FAQ for Structure Recipients

If your structured settlement was prepared to allow for a secondary payee to be named or changed, we would be happy to provide you with the forms required to begin this process with the life insurance company.  Please contact our Client Services department via email at clientservices@mckellar.com or by calling 1-800-265-8381 so we can assist you with next steps.  Be sure to provide us with your full name and phone number.

A tax-free structured settlement can only be set up if the insurance company settling your claim agrees to it at the time of settlement. Once you have received your settlement money, Canada Revenue Agency will not allow you to use those monies to fund a tax-free structured settlement.

When your payment is deposited into your bank account depends both on when it was released by the life insurance company making the payment and on the policies of your bank. Typically, payments scheduled to be made on a weekend or holiday are deposited by the end of the next business day.

If your payment is late and you need assistance, please contact the life insurance company responsible for making your structure payments. (McKellar Structured Settlements doesn’t have direct access to any payment or deposit information.)   You will need to have your policy number ready when you call them.

BMO Life Assurance Company (also handles structures issued by AIG Life Insurance Company of Canada): 1-866-382-7401

The Canada Life Assurance Company (also handles structures issued by Great-West Life Assurance Company): 1-888-252-1847

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company: 1-888-790-4387

The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada (now serviced by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company): 1-888-841-6633

Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (also handles structures issued by Prudential Assurance Company): 1-877-786-5433

Our Client Services department provides the following services:

• Answering questions about existing structured settlements;
• Assisting you in advising the life insurance companies of changes to your address or name, or beneficiary information;
• Preparing confirmation of payment letters to assist in obtaining a mortgage or a loan; and
• After death, if applicable, facilitating the smooth transition of any remaining guaranteed payments to the appropriate beneficiary.

Once the structured settlement has been put into place, it cannot be modified in any way. This is required by Canada Revenue Agency in order for structure payments to be tax free. You have the irrevocable right to receive the payments as they fall due. While your structured settlement cannot be used as security for a loan, we can provide you with a letter confirming your structure payments if you are seeking a loan from a bank or other financial institution.

McKellar can help you notify the life insurance company (or companies) paying your structure of this new information. Please provide us with your new address information, along with your current telephone number, by email at clientservices@mckellar.com. If you receive your payments by mail, the life insurance company needs 3-4 weeks’ notice of any change to ensure there is no interruption in your payments, so please contact us well in advance of your next payment.

McKellar can help you notify the life insurance company (or companies) paying your structure of this new information. Please provide us with your new name information and supporting documentation (such as a marriage certificate), along with your current telephone number, by email at clientservices@mckellar.com. If you receive your payments by mail, the life insurance company needs 3-4 weeks’ notice of any change to ensure there is no interruption in your payments, so please contact us well in advance of your next payment.

Any changes to banking must be completed with the life insurance company (or companies) who make your structured settlement payments. We therefore suggest that you contact the life insurance company directly. You will need to have your policy number ready when you call them.

The life insurance company will likely ask you to forward them a signed void cheque, with the correct account holder's name(s) printed in the top left corner.  If you do not have cheques for the account, you can obtain a direct deposit form from your bank (which should be signed by you and a bank representative), or the life insurance company may be able to suggest other options.

In order to ensure uninterrupted receipt of your payments, the life insurance company should receive your new banking information at least 2-3 weeks prior to the date of your next payment to allow them sufficient time to process the change. Please do not close your old account until you have received your first payment in the new account.

BMO Life Assurance Company (also handles structures issued by AIG Life Insurance Company of Canada): 1-866-382-7401

The Canada Life Assurance Company (also handles structures issued by Great-West Life Assurance Company): 1-888-252-1847

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company: 1-888-790-4387

The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada (now serviced by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company): 1-888-841-6633

Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (also handles structures issued by Prudential Assurance Company): 1-877-786-5433

Canada Revenue Agency does not view structured settlement payments as income, so they do not have to be reported on your tax return. Structured settlement payments are completely tax free.

The life insurance company sends out letters from time to time, referred to as "Certificate of Existence" letters. This is part of their audit process to ensure that their records are current and correct. Simply complete the form they enclosed and return it in the stamped envelope provided by the life insurance company. If they do not hear from you, they may suspend your payments until they can locate you. To avoid any potential disruptions in your payments, please ensure your contact information with the life insurance company is current.

Structured settlements are not considered income or an asset by CRA. As a result, structured settlements are often exempt from consideration for eligibility for income-tested federal and provincial government programs, like the Canada Child Benefit, Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, and many more. Many social assistance benefits programs also provide either a partial or a complete exemption for structured settlement payments in their eligibility criteria, allowing you to receive structured settlement payments without losing access to those benefits. The lawyer who settled your personal injury claim will be able to assist you with these questions.