Reliance Standard Gets Appellate Victory in Disability Spat

Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co. doesn’t have to pay a participant’s long-term disability benefits merely because the insurer mishandled the claims process, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled (Smith v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co., 2017 BL 110010, 9th Cir., No. 16-15319, unpublished 4/4/17).

Reliance’s failure to issue a decision on the participant’s claim within the 90-day period set by federal law doesn’t automatically obligate the insurer to pay benefits, the court concluded. However, this factor may alter the standard of judicial review applicable to Reliance’s decision, the court said. It therefore ordered a ...