National Structured Settlements Trade Association
Statement of Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Preamble and Applicability
This Statement of Ethics and Professional Responsibility (Statement) has been adopted by the Board of Directors and Membership of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA) to provide guiding principles to its members and member organizations. Implicit in the acceptance of this Statement is an obligation to act in a professionally responsible and ethical manner when providing structured settlement services.
This Statement applies to all NSSTA member companies, their employees and to individual members, regardless or their voting rights and responsibilities.
Principle I – Integrity and Fidelity
The NSSTA member shall offer and provide professional services with integrity and fidelity. The NSSTA member must exercise the utmost integrity when providing professional structured settlement services. The nature and extent of services rendered must be dictated by professionalism, honesty and candor which should not be compromised for personal gain or advantage.
The NSSTA members must also exercise fidelity or faithfulness to the obligations and duties they have accepted on behalf of their client as well as any obligation to others involved in the structured settlement process.
Principle II – Competence
The NSSTA member shall acquire and maintain the necessary knowledge and skills to assure delivery of high quality professional service.
Knowledge and experience are the cornerstones of our industry. All NSSTA members are expected to attain and maintain an understanding of relevant provisions of applicable tax codes, claim procedures and terminology, provider company products and procedures, negotiation skills and financial planning concepts.
The NSSTA member shall make a commitment to continued education and participate in appropriate professional education through programs and seminars sponsored by NSSTA and/or other reputable sources.
Statement of Ethics and Professional Responsibility I
Principle III – Fairness, Honesty and Due Care
All persons engaged in the provision of any part of a structured settlement shall perform their duties in an honest, ethical and fair manner.
Fairness mandates intellectual honesty and disclosure of relevant conflict (s) of interest. It requires subordination of one’s own feelings or personal desires to the interest of clients or others to whom a duty is owed so as to ensure the honest and ethical delivery of structured settlement services. Fairness is an essential trait of any profession and is best reflected when treating others in a fashion as one would expect to be treated.
NSSTA members shall exercise reasonable due diligence and care when performing structured settlement services.
Principle IV – Confidentiality
A NSSTA member will not disclose confidential information to unauthorized persons except with specific consent of the source thereof, or in response to proper legal requirements or court orders. To promote structured settlements and to strengthen NSSTA, its members will hold in strict confidence the confidential, sensitive and private information given to them. NSSTA members must not reveal information agreed to as confidential without the expressed consent of the source thereof or pursuant to legal requirements (such as statutory authorization, subpoena, or court order).
Principle V – Professionalism
Conduct of NSSTA members in all matters shall reflect credit upon the profession. The important professional services rendered by NSSTA members carry the attendant responsibilities for members to behave with dignity and courtesy to all those who benefit from their services, including fellow professionals and those in related professions, clients and the general public.
Principle VI – Compliance
A NSSTA member should comply with all material federal and state laws and regulations applicable to the structured settlement services that are provided.