“Disability Claims and the Statute of Limitations”
BENNETT V. OHIO NATIONAL:WITHHOLDING OF BENEFITS IN THE FUTURE DOES NOTSTART THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN THE PRESENT
If an insurer currently paying benefits tells its insured that it will stop paying benefits in the future, does the statute of limitations for the insured to bring a claim against the insurer begin to tick? In Bennett v. Ohio National Life Assurance Corp., the California Court of Appeal recently held that the answer is no, and in Albers v. Paul Revere Insurance Group, the Ninth Circuit reached the same conclusion. (Bennett v. Ohio Nat’l Life Assurance Corp.(2023) 92 Cal.App.5th 723;Albers v. Paul Revere Ins. Grp.(9th Cir. June 7, 2023) No. 22-15100, 2023 WL 3862514.) The opinions bring much needed clarity to an issue that has resulted in divergent rulings and that, at times, has cost insureds their ability to pursue recovery against insurers for the wrongful denial of benefits… (Click here or below to read the article)
