Greg is a Bates Group Testifying Expert who has been a Litigation Consultant and Expert Witness since 2003. He has been recommended and engaged in cases involving life and health insurance underwriting, claims practices and procedures, agent standards and practices, ERISA plans, life insurance, annuities, both fixed and variable, equity indexed annuities and life insurance, disability income insurance, STOLI cases, life insurance rescissions, structured settlements, group life and health insurance, financed life insurance, third party administration and cases involving securities sales. He has appeared or been engaged in both federal and state courts as an expert in 41 state jurisdictions involving over 250 cases.
Greg brings a vast reservoir of experience in the life/health insurance and annuity industry. In past years his duties included training agency and sales force personnel on all aspects of proper life underwriting procedures, agent and broker practices and claims procedures. He has also been highly involved in training agency sales forces in the proper conduct and role of the agent or broker in relation to the company and the insured/owner.
He has acted as the primary liaison between the field and home office underwriting departments. He has been involved at some level in the underwriting and issuing of thousands of individual life insurance, disability income, and annuity policies. By education and the experience gleaned over a career spanning over 45 years he is well qualified in agent and company standards and practices, underwriting, claims, and many other aspects of the life and health insurance industry.
Since 1987, Greg has been actively involved in the structured settlement business. During this time, he has acted as President of a structured settlement firm, a broker, a settlement consultant, and expert witness. He has been a licensed life, health and annuity broker in Texas and several other states.
His work in this area included the negotiation and placement of structured settlement annuities and consultations with defendants, insurers and plaintiffs and their attorneys as to the financial efficiency and appropriateness of structured settlements. He has also worked extensively with the Ad Litem community throughout Texas to establish court approved benefit packages for minor and incompetent claimants.
He has been retained to preserve or increase benefits through 468B Qualified Settlement Funds, Medical Set Aside Trusts, Medical Reversionary Trusts, Section 142 Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, and Settlement Preservation Trusts. In addition, he is an expert witness in the area of structured settlements, the design and pricing of specific benefit packages, the tax ramifications of periodic payments plan as outlined in the Internal Revenue Code and the projection of future costs for education or health care needs. He has also developed periodic payment plans for civil rights, sexual and age discrimination and employment cases.
Upon entering the life insurance business in 1973 following graduation from college, he was the leading first year associate in the Sales and Sales Management Development Program company wide, and he quickly advanced through a series of management positions to become the youngest General Agent in the company upon his appointment in 1982. He was responsible for 22 offices located throughout west Texas and New Mexico encompassing over 200 agents and brokers.
Greg hired and trained producers in all aspects of the financial planning process including life and disability insurance, mutual funds, general investments, private placements, tax advantaged investments, group life and health insurance, estate planning, retirement planning and underwriting. In this capacity he was also responsible for the company's overall presence in his territory, including staffing, training, technology, sales practices, claims, licensing, lease negotiations and underwriting.
His efforts resulted in his agency being awarded the Agency Development Award, the second highest management award in the company and earned the National Management Award from the General Agents and Managers Association, a national organization comprised of general agents and managers.
Greg is a consultant and subject matter expert in:
Life and Health Insurance Underwriting; Claims Practice and Procedures; Agent Standards and Practices; ERISA Plans; Life Insurance
Credentials
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Political Science, Business Administration (Minor), Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
- Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, 1972 and 1973
- Student Body President, 1972 - 1973
PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS and LICENSURE
- Certified Structured Settlement Consultant, University of Notre Dame Executive Education
- Chartered Financial Consultant, American College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
- Chartered Life Underwriter, American College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
- National Structured Settlement Trade Association (Formerly)
- Licensed Texas General Lines-Life, Health, HMO (Formerly)
- Non-Resident Licenses in Various States (Formerly)
- Licensed Life and Health Insurance Counselor (Formerly)
- Licensed Life and Health Insurance Counselor-Texas (Formerly)
- Dallas and Fort Worth Claims Associations (Formerly)
- Board of Directors of Fort Worth Life Underwriters Association (now NAIFA) (Formerly)
- Licensed Texas Property and Casualty (Formerly)
- NYSE/NASD (now FINRA) Series 7 (Previously Held)
- Society of Financial Service Professionals (Formerly)
- National General Agents and Managers Association (Formerly)
- National Association of Health Underwriters (Formerly)
- National Association of Life Underwriters (now NAIFA) (Formerly)
WRITING/TEACHING/SPEAKING/PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION/CONSULTING
- Completed LIMRA Anti-Money Laundering Course prescribed for life insurance agents, 2012
- National Faculty: Society of Certified Insurance Counselors, Austin, TX; Professional Education; Life Insurance, Disability Income, Long Term Care and Health Insurance Section; Taught over 20 times in various locations throughout the United States from 2010 - 2016.
- Three pages of website material published as featured articles on Experts.com website in 2011 and 2012
- Licensed Life and Health Insurance Counselor, Texas, 2008
- Attended annual meetings of Summit Settlement Services in Scottsdale, AZ, 2008 and 2011
- Invited speaker at United States Department of Justice-Washington, DC regarding DOJ efforts to mitigate and settle litigation against the government in the most cost effective and timely manner possible, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
- Engaged as a litigation consultant and expert witness numerous times since 2003. Cases range from life insurance underwriting practices, claims practices and procedures, ERISA welfare benefit plans, annuities of all kinds, agent and broker standards and practices, STOLI cases, group, and individual health insurance plans, third party administrators, disability income and all aspects of life insurance.
- The Medical Aspects of Claims, The International Claims Association, 2005
- The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research, Life and Health Institute, 2004
- Life and Health Claim Administration-The International Claims Association, 2004
- Attended as an exhibitor and spoke to attendees at Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association seminar in Fayetteville, AR regarding structured settlements in March 2003
- Wrote Continuing Education Course “Using Structured Settlements Effectively”. Approved for 2 hours of CE credit by Texas Department of Insurance, 1991 and 1994; first CE course in Structured Settlements in Texas
- Contributed articles for Settlement Briefs, Quarterly Structured Settlement Newsletter, 1996
- Wrote manuscript for Continuing Legal Education Seminar sponsored by Professional Education Systems, Inc.; "How to Evaluate and Settle Personal Injury Claims in Oklahoma"; November 1990; Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Platform Speaker: Seminar on "How to Evaluate and Settle Personal Injury Claims in Oklahoma"; November 1990; Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Wrote manuscript for Continuing Legal Education Seminar sponsored by Professional Education Systems, Inc.; "How to Evaluate and Settle Personal Injury Claims in New Mexico"; November 1989; Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Platform Speaker: Seminar on "How to Evaluate and Settle Personal Injury Claims in New Mexico"; November 1989; Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Wrote and delivered a presentation on the efficient use of structured settlements in the settlement of workers' compensation claims for Travelers Insurance, Dallas, TX, May 2001
- Instructor: Financial Planning and Investments; New Mexico Continuing Education for Life Underwriters; 1986 and 1987; Course LH/0671/301285
- Guest Lecturer: El Paso Community College; 1984, Course in Personal Financial Planning and Investments
- Moderated approximately 90 seminars for law firms and insurance companies in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma on the value and proper use of structured settlements as a settlement tool and settlement vehicle; 1987 - Present
- Instructor: Performance Planning System; 1986 and 1987; Introduced concept of money dynamics and financial planning process to 21 offices in Texas and New Mexico
- Instructor: Insurance Marketing System; 1977 and 1978, Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company and Systema Corporation; Taught course in marketing insurance and investments products to agents and general agents for Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company
- Attended numerous mediations and settlement conferences as a structured settlement consultant