• Death of the covered employee,
• Termination of the covered employee's employment (except in cases of gross misconduct),
• Reduction in hours, or
• Divorce or legal separation from the covered employee.

A "qualified beneficiary" entitled to make a COBRA election may be a "covered employee," (someone covered by the employer's plan because of his own employment), or a covered employee's spouse or dependent child who was covered by the plan prior to the occurrence of the "qualifying event."

COBRA demands that the continuation coverage offered to qualified beneficiaries be identical to what the plan provides to plan beneficiaries who have not suffered a qualifying event. The statute requires plans to advise beneficiaries of their rights under COBRA both at the commencement of coverage and within 14 days of learning of a qualifying event after which qualified beneficiaries have 60 days to elect continuation coverage. If a qualified beneficiary makes a COBRA election, continuation coverage dates from the qualifying event, and when the event is termination or reduced hours, the maximum period of coverage is generally 18 months; in other cases, it is generally 36.

The beneficiary who makes the election must pay for what he gets, however, up to 102 percent of the "applicable premium" for the first 18 months of continuation coverage, and up to 150 percent thereafter. The "applicable premium" is usually the cost to the plan of providing continuation coverage, regardless of who usually pays for the insurance benefit.

Benefits may cease if the qualified beneficiary fails to pay the premiums and an employer may terminate it for certain other reasons, such as discontinuance of the group health plan entirely. COBRA coverage may also cease on the date on which the qualified beneficiary first becomes, after the date of the election covered under any other group health plan (as an employee or otherwise), which does not contain any exclusion or limitation with respect to any preexisting condition of such beneficiary, or entitled to benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security Act.

• Recover benefits due and enforce rights under the plan.
• Get access to plan documents that have been requested in writing. If your plan administrator does supply the plan documents within 30 days of the written request, a court could find the plan administrator personally liable for up to $100 per day (unless the failure results from circumstances reasonably beyond his or her control).
• Clarify rights to future benefits.
• Get appropriate relief from a breach of fiduciary duty.
• Enjoin any act or practice that violates the terms of the plan or any provision of Title I of ERISA, such as the reporting and disclosure, participation, vesting or funding, and fiduciary provisions, or to obtain other equitable relief.
• Enforce the right to receive a statement of vested benefits upon termination of employment.
• Obtain review of a final action of the Secretary of Labor, to restrain the Secretary from taking action contrary to ERISA, or to compel the Secretary to take action.
• Obtain review of any action of the PBGC or its agents that adversely affects you.

In addition, the sponsor of a group health plan that fails to comply with COBRA is subject to an excise tax of $100 per day for each affected beneficiary (where violation is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect the maximum annual liability is the lesser of 10% of the employer’s health plan expense or $500,000).