Employer occupancy energy cancelled upon termination, does Erisa apply?

I am the HR manager for a small company, around 50 employees. The company supplies a $20,000 occupancy life policy and offers voluntary member of staff term life. I have an employee who left our company. I sent out his Cobra information, and Information detailing his rights to his 401K plan. All workers receive a booklet, along with their certificate, for respectively of the coverages they have. Exp. Term life, Voluntary possession life, Short term Disability, and Voluntary long permanent status disability. It states in their booklets, they have the right to convert their possession life insurance upon termination. They have three months to submit a written request for a conversion carton. This employee never requested to convert and unfortuneately pasted away four months latter. His wife has hired a lawyer who is requesting information he feel falls under the ERICA act. Doesn't this feat only apply to Health insurance? Is there a ruling that required me to give further notification of conversion?
Answers:
I'm not aware of anything give or take a few term life surrounded by ERISA, which deals with retirement plans, for the most element (if part of a retirement package is a strength and welfare benefit, then health diligence would also fall under the achievement.) ERISA stands for Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

You say the lawyer is requesting information that falls lower than the act. The information he's requesting could be the booklet and any other information you give to your terminated personnel. If that's what he's talking about, afterwards it is covered under ERISA- just offer him the termination package.

If he's looking for information specific to the life insurance, he probably doesn't own a right to it, but you'll know- if he's got documents giving him the legal right to the information by a go-between or by your company, then he has access. If he doesn't, afterwards you only have to show him what you give to the gentleman when he was terminated. Source(s): I audit hand benefit plans for a living. I know sections of ERISA by heart. :0)
U can revue this here friend
http://allhaveinsurance.blogspot.com
Interesting question. I've never hear of life insurance, or the conversion thereof, falling under ERISA, but perchance it's the lawyer's plan to either 1. Make this a test baggage and take it to court, or 2. scare you into freshly paying out the $20,000, because taking it to court will likely cost you more. Assuming that you don't have hand benefits liability coverage on your package policy.

Likely this guy was too sick to recompense attention to paperwork. If you have employment benefits liability, and even if you don't, turn a copy of all the correspondence over to your GL mover, and let them handle it. I feel he's fishing, too.

I don't think the lawyer is entitled to adjectives the correspondence, proof of payments, etc, under ERISA. Sorry, it's time for you to get professional support on this. If you have no GL coverage that will apply, hire a lawyer.


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