Your appeal may require immediate action if a delay in treatment could significantly increase the risk to your health or the ability to regain maximum function or cause severe pain. In these urgent situations, the appeal does not need to be submitted in writing. You or your physician should call the Claims Administrator as soon as possible. The Claims Administrator will provide you with a written or electronic determination within 72 hours following receipt of your request for review of the determination, taking into account the seriousness of your condition.

For urgent claim appeals, Citi has delegated to the Claims Administrator the exclusive right to interpret and administer the provisions of the Program. The Claims Administrator's decisions are conclusive and binding.

You will receive written or electronic notice of the benefit determination upon review. In the event your claim is denied on appeal, the notice will provide:

No suit or action for benefits under the Plan shall be sustainable in any court of law or equity, unless you complete the appeals procedure, and unless your suit or action is commenced within 12 consecutive months after the committee's final decision on appeal, or if earlier, within two years from the date on which the claimant was aware, or should have been aware, of the claim at issue in the proceeding. The two-year limitation shall be increased by any time a claim or appeal on the issue is under consideration by the appropriate fiduciary.