Editing Structured settlement (section)

====Unassigned cases====
In the less common unassigned case, the defendant or property/casualty insurer retains the periodic payment obligation and funds it by purchasing an annuity from a life insurance company, thereby offsetting its obligation with a matching asset. The payment stream purchased under the annuity matches exactly, in timing and amounts, the periodic payments agreed to in the settlement agreement. The defendant or property/casualty company owns the annuity and names the claimant as the payee under the annuity, thereby directing the annuity issuer to send payments directly to the claimant. One of the reasons an unassigned case is less popular is that the obligation is not truly off the books, and the defendant or casualty insurer retains a contingent liability. While a default is a rare occurrence, contingent liability did come into play with the liquidation of Executive Life Insurance Company of New York.<ref>{{cite web|title=Executive Life Insurance Company of New York - Policyholder Information|url=https://www.nolhga.com/companies/public/main.cfm/NAICCode/61913|website=NOLHGA|publisher=The National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations}}</ref> Some annuitants suffered shortfalls, and a number of obligors at the wrong end of unassigned cases made up the difference.