About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1968 A.B.A. Sec. Ins. Negl. & Comp. L. Proc. 491 (1968)
Employee Benefits Liability Insurance

handle is hein.journals/abasineg34 and id is 533 raw text is: EMPLOYEE BENEFITS LIABILITY INSURANCE ROLAND J. WENDORFF Wausau, Wisconsin Perhaps the title of this paper is misleading. When we think of employee benefits insurance, we usually think in terms of group accident and health insurance, group life insurance, disability benefits insurance, pension plans, and all of the other insured employee benefits which are part of the largess employees are receiving in increasing abundance from their employers under the employer-employee relationship. This paper is not concerned with the insurance for the payment of such employee benefits. It is concerned with a related problem which has resulted from these employee benefits programs: The potential liability of an employer because of errors, omissions or misrepresenta- tions in the administration of employee benefits plans, or in advising employees of their rights and of the benefits available to them under employee benefits plans. More specifically, this paper deals with the insurance available to protect the employer against such potential liability. Until about six years ago, employers were not overly concerned with any potential liability they might have as a result of errors or omissions in administering their employee benefits programs. The idea of purchasing insurance against any such potential liability was about as nonexistent as was the available insurance. However, the case of Gediman v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc.,' changed all of this. The Gediman case made employers and their insurance buyers aware for the first time of a liability exposure in the area of the administration of employee benefits programs, and it created a demand for insurance protection against such liability. It is not my purpose to review in depth the development of the law under which an employer may be held liable for errors, mistakes, or misrepresentations in administering employee benefits programs. Several excellent papers have been written on this subject, and I commend them to you for perusal.2 It is necessary, however, to briefly review the employee benefits liability exposure in order to have a better understanding of the employee benefits liability insurance. The Gediman case involved a dispute over the pension benefits of an employee who retired early because of ill health. The facts of the case are somewhat 1 299 F. 2d 537 (Second Circuit, 1962). 2 Sharp, Employer Responsibility for Negligent Misrepresentations, 41 Temple L. Q., 186; Davis, Liability to Employees for Gratuitous Advice or Service, 18 Bus. Law. 1063; Maurer, Ethical and Legal Problems of the Corporate Counsel in the Rendering of Personal Advice to Company Officers and Employees, 21 Bus. Law. 817; Anderson, Liability of Employers and Insurers Arising From Benefit Plan Information, presented at the meeting of the Legal Section of the American Life Convention, October 24, 1967.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most