Accidental death and life insurance claims under ERISA § 502

Filing a life insurance claim or accidental death claim under ERISA § 502 is not quite like filing these claims under normal conditions. When the claims come under ERISA § 502, the process is different in that you will have limited rights such as limited ability to use evidence in your favor. You will also have limited appeal rights and you won’t be able to give testimony in support of your claim after the appeal period ends.

For these reasons, it is critical that you get an attorney highly experienced in ERISA law as soon as possible. The sooner you do this, the greater chances of having your denial overturned in an accidental death or life insurance claim.

One thing that doesn’t change under ERISA is that insurance companies frequently try to deny just claims by bring up obscure exclusions. Sometimes they will try to claim that a death was the result of a voluntary act instead of an accident or illness. Or, they may try to claim that the death was caused by a third party, such as a physician. The important thing to remember is that even though ERISA has limitations, your particular case may have merits.