Denial of Claim. In the case of the denial of a claim respecting benefits paid or payable with respect to a Participant, a written notice will be furnished to the Claimant within 90 days of the date on which the claim is received by the Committee. If special circumstances (such as for a hearing) require a longer period, the Claimant will be notified in writing, prior to the expiration of the 90-day period, of the reasons for an extension of time; provided, however, that no extensions will be permitted beyond 90 days after the expiration of the initial 90-day period.

If a claim for a Plan benefit is wholly or partially denied, notice of the decision shall be furnished to the claimant by the Committee within a reasonable period of time after receipt of the claim by the Committee.

Notice of Denial of Claim. Any notice of denial shall be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the Claimant and shall:

Review of Claims (Other than Disability Claims). If any claim, other than a Disability Claim, is denied, the Claimant or the Claimant’s duly authorized representative, upon written application, may request a review of such denial, may review pertinent documents, and may submit issues and comments in writing. The request must be addressed to the General Counsel of the Company at its then principal place of business. A Claimant must file such written request for review within sixty (60) days after the receipt by the Claimant of a notice denying the initial claim or within sixty (60) days after the claim is deemed to be denied. Upon its receipt of the request for review, the General Counsel will notify the Company of the request. Upon its receipt of notice of a request for review, the Company will appoint a person other than a member of the Committee to be the claims reviewer. The decision on review shall be rendered not later than sixty (60) days after the Committee’s receipt of the Claimant’s request for review, unless special circumstances require an extension of time for processing, in which case the sixty (60) day period may be extended to one-hundred-twenty (120) days if notice is provided to the Claimant in writing within the initial sixty (60) day period stating the reason for the extension. If notice of the decision on the review is not furnished in accordance with this paragraph (i), the claim will be deemed denied and the Claimant will be permitted to exercise his or her right to legal remedy pursuant to paragraph # of this [Section 6.6].

Timing for Review of Claim Denial. The following time periods shall apply for the decision on review of a Claim:

Claims (Other than Disability Claims). The Committee will provide to every Claimant who is denied a claim for benefits notice setting forth, in a manner calculated to be understood by the Claimant, the following:

taken within 90 days of receiving the claim. If the claim is denied, the denial shall be set forth in writing and shall include the specific reasons for the denial, with reference to pertinent Plan provisions on which the denial is based, and shall describe the procedure for perfecting the claim, or for requesting a review of the denial. Within 60 days after receiving a notification of denial of a claim, a Participant, Beneficiary or authorized representative may request that the Company make a full and fair review of the denial. In connection with this request, the Participant may review pertinent documents and submit issues or comments in writing. The Company will make a final decision on the claim within 120 days of the request for review. Any decision made by the Company in good faith shall be final and binding on all parties.

Article #: Denial of a Claim for Benefits

The written notice of claim denial will include:

the specific reason or reasons for denial of the claim;