and for other expenses that may create a financial hardship for a plaintiff temporarily or permanently unemployed because of an accident or other harm caused by someone else.
• Lets you avoid falling prey to delaying tactics used by insurance companies to take advantage of a plaintiff’s financial situation to force acceptance of unfair and inadequate settlement offers. It gives your lawyer time to get you the outcome that you deserve.
• The non-recourse feature of the loans puts all of the risk on the company in the event your lawsuit does result in a favorable outcome.

Don’t make a decision about legal fund based only on its benefits without also weighing the disadvantages.

Cons of Settlement Loans

It’s easy to be influenced by the obvious benefits offered by settlement loans, but you also must consider some of the disadvantages, including the following: 

• You cannot go into legal funding without being mindful of its cost. Unless you shop and compare rates before going with a company such as LawsuitLoans.io that offers low rates and simple interest, you could pay dearly by using the wrong settlement funding company.
• Settlement funding companies have strict guidelines for their approval process that result in some lawsuits being rejected for funding. Talk to your lawyer to ensure that your type of lawsuit meets the guidelines of the company you want to apply to for a loan.
• The longer it takes to settle a lawsuit and repay the cash advance, the more interest and fees accrue. Ask your lawyer to give you an estimate of how it will take to settle your case and use that information to determine whether or not to apply for legal funding.

Alternatives to Settlement Loans

Reputable settlement loan companies want you to consider the availability of other sources of financial assistance before applying to a settlement funding company for money, including the following:

• Borrowing against a life insurance policy.
• Personal loan from a bank or credit union.
• Credit card cash advance.
• Asking friends and relatives for help.

Weigh the pros and cons of each alternative option available to you to determine whether a pre-settlement loan is the best option for you.

Why Should You Choose LawsuitLoans.io For Your Settlement Loan?

Shop around, compare interest rates and overall costs, and you will find that LawsuitLoans.io offers some of the lowest interest rates while providing outstanding customer service. They offer funding against expected settlements at rates as low as 2.5% simple interest per month and fund up to 50% of the settlement value. Funds can be in your hands within 24 hours of approval. Contact them for more information at (866) 594-1343, or you may apply online.

Conclusion

If unpaid bills or unexpected expenses create financial hardship, a settlement loan may offer a solution. Borrowing against the expected settlement in a pending civil lawsuit can give you the money you need. Unlike traditional loans that obligate you to make monthly payments on the debt, lawsuit loans are repaid when the case is settled. There is no financial obligation on your part should you lose the lawsuit.