Frank asked his company's employee benefits director if his group health coverage could be converted to individual coverage.The benefits director said,"Yes,you can convert to an individual policy,and the coverage is identical to your group coverage." Frank quit his job and converted to an individual policy.Six months later he filed a claim.He was dismayed to learn the conversion policy was limited compared to the group coverage,and his claim was denied.What legal doctrine will allow Frank to bring a successful legal action against his former employer because he was financially harmed due to his reasonable reliance upon a representation of fact?

Question

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The legal doctrine that will allow Frank to bring a successful legal action against his former employer is estoppel. Estoppel is a legal principle that prevents a person from denying or asserting something contrary to what was implied or inferred by a previous action or statement. In this case, Frank relied on the representation of fact made by the employee benefits director that his individual policy would be identical to his group coverage. He suffered harm as a result of his reliance on this representation. Therefore, estoppel would prevent the employer from denying the validity of Frank's claim.

Frank Asked His Company's Employee Benefits Director If His Group