Prudential, Time Warner Defeat $147,000 Life Insurance Appeal

The sons of a deceased Time Warner Cable Inc. employee lost their lawsuit seeking $147,000 in life insurance benefits when the Sixth Circuit ruled they failed to file an internal benefits claim with their mother’s ERISA-governed benefits plan.

Jancita Malone’s sons “sought information” from life insurance claims administrator Prudential Insurance Co. of America, but they “never formally contested—or attempted to contest” the payment of benefits to another person until six years later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said Monday in an unpublished opinion. This failure to exhaust the plan’s internal remedies before going to court ...