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Insurance Industry Benefit Plan Sponsors

Hall Benefits Law

9th Circuit Explains ERISA Preemption of State Law Claims Arising from Preservice Coverage Communications

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion with critical implications for the healthcare industry. This court decision clarifies the expansive reach of the Employee Retirement Income Security...more

Stinson - Benefits Notes Blog

DOL Settlements Remind Employers to Avoid Collecting Premiums Until Evidence of Insurability is Approved

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced two settlements with major insurance companies this month that highlight the importance of employers avoiding the collection of group life insurance premiums from employees until...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

Department of Labor’s final Fiduciary Rule 4.0

On April 23, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released its Final Rule 4.0 regarding ERISA fiduciary investment advice, including amended exemptions for conflicted investment advice. Our initial analysis of the Final...more

Goodwin

The Department of Labor Finalizes Changes to the QPAM Exemption - A Favored Management Tool Gets Less User-Friendly

Goodwin on

On April 3, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) published final changes to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, commonly known as the “QPAM Exemption”. The changes make reliance on the QPAM Exemption more burdensome...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

UPDATE: Planning for Open Enrollment? Note the ACA Affordability Threshold Drop

This post was updated on February 6, 2024, to reflect the 2024 Federal Poverty Level announced in January 2024. On August 23, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service issued Rev. Proc. 2023-29, announcing that the Affordable...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Let the Plan Speak: First Gag Clause Attestation Due December 31, 2023

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

By December 31, 2023, group health plans and health insurance issuers must submit an attestation to certify compliance with the “gag clause prohibition” under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA)....more

Saul Ewing LLP

The Friday Five: Five ERISA Litigation Highlights - October 2023

Saul Ewing LLP on

This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions that range from the effect on disability benefits when medical records are not provided after two appeals, to a case that examines how an award of death benefits is...more

Verrill

A Last-Minute Gift – Prescription Drug Reporting Grace Period and Good Faith Relief

Verrill on

In a move akin to last-minute gift-giving, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (the “Departments”) released FAQ 56 on December 23, 2022, which provides relief regarding the Prescription Drug...more

Saul Ewing LLP

The Friday Five: Five Current ERISA Litigation Highlights - September 2022

Saul Ewing LLP on

This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to interpretation of ambiguous policy terms, evaluation of claimant’s expert witness, inclusion of law firms as appropriate parties from whom plan administrators may seek...more

Saul Ewing LLP

The Friday Five: Five Current ERISA Litigation Highlights - December 2021

Saul Ewing LLP on

This month’s Friday Five discusses cases that focus on what information properly constitutes the administrative record before the court on which a decision must be based. One case explores the ERISA Records Rule which limits...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

DOL hears an ERISA claimant on access to audio recordings

In a June 14, 2021 information letter, the US Department of Labor (DOL) opined that a claimant appealing an adverse benefit determination under a plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended...more

Dickinson Wright

Administration of Group Life Insurance – Not So Easy?

Dickinson Wright on

Group life insurance is perhaps the most common of the benefits provided by employers who sponsor employee benefit programs. Many times employees are given the opportunity to purchase supplemental coverage in addition to the...more

Zuckerman Spaeder LLP

Making Mental Health Parity a Reality - The Challenge Continues

Zuckerman Spaeder LLP on

Now more than ever, we are aware of the close interplay between mental and physical health. Historically, our health care system has too often turned a blind eye to mental health conditions—simply treating and providing...more

Robinson+Cole ERISA Claim Defense Blog

Disability Claims Regulations and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Those involved in disability claims administration may wish to consider the potential impacts of the current global pandemic. In the current crisis, disability claims regulations may not be at the top of many peoples’ minds....more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Update: Private Plan Exemptions and Reminders on Notice Compliance

The Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave (DFML) continues to issue updates concerning compliance with the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (PFML). The DFML’s most recent updates address private plan...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Tyll v. Stanley Black & Decker: When Plan Ambiguity Cost an Employer $4 Million

McDermott Will & Emery on

An employer learned the full cost of ambiguity when a Connecticut federal district court agreed with an employee’s widow that the word “maximum” was ambiguous in the company’s life insurance plan, thus making the widow...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Action Needed by Certain ERISA Plans – New Disability Claims Procedures Apply Beginning April 2018

In January 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that final regulations affecting how some ERISA plans process claims and appeals will apply beginning April 1, 2018. As explained below, the final regulations...more

Dickinson Wright

Company Liable for Not Providing Accurate Information about Benefits

Dickinson Wright on

A recent court case, Erwood vs Life Insurance Company of North America, is a reminder that plan sponsors must understand the terms of their welfare and retirement benefit plans, and ensure that their staff follows the...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Does the Fiduciary Exception Apply to Legal Advice Received By Insurers During the Claims Process

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: Adding to the body of conflicting authority on the scope of the attorney-client privilege in ERISA lawsuits, a district court has found that the fiduciary exception to attorney-client privilege applies to...more

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

Funds Talk: February 2017

Private Fund Advisers, Robo-Advisers, ETFs Among SEC, FINRA Exam Priorities for 2017 - As the new year begins, U.S. regulators highlighted the areas – some new and some familiar – which will be the focus of their...more

BakerHostetler

State Data Breach Notification Requirements Specifically Applicable to Insurers

BakerHostetler on

Almost all U.S. states and territories have enacted breach notification laws requiring private and/or government entities to notify individuals when their personal information is compromised....more

Burr & Forman

DOL Hearings Debate “Fiduciary Duty” not “Suitability” Standard for Retirement Accounts

Burr & Forman on

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL“) recently heard public comment to its proposed regulatory changes implementing a fiduciary duty on any individual receiving compensation for advice tailored to a plan sponsor, participant...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Lies That Prospective Retirement Plan Providers May Tell You

When we were children, our mothers told us stories that we believed to be true because we always believed what our parents were telling us was the truth. Part of growing up is realizing that a good chunk of what your mom told...more

K&L Gates LLP

In an Opinion with Far-Reaching Implications, the Second Circuit Finds Insurance Coverage for an ERISA Claim

K&L Gates LLP on

When a general liability policy expressly provides coverage for employee benefits liability and the plaintiff in the underlying suit alleges a violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), does...more

Morgan Lewis

DOL Clarifies Revenue Sharing Fiduciary Responsibility Issues

Morgan Lewis on

Advisory opinion on "plan asset" issue lays out factors for fiduciary consideration. On July 3, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Advisory Opinion 2013-03A, which discusses whether a bookkeeping account for...more

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