Grounds for Judicial Review Any civil action will be based solely on your advanced contentions in the administrative review process, and judicial review will be limited to the Plan document and the record developed during the administrative review process as set forth in this Section. Written Claims Any claim for benefits must be filed in writing with the Administrator, but the Administrator may permit the filing of a claim for benefits electronically as the Administrator complies with certain Department of Labor requirements. Any Employee, Participant or Beneficiary who files a claim for benefits under the Plan is a "Claimant" under this claims procedures. As a Claimant, you may authorize a representative to act on your behalf with respect to any claim under the Plan. The representative must provide satisfactory evidence to the Administrator of its authority to act on your behalf, such as a letter of authority with your notarized signature. To the extent consistent with the authority you grant to your representative, references to “you” or to "Claimant" in these claims procedures include your representative. The Administrator may review claims under the Plan or may delegate that authority to an appropriate adjudicator. References in these claims procedures to the Administrator include any claims adjudicator acting on behalf of the Administrator. Benefit claim determinations will be made based on the applicable provisions of the Plan document and any documents of general application that interpret the Plan provisions and are maintained by the Employer or the Administrator for purposes of making benefit determinations. The Administrator will take such steps as are necessary to ensure and verify that benefit claim determinations are made in accordance with such documents and the Plan provisions are being applied consistently with respect to similarly situated Claimants. All notices to Claimants will be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the Claimant. Review of Non-Disability Benefit Claims The provisions of this paragraph will apply if your claim for a benefit does not require a determination as to whether or not you are disabled or if a claim requires a Disability determination, but that determination is made outside the Plan for reasons other than determining eligibility for a Plan Benefit. Examples of this are where the Disability determination is based solely on whether you are entitled to disability benefits under either the Social Security Act or the Employer’s long term disability plan. ● Initial Denial. Whenever the Administrator decides for any reason to deny a claim in whole or in part, the Administrator will give you a written or electronic notice of its decision within 90 days of the date the claim was filed, unless an extension of time is necessary or you voluntarily agree to an extension. If special circumstances require an extension, the Administrator will notify you before the end of the initial review period that additional review time is necessary. The notice for an extension (a) will specify the circumstances requiring a delay and the date that a decision is expected to be made; and (b) will describe any additional information needed to resolve any unresolved issues. Unless the Administrator requires additional information from you to process the claim, the review period cannot be extended beyond an additional 90 days unless you voluntarily agree to a longer extension or the Administrator determines that special circumstances require a further extension. If special circumstances require a further extension, the Administrator will notify you before the end of the extended review period that further additional review time is necessary and such notice will describe the special circumstances requiring a further delay and specify the date a decision is expected to be made. The Administrator cannot extend the review period beyond an additional 90 days unless you voluntarily agree to a longer extension. If the Administrator requires additional information from you to process the claim and a timely notice requesting the additional information is transmitted to you, it must be provided within 90 days of the date that the notice is provided by the Administrator. ● Notice of Denial. If your claim is denied, the notice will contain the following information: (a) the specific reasons for the denial; (b) reference to the specific Plan provisions on which the denial is based; (c) a description of any additional material or information necessary for you to perfect your claim and an explanation of why such material or information is necessary; (d) a statement that you are entitled to receive, upon request and free of charge, reasonable access to, and copies of, all documents, records and other information relevant to your claim; (e) a description of the Plan's review (i.e., appeal) procedures, the time limits applicable to such procedures, and in the event of an adverse review decision, a statement describing any voluntary review
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