Disability Insurance News
Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies in ERISA: The Potential Death Knell of a Disability, Life or Health Insurance Claim
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, establishes protections for most employee benefits offered through employer-sponsored benefit plans. ERISA requires that the plan and claims administrators adhere to certain internal procedures, often...
Cohorst v. Anthem: When Does Waiver Apply under ERISA?
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, governs most employer-sponsored benefit plans. ERISA establishes protections for employees in the administration of their employer-sponsored benefits, requiring that the administrator adhere to certain...
When the Clock is Ticking: The Interplay of the Contractual Limitations Period and the Statute of Limitations in a Disability Insurance Case
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, otherwise known as ERISA, governs most employer-sponsored benefit plans, including short and long-term disability benefits, life benefits, accidental death and dismemberment benefits and others. ERISA was enacted...
The Hartford Agrees to Purchase Aetna’s Group Disability Insurance and Group Life Insurance Business
In a deal between two of the country’s largest disability insurers, The Hartford agreed to purchase Aetna Life Insurance Company’s group life insurance and disability insurance business for $1.45 billion. After the purchase, which is expected to close before the end...
Attorney Robert J. McKennon Educates Policyholders on ERISA and Disability Insurance Claims
When a disability insurance claim is denied, the process of challenging that wrongful denial can be daunting. At McKennon Law Group PC, we represent policyholders in their insurance disputes and help guide our clients through the complex insurance claims process. We...
Plan Administrators Cannot Violate their Fiduciary Duties by Failing to Provide Proper Notice of Policy Amendments; ERISA Plan Exclusions/Limits May Not be Enforceable
Summary Plan Descriptions (“SPD”) under ERISA are required to be given to plan participants, and they provide plan participants with the most important summary of plan terms they need to know regarding their ERISA governed plans. ERISA requires SPDs to “be written in...
Ninth Circuit Grants a Small Reprieve to the Abuse of Discretion Standard of Review, Ruling That Discretionary Language Provisions in Self-Funded ERISA Will Apply
When litigating ERISA-governed short-term disability, long-term disability, life and medical insurance claims, a major consideration is which “standard of review” will apply to the Court’s review of the insurer’s decision – abuse of discretion or de novo. The de novo...
Does an Insurance Company Need to Deny a Claim to be Liable for Bad Faith Damages? You May Be Surprised to Learn the Answer is “No.”
Every insurance contract is accompanied by an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, meaning that the insurer cannot “unfairly frustrate” or unreasonably “deprive” the insured of the benefits of the insurance contract. This implied covenant applies to all...
Summary Plan Descriptions Under ERISA May Do More Than Summarize Your Benefit Plan
When individuals are enrolled in a group benefit plans, they are typically provided with a “Summary Plan Description” (“SPD”) which is a document that communicates plan rights and obligations to participants and beneficiaries under their ERISA plan. While the actual...
Tactics Insurers Use to Deny Valid Claims for Disability Benefits
Often times, disability insurers rely upon a common set of arguments and use common tactics to deny valid claims for disability insurance benefits. For instance, disability insurers will often have a claimant’s records analyzed by consulting physicians who challenge...
