IN Gov. Pence Signs Bill Affirming Consumer Legal Funding is the Purchase of an Asset, Not a Loan

From our latest press release:

With the stroke of his pen, yesterday Indiana Gov. Mike Pence affirmed that consumer legal funding is the purchase of an asset—not a loan—and that access to the product is essential for the people of Indiana. HB 1127, sponsored by state Rep. Matt Lehman (R-District 79), will make Indiana the third Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC) state whose legislature has reached this conclusion in recent years. This puts the momentum on the side of legal funding supporters, who have been battling with the insurance industry to preserve consumer access to the product.

Legal funding allows a person with a legitimate personal injury claim sell a portion of their potential settlement for money upfront. Legal funding can help people avoid taking unfair, low-ball settlement offers offered by insurance companies. As a result, the insurance industry and their, proxies, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have been trying to take down legal funding providers state-by-state.

One tactic used by the insurance industry has been trying to wrongfully classify legal funding as a loan. They do this to impose improper regulations on providers—all of them small businesses—and thereby limit consumers’ ability to get funding in their time of need.

Loans and purchases are obviously quite different. Loans require collateral or credit, they receive monthly payments. Default can lead to repossession, damaged credit, or collections. Purchases have none of those characteristics, so legal funding doesn’t either…