If your employment terminates, your work hours are reduced, or you pass away, and this results in a loss of benefits under the Medical, Dental, or Vision Plans, the COBRA Administrator automatically will notify you or your covered eligible dependents about your right to elect continued coverage under COBRA. You will receive the necessary election forms to your home address of record within 14 days from the date that the COBRA Administrator is notified of your eligibility for COBRA coverage.

However, if you divorce or your eligible dependent child loses dependent status under the terms of the plan, you or one of your covered dependents must call HR Answers within 60 days of any such event. If notice is not received within that 60-day period, your dependents will not be entitled to elect COBRA continuation coverage. Notice must be provided to the COBRA Administrator and must include the following information: the name of the employee or qualified beneficiaries requesting coverage, the qualifying event and the date of the qualifying event. In addition, you may be asked to provide supporting documentation such as a divorce decree. Otherwise, your covered dependents will not be eligible to elect continued coverage under COBRA.

If a qualified beneficiary experiences a second qualifying event that would entitle him or her to additional months of continuation coverage, he or she must notify the COBRA Administrator. This notice must include the:

This notice must be provided within 60 days from the date of the second qualifying event (or, if later, the date coverage would normally be lost because of the second qualifying event). In addition, the qualified beneficiary may be asked to provide a copy of a death certificate or divorce decree.

When the plan is notified that one of these events has happened, the qualified beneficiary will automatically be entitled to the extended period of COBRA continuation coverage. If a qualified beneficiary fails to provide the appropriate notice and requested supporting documentation during this 60-day notice period, the qualified beneficiary will not be entitled to extended continuation coverage.

If you are a former employee and you have a newborn or adopt a child while you are on COBRA continuation coverage and you enroll the new child for coverage, the new child will be considered a qualified beneficiary rather than an after-acquired dependent. This gives the child additional rights, such as the right to continue COBRA benefits even if you pass away during the COBRA period, and the right to an additional 18 months of coverage if a second qualifying event occurs during the initial 18-month COBRA period after your termination or retirement.