ERISA Life Insurance Benefits

ERISA Insurance Attorney John Tucker manages Tucker & Ludin's Employee Benefits Litigation practice team, and has years of experience handling ERISA Life insurance & Accidental Death claims.  Mr. Tucker is a former Adjunct Professor of Law at Stetson University who has over 15 years of exerience litigating ERISA claims.  Life Insurance benefits that an employee or their dependent gets through a private employer are subject to a federal law called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - "ERISA."  ERISA has peculiar rules, and you want an attorney that has ERISA litigation experience if your claim for ERISA Life Insurance benefits is denied.

Life Insurance is there to protect your family from the loss of your earning power in case you die.  Tucker & Ludin is there when the insurance company decides to deny a Life Insurance or Accidental Death Insurance claim.  ERISA Life Insurance Attorney John Tucker will fight aggressively to help you recover Life Insurance benefits that are denied. 

Why are ERISA claims different?

Unlike insurance individual insurance policies (which are covered by state law), you lose certain advantages under ERISA, including:

  • If you have to file a lawsuit against your insurance company, you do NOT get a trial before a jury.  For group plans covered by ERISA, you only get a Judge who will probably decide your case on written motions without a jury.
  • There are appeals that you have to go through before filing a lawsuit.  If you do not jump through the insurance company's appeal hoops, you cannot file a lawsuit (we handle those appeals for you).
  • Insurance companies are NOT subject to punitive damages for acting in bad faith.  You will only be able to recover the amount of the life insurance benefit in court.
  • In most situations, if you have to sue your insurance company, the court may NOT make the insurance company pay your attorney fees.  It is an option for the judge, but it is not mandatory like under state law.
  • When you file suit, the court will probably never take testimony from any witnesses in court.  All of the evidence you would want a Judge to consider (e.g., expert witness opinions, documents, etc.), must be in the claim file before the final pre-suit appeal decision is made or it wil never go into evidence.

The last point is crucial - courts rarely take testimony in ERISA cases.  Often, in Life Insurance claims, issues like whether a beneficiary designation form was properly filled out, whether the death resulted from a pre-existing condition, or whether a death was accidental are crucial. You may need a handwriting expert or a medical expert to give an opinion to win your claim.  However, if the claim is subject to ERISA, you have to submit all of your evidence before you ever file a lawsuit.  We work with experts to help you obtain the evidence you need to win your claim.

Click here to get answers to many commonly asked questions about ERISA.

ERISA Attorney John Tucker Offers Free Consultations on ERISA Claims!

If you believe we can be of assistance in helping you with the denial of your ERISA Life benefit claim, please contact us.  In the Tampa Bay area, we can be reached by phone at (727) 572-5000.  If you are outside the Tampa Bay area (including anywhere in the United States), please call Mr. Tucker toll-free at (866) 282-5260.  ERISA Life Insurance Attorney John Tucker handles ERISA Life Insurance and Accidental Death cases for people throughout Florida and the United States, including locations like Bradenton, Clearwater, Cocoa, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Melbourne, Naples, Ocala, Orlando, Pensacola, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa, Titusville, and Vero Beach, Florida as well as other states such as Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Georgia.  As another option, you may visit our Free Case Evaluation web page, answer the questions on that page, and we will get back to you within 2 business days of receiving the completed questionnaire.

We offer a Free Initial Consultation on ERISA Life Insurance claimsand various attorney fee options to suit your needs. You owe it to yourself to find out your options, and understand what we can do to help you. 

When you lose a loved one, it is not right for the insurance company to deny the ERISA Life Insurance payment to which you are entitled.

Let Tucker & Ludin help you get the ERISA Life Insurance benefits you deserve. 


Lexis Nexis Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rated 2008