Benefit determinations by a plan administrator should be viewed by the courts as a fiduciary act, according to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld an earlier standard.
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Metlife v. Glenn that an insurer that serves as both the provider and administrator of disability benefits has an inherent conflict of interest.
While the court ruled that conflicts of interest within a plan should be considered during legal challenges to a benefits decision, it also provided plans with a means of mitigating the potential damage from those conflicts.
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