--- title: Insurer Provides Best Practices to Avoid ERISA Litigation description: What do insurers say about mitigating ERISA litigation risk? It starts with a documented, prudent ... image: https://blog.dalbar.com/hubfs/shutterstock_234481108.jpg --- [![DALBAR-Logo](https://blog.dalbar.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DALBAR%20Logos/DALBAR-Logo_Blue-Gold_High%20Resolution.png?width=300&height=71&name=DALBAR-Logo_Blue-Gold_High%20Resolution.png "DALBAR-Logo")](https://www.dalbar.com/Home/Index) - [PRODUCTS & SERVICES](https://www.dalbar.com/ProductsAndServices/Index) - [Customer Experience Audit](https://www.dalbar.com/ProductsAndServices/CustomerExperienceAudit#) - [Contact Center Solutions](https://www.dalbar.com/ProductsAndServices/ContactCenterSolutions) - [Statement Services](https://www.dalbar.com/ProductsAndServices/StatementServices) - [Digital Solutions](https://www.dalbar.com/ProductsAndServices/DigitalSolutions) - [Advisor Solutions](https://www.dalbar.com/ProductsAndServices/AdviserSolutions) - [Audits & Due Diligence](https://www.dalbar.com/ProductsAndServices/AuditsAndDueDiligence) - [QAIB](https://www.dalbar.com/QAIB/Index) - [STORE](https://www.dalbar.com/Store/Index) - [QAIB Store](https://www.dalbar.com/QAIB/Index) - [All Products Store](https://www.dalbar.com/Store/AllProducts) - [Shopping Cart](https://www.dalbar.com/Store/Cart) - [AWARDS](https://www.dalbar.com/Awards/Index) - [Eligible Winners A-Z](https://www.dalbar.com/Awards/Winners) - [Award History](https://www.dalbar.com/Awards/AwardHistory) - [Website Rankings](https://www.dalbar.com/Awards/WebMonitorRankings) - [Mobile Website Rankings](https://www.dalbar.com/Awards/MobileWebsiteRankings) - [Call Center Rankings](https://www.dalbar.com/Awards/TopCallCenters) - [Investor Statement Rankings](https://www.dalbar.com/Awards/InvestorStatementRankings) - [Service Award Winners](https://www.dalbar.com/Awards/ServiceAwardWinners) - [Certificate of Compliance](https://www.dalbar.com/Awards/CertificateOfCompliance) - [RESOURCES](https://blog.dalbar.com) - [DALBAR BLOG](https://blog.dalbar.com) - [Finance Lab](https://blog.dalbar.com/www.financelab.dalbar.com) - [Contact Us](https://www.dalbar.com/Home/ContactUs) [ERISA](https://blog.dalbar.com/topic/erisa) , [Fiduciary](https://blog.dalbar.com/topic/fiduciary) # Insurer Provides Best Practices to Avoid ERISA Litigation [By Cory Clark](https://blog.dalbar.com/author/cory-clark) September 20, 2021 - - - With the extreme rise in ERISA lawsuits has also come a rise in insurance premiums. One insurer shared their tips for plan sponsors to mitigate the risk of a lawsuit. [Read Pension & Investments article on avoiding ERISA Litigation here](https://www.pionline.com/courts/experts-offer-suggestions-mitigate-risk-fee-lawsuits). Not surprisingly, many of these tips center around a documented, prudent process. It is not a fiduciary’s duty to always have the cheapest and best performing funds in a lineup. Such an expectation is unreasonable and has been dismissed by the courts, who agree that prudence is not outcome-based, but rather process based (see *Martin v. CareerBuilder, LLC).* But when will more courts begin to dismiss weak claims that provide no plausible evidence of a breach beyond the existence of a cheaper or a better performing fund? DALBAR’s historical analysis has found that replacing a fund with strong leading indicators for a better performing fund is not prudent because one cannot expect the performance of an investment or asset class to persist (see “[Why Returns Can’t be Evidence of a Fiduciary Breach](https://blog.dalbar.com/erisa-litigation-series-why-performance-cannot-be-evidence-of-a-fiduciary-breach)”). Instead, when considering investments, fiduciaries should focus on [factors that are generally considered to be superior to past performance](https://blog.dalbar.com/factors-influencing-future-returns) as predictors of investment returns. Documenting these factors as being the reason for the investment’s inclusion in the lineup will go along way in defeating meritless claims that use underperformance in hindsight as evidence of a fiduciary breach.     [All posts](https://blog.dalbar.com) ###### About Author [Cory Clark](https://blog.dalbar.com/author/cory-clark) Cory Clark is Director of Audits and Due Diligence at DALBAR. Over the years, Cory has worked with retirement plan specialists, investment managers, advisors, broker/dealers and insurance companies to optimize their communications, compliance and business practices. Cory is also a licensed attorney in Massachusetts, where he resides with his wife and 3 children. ##### You might also like ![Excessive Fee Rebound](https://blog.dalbar.com/hubfs/Excessive%20Fee%20Blog%20Header.jpeg) [Excessive Fee Rebound](https://blog.dalbar.com/excessive-fee-rebound) September 20, 2021 ![Plan Economics: Fees & Expenses of Employer Sponsored ERISA Retirement Plans](https://blog.dalbar.com/hubfs/Adviser%20Solutions12.jpg) [Plan Economics: Fees & Expenses of Employer Sponsored ERISA Retirement Plans](https://blog.dalbar.com/plan-economics-fees-expenses-of-employer-sponsored-erisa-retirement-plans) September 20, 2021 ![Are You Sure You are Acting in Your Client's Best Interest?](https://blog.dalbar.com/hubfs/my-visual_56147377%20(3)%20(1).png) [Are You Sure You are Acting in Your Client's Best Interest?](https://blog.dalbar.com/are-you-sure-you-are-acting-in-your-clients-best-interest) September 20, 2021 ##### SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT Subscribe Subscribe to our newsletter & stay updated [![Dalbar Pyramid_Orange](https://blog.dalbar.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DALBAR%20Logos/Dalbar%20Pyramid_Orange.png?width=162&height=162&name=Dalbar%20Pyramid_Orange.png "Dalbar Pyramid_Orange")](https://www.dalbar.com/Home/Index) DALBAR, Inc. 5 Mount Royal Ave, Suite 380 Marlborough, MA 01752 617.723.6400 info@dalbar.com - [Improve CX](https://www.dalbar.com/ProductsAndServices/CustomerExperienceAudit) - [Exercise Due Diligence](https://www.dalbar.com/ProductsAndServices/AuditsAndDueDiligence) - [Get Recognized](https://www.dalbar.com/Awards/Index) - [Snapshot](https://www.dalbar.com/AboutDALBAR/Snapshot) - [Management Bios](https://www.dalbar.com/AboutDALBAR/Bios) - [Our History](https://www.dalbar.com/AboutDALBAR/History) - [Careers](https://www.dalbar.com/AboutDALBAR/Careers) - [Contact Us](https://www.dalbar.com/Home/ContactUs) - [QAIB Advisor Studio](https://advisorstudio.dalbar.com/) - [WebMonitor](https://dalbar-webmonitor.com/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f) - [Research & Comm](https://www.research.dalbar.com/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f) - [Registered Fiduciary](https://www.fiduciaryregistry.com/?__hstc=156943524.6056e3a89ef21cc13a3acc5f12cede89.1631197917565.1632318265555.1632324577079.31&__hssc=156943524.5.1632324577079&__hsfp=4177312558) - [i-LearnERISA](https://i-learnerisa.com/) ©2026. 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