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| [ House Amendment 001 ] |
92_HB3346
LRB9208366JSpc
1 AN ACT concerning insurance.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by
5 adding Section 155.37 as follows:
6 (215 ILCS 5/155.37 new)
7 Sec. 155.37. Holocaust victims.
8 (a) This Section may be cited as the Holocaust Victims
9 Insurance Law.
10 (b) It is the General Assembly's intent that the
11 potential and actual insurance claims of Holocaust victims
12 and their heirs and beneficiaries be expeditiously identified
13 and properly paid and that Holocaust victims and their
14 families receive appropriate assistance in the filing and
15 payment of their rightful claims.
16 (c) For the purpose of this Section:
17 "Holocaust victim" means any person who lost his or her
18 life or property as a result of discriminatory laws,
19 policies, or actions targeted against discrete groups of
20 persons between 1920 and 1945, inclusive, in Nazi Germany,
21 areas occupied by Nazi Germany, or countries allied with Nazi
22 Germany.
23 "Insurance policy" means, but is not limited to, life
24 insurance, property insurance, or education policies.
25 "Legal relationship" means the relationship of a parent,
26 subsidiary, or affiliated company with an insurer doing
27 business in this State.
28 "Proceeds" means the face or other payout value of
29 policies and annuities plus reasonable interest to date of
30 payments without diminution for wartime or immediate postwar
31 currency devaluation.
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1 (d) The Department shall establish a toll-free telephone
2 number, with assistance available in appropriate languages,
3 to assist any person seeking to recover proceeds from an
4 insurance policy issued to a Holocaust victim.
5 (e) An insurer doing business in this State, in receipt
6 of a claim from a Holocaust victim or from a beneficiary,
7 descendant, or heir of a Holocaust victim, shall do all of
8 the following:
9 (1) Diligently and expeditiously investigate all of
10 those claims.
11 (2) Allow the claimants to meet a reasonable, not
12 unduly restrictive, standard of proof to substantiate a
13 claim, pursuant to standards established by the
14 Department.
15 (3) Permit claims irrespective of any statute of
16 limitations or notice requirements imposed by any
17 insurance policy issued, provided the claim is submitted
18 within 10 years after the effective date of this
19 amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly.
20 (f) Notwithstanding any law or agreement among the
21 parties to an insurance policy to the contrary, any action
22 brought by Holocaust victims or by a beneficiary, heir, or a
23 descendant of a Holocaust victim seeking proceeds of an
24 insurance policy issued or in effect between 1920 and 1945,
25 inclusive, shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with
26 the applicable statute of limitations or laches provided the
27 action is commenced within 10 years after the effective date
28 of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly.
29 (g) An insurer doing business in this State has an
30 affirmative duty to ascertain to the extent possible and
31 report to the Department within 90 days after the effective
32 date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly and
33 annually thereafter all efforts made and results of those
34 efforts to ascertain:
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1 (1) any legal relationship with an international
2 insurer that issued an insurance policy to a Holocaust
3 victim between 1920 and 1945, inclusive;
4 (2) the number and total value of those policies;
5 (3) any claim filed by a Holocaust victim, his or
6 her beneficiary, heir, or descendant that has been paid,
7 denied payment, or is pending;
8 (4) attempts made by the insurer to locate the
9 beneficiaries of any such policies for which no claim of
10 benefits has been made; and
11 (5) an explanation of any denial or pending payment
12 of a claim to a Holocaust victim, his or her beneficiary,
13 heir, or descendant.
14 (h) The Department shall report to the General Assembly
15 one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
16 the 92nd General Assembly and annually thereafter:
17 (1) the number of insurers doing business in this
18 State that have a legal relationship with an
19 international insurer that could have issued a policy to
20 a Holocaust victim between 1920 and 1945, inclusive;
21 (2) a list of all claims paid, denied, or pending
22 to a Holocaust victim, his or her beneficiary, heir, or
23 descendant; and
24 (3) a summary of the length of time for the
25 processing and disposition of a claim by the insurer.
26 (i) In addition to any other penalty provided under this
27 Code, any insurer or person who violates the provisions of
28 this Section is subject to an administrative penalty of
29 $1,000 per day for each day the violation continues.
30 (j) An action to recover damages caused by a violation
31 of this Section must be commenced within 5 years after the
32 cause of action has accrued. A person who sustains damages by
33 reason of a violation of this Section shall recover threefold
34 the actual damages sustained thereby, as well as costs not
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1 exceeding $50,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees. At or
2 before the commencement of any civil action by a party,
3 notice of the action shall be served upon the Department.
4 (k) The Department, by rule, shall provide for the
5 implementation of the provisions of this Section by
6 establishing procedures and related forms for facilitating,
7 monitoring, and verifying compliance with this Section and
8 for the establishment of a restitution program for Holocaust
9 victims, survivors, and their heirs and beneficiaries.
10 (l) If any provision of this Section or the application
11 of it to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
12 invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications
13 of this Section that can be given effect without the invalid
14 provision or application, and to this end the provisions of
15 this Section are declared severable.