Mercer Employee Benefits is to defend itself at the High Court later this year after a hotel group filed a £250,000 claim for breach of contract.
Corus Hotels, claims Mercer Employee Benefits failed to make it aware that its death in service benefits for hotel employees working over 65 and part of its group life assurance scheme were not insured by an indemnity.
It subsequently had to pay nearly £200,000 in death in service benefits to the widow of a hotel manager, who was over 65, after he died in 2007 while still working for the hotel.
The hotel group claims Mercer acted "negligently" in failing to make it aware it had no corresponding entitlement to an indemnity from its underwriters, UnumProvident, because the man had not been included in the insurance contract as a ‘late retiree'.
Mercer denies the accusation and says documents and policies show Corus knew employees over 65 were not insured for death in service benefits.
It also said if Corus wanted people over 65 to be insured it was "reasonably entitled to expect [Corus] through its insurance manager to say so".
The hotel is claiming up to £250,000 for "damages, interest and costs".
Retirements over 65 could become increasingly common after the abolition of the default retirement age last October
Both Mercer and Corus declined to comment.
