This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Holocaust Victim Insurance Relief Act of 1999.
Chapter 4Holocaust Era Insurance Registry
Section § 13800
This part of the law is called the Holocaust Victim Insurance Relief Act of 1999. It's cited by this name.
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Section § 13801
This law acknowledges that many Holocaust survivors and their descendants in California have struggled for decades to get insurance companies to honor policies held by victims of the Nazi regime. The California Legislature insists that insurance companies provide information about such policies to help resolve unpaid claims and prevent further hardship for these survivors and their families. The law also highlights ongoing international efforts to settle these claims and emphasizes that insurance companies operating in California must take responsibility for historical policies, ensuring swift resolution and disclosure to the state.
The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a)CA Insurance Code § 13801(a) During World War II, untold millions of lives and property were destroyed.
(b)CA Insurance Code § 13801(b) In addition to the many atrocities that befell the victims of the Nazi regime, insurance claims that rightfully should have been paid out to the victims and their families, in many cases, were not.
(c)CA Insurance Code § 13801(c) In many instances, insurance company records are the only proof of insurance policies held. In some cases, recollection of those policies’ very existence may have perished along with the Holocaust victims.
(d)CA Insurance Code § 13801(d) At least 5,600 documented Holocaust survivors are living in California today. Many of these survivors and their descendents have been fighting for over 50 years to persuade insurance companies to settle unpaid or wrongfully paid claims. Survivors are asking that insurance companies come forth with any information they possess that could show proof of insurance policies held by Holocaust victims and survivors, in order to ensure that closure on this issue is swiftly brought to pass.
(e)CA Insurance Code § 13801(e) Insurance companies doing business in the State of California have a responsibility to ensure that any involvement they or their related companies may have had with insurance policies of Holocaust victims are disclosed to the state and to ensure the rapid resolution of these questions, eliminating the further victimization of these policyholders and their families.
(f)CA Insurance Code § 13801(f) The international Jewish community is in active negotiations with responsible insurance companies through the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims to resolve all outstanding insurance claims issues. This chapter is necessary to protect the claims and interests of California residents, as well as to encourage the development of a resolution to these issues through the international process or through direct action by the State of California, as necessary.
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Section § 13802
This section defines specific terms related to policies concerning Holocaust victims. A 'Holocaust victim' is identified as someone persecuted by Nazi Germany or its allies from 1929-1945. A 'related company' refers to any company linked to an insurer, such as a parent or subsidiary. 'Proceeds' are described as the payout amount from insurance policies or annuities, including reasonable interest, without being reduced by currency changes due to war.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)CA Insurance Code § 13802(a) “Holocaust victim” means any person who was persecuted during the period of 1929 to 1945, inclusive, by Nazi Germany, its allies, or sympathizers.
(b)CA Insurance Code § 13802(b) “Related company” means any parent, subsidiary, reinsurer, successor in interest, managing general agent, or affiliate company of the insurer.
(c)CA Insurance Code § 13802(c) “Proceeds” means the face value or other payout value of insurance policies and annuities plus reasonable interest to date of payment without diminution for wartime or immediate postwar currency devaluation.
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Section § 13803
This law requires the insurance commissioner to create and maintain a Holocaust Era Insurance Registry. This registry will contain records about insurance policies belonging to Holocaust victims, both living and deceased. Additionally, the Attorney General must work with the department to make sure the public can access this registry.
The commissioner shall establish and maintain within the department a central registry containing records and information relating to insurance policies, as described in Section 13804, of Holocaust victims, living and deceased. The registry shall be known as the Holocaust Era Insurance Registry. The Attorney General, in coordination with the department, shall establish appropriate mechanisms to ensure public access to the registry.
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Section § 13804
If an insurance company in California sold life, health, property, casualty, or similar insurance policies in Europe between 1920 and 1945, they must file specific information about those policies, like the number, holders, and current status, with the state's insurance commissioner within 180 days. These insurers also need to confirm the distribution of policy proceeds, either to beneficiaries or Holocaust survivors, or outline if legal plans for distribution exist or if funds remain undistributed. Providing false information knowingly is a misdemeanor. Insurers that didn't sell European policies before 1945 aren't subject to these requirements if a related company has already filed the necessary information.
(a)CA Insurance Code § 13804(a) Any insurer currently doing business in the state that sold life, property, liability, health, annuities, dowry, educational, or casualty insurance policies, directly or through a related company, to persons in Europe, which were in effect between 1920 and 1945, whether the sale occurred before or after the insurer and the related company became related, shall, within 180 days following enactment of this act, file or cause to be filed the following information with the commissioner to be entered into the registry:
(1)CA Insurance Code § 13804(a)(1) The number of those insurance policies.
(2)CA Insurance Code § 13804(a)(2) The holder, beneficiary, and current status of those policies.
(3)CA Insurance Code § 13804(a)(3) The city of origin, domicile, or address for each policyholder listed in the policies.
(b)CA Insurance Code § 13804(b) In addition, each insurer subject to subdivision (a) shall certify to any of the following:
(1)CA Insurance Code § 13804(b)(1) That the proceeds of the policies described in subdivision (a) have been paid to the designated beneficiaries or their heirs where that person or persons, after diligent search, could be located and identified.
(2)CA Insurance Code § 13804(b)(2) That the proceeds of the policies where the beneficiaries or heirs could not, after diligent search, be located or identified, have been distributed to Holocaust survivors or to qualified charitable nonprofit organizations for the purpose of assisting Holocaust survivors.
(3)CA Insurance Code § 13804(b)(3) That a court of law has certified in a legal proceeding resolving the rights of unpaid policyholders, their heirs, and beneficiaries, a plan for the distribution of the proceeds.
(4)CA Insurance Code § 13804(b)(4) That the proceeds have not been distributed and the amount of those proceeds.
An insurer who certifies as true any material matter pursuant to this subdivision, which the insurer knows to be false, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(c)CA Insurance Code § 13804(c) An insurer currently doing business in the state that did not sell any insurance policies in Europe prior to 1945, shall not be subject to this section if a related company, whether or not authorized and currently doing business in the state, has made a filing under this section.
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Section § 13805
If an insurance company knowingly submits false information about a policy, it can be fined up to $5,000. This fine will be used to help resolve Holocaust insurance claims.
Any insurer that knowingly files information about a policy required by this chapter that is false shall, with respect to that policy, be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), which penalty is hereby appropriated to the department to be used by it to aid in the resolution of Holocaust insurance claims.
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Section § 13806
If an insurance company doesn't meet the rules outlined in a certain chapter within 210 days after this rule takes effect, they won't be allowed to do business in the state until they comply.
The commissioner shall suspend the certificate of authority to conduct insurance business in the state of any insurer that fails to comply with the requirements of this chapter by the 210th day after this section becomes effective, until the time that the insurer complies with this chapter.
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Section § 13807
This law requires the commissioner to create rules for implementing a specific chapter within 90 days of when it starts. These rules will be adopted as emergency regulations, which means they are seen as urgent for protecting public health, safety, and welfare. The process of adopting these rules follows certain government procedures.
The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this chapter within 90 days of its effective date. The rules shall be adopted as emergency regulations in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of the Government Code, and for the purposes of that chapter, including Section 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption of the rules shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law to be necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, and general welfare.
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