For those of you readers who are interested in the issue of fiduciary liability for excessive 401(k) fees – and who isn’t? – here is more on the subject. I posted before about ways to avoid exposure to these types of claims, and Susan Mangiero has more on that topic here. Meanwhile, Workplace Prof has
OneBeacon and Media Professional Liability Coverage
This is an interesting little article – really a press release from OneBeacon about a new product the company is marketing – about a suite of insurance products targeted at the needs of small to mid-size media companies. Among the product’s constituent parts is media professional liability coverage, which the article points out includes coverage
Fourth Circuit Upholds an Administrator’s Determination that Drunk Driving is Not an Accident
David Rossmiller – who normally runs, as I have noted previously, from ERISA cases as from a basket of snakes – and Day on Torts both have posts today on the Fourth Circuit’s decision upholding an administrator’s denial of accidental death benefits under an ERISA governed plan where the deceased died in an automobile accident
Summary Plan Descriptions and Grants of Discretion
Here is an interesting post concerning a recent decision from the Second Circuit on the impact – there is apparently none in that circuit, given this post and the Second Circuit decision, Tocker v. Phillip Morris Companies, discussed in the post – of an administrator reserving discretion in determining claims for benefits only in the
The Supreme Court, Abatie and Conflicts of Interest
I have written extensively before – including both here and here -about Abatie v. Alta Health, the Ninth Circuit’s relatively recent decision revising that circuit’s approach to structural conflicts of interest and the effect such conflicts should have on the standard of review in denial of benefit cases. The Ninth Circuit’s new rule, I
401(k) Plan Fees and Breaches of Fiduciary Duty
Some of you hopefully saw my recommendation the other day concerning this morning’s webinar on 401(k) plan fees and the attendant obligations of fiduciaries. The webinar discussed in detail the obligations of plan sponsors and other fiduciaries with regard to 401(k) plans and their accompanying fees. On the key issue of how to avoid incurring liability for breach of
Attorney’s Fee Awards, and the Duty to Indemnify
I have written before about the American Rule – which requires parties to a lawsuit, in the absence of a fee shifting statute or contractual agreement, to pay their own legal fees – and the exception under Massachusetts law that runs in favor of insureds who prevail in coverage cases against their insurers. The Supreme
Investment Management Fees, and Contract Geeks
Two things to chew on over the holiday, other than the turducken (I have always wanted to use that word in a sentence), one to know about before it occurs, the other to note before it disappears. I guess I could take that dichotomy a little further, and note that one concerns the first half
Insolvency Funds and Why the Rich Should Know Better
Massachusetts, like most and I would assume all states, has a number of legislatively created entities that participate in or affect the insurance market in one way or another, including an insolvency fund intended to cover losses underwritten by, yes, insolvent insurers.
The soon to be outgoing governor of the Commonwealth has now signed legislation
Underwriting, Math and the Future of Insurance
Information, and the ability to manage it in ever more clever and analytical ways, is fundamentally changing industry after industry. This article details the impact that ever more sophisticated management of ever more extensive information is currently having, and will in the future have, on the insurance industry. The conclusion? Those insurers that can best