I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1746 

To require disclosure of Holocaust-era policies by insurers and establish 

a federal cause of action for claims arising out of a covered policy. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2007 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. PENCE, and 

Mr. CHABOT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on 

Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To require disclosure of Holocaust-era policies by insurers 

and establish a federal cause of action for claims arising 

out of a covered policy. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holocaust Insurance 

5 Accountability Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Holocaust, an event in which millions 

2 of people endured enormous suffering through tor3 ture and other violence, including the murder of 

4 6,000,000 Jews and millions of others, the destruc5 tion of families and communities, and the theft of 

6 their assets, was one of the most heinous crimes in 

7 human history. 

8 (2) Before and during World War II, millions 

9 of people purchased insurance policies to safeguard 

10 family assets, plan for retirement, provide for a 

11 dowry, or save for their children’s education. 

12 (3) When Holocaust survivors or heirs of Holo13 caust victims presented claims to insurance compa14 nies after World War II, many were rejected because 

15 they did not have death certificates or physical pos16 session of policy documents that had been con17 fiscated by the Nazis or lost in the devastation of 

18 the Holocaust. 

19 (4) In many instances, insurance company 

20 records and records in government archives are the 

21 only proof of the existence of insurance policies be22 longing to Holocaust victims. 

23 (5) Holocaust survivors and heirs have been at24 tempting for decades to persuade insurance compa25 nies to settle unpaid insurance claims. 


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1 (6) In 1998, the International Commission on 

2 Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (in this section re3 ferred to as the ‘‘ICHEIC’’) was established by the 

4 National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 

5 cooperation with several European insurance compa6 nies, European regulators, the Government of Israel, 

7 and non-governmental organizations with the prom8 ise that it would expeditiously address the issue of 

9 unpaid insurance policies issued to Holocaust vic10 tims. 

11 (7) On July 17, 2000, the United States and 

12 Germany signed an Executive Agreement in support 

13 of the German Foundation ‘‘Remembrance, Respon14 sibility, and the Future’’, which designated the 

15 ICHEIC to resolve all Holocaust-era insurance poli16 cies issued by German companies and their subsidi17 aries. 

18 (8) On January 17, 2001, the United States 

19 and Austria signed an Executive Agreement, which 

20 designated the ICHEIC to resolve all Holocaust-era 

21 insurance policies issued by Austrian companies and 

22 their subsidiaries. 

23 (9) Between 1998 and the closing of the 

24 ICHEIC claims deadline on December 31, 2003, few 

25 names of the Jewish policy holders from Eastern 


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1 Europe were published, though more than two-thirds 

2 of the Jewish population of the territory occupied by 

3 the Nazis and their allies were from Eastern Eu4 rope. 

5 (10) The ICHEIC is scheduled to close in 2007 

6 without the disclosure of thousands of names of poli7 cies sold to Jewish residents of Europe prior to 

8 World War II as of February of 2007. 

9 (11) With the ICHEIC process essentially com10 pleted, companies holding Holocaust-era insurance 

11 policies continue to withhold names of owners and 

12 beneficiaries of thousands of insurance policies sold 

13 to Jewish customers prior to World War II. 

14 (12) Experts estimate that the value in 2006 of 

15 unpaid life, annuity, endowment, and dowry insur16 ance theft from European Jewry from the Holocaust 

17 and its aftermath ranges between $17,000,000,000 

18 and $200,000,000,000. 

19 (13) As of the latest report by the ICHEIC on 

20 February 20, 2007, the value of claims paid in rec21 ognition of victims’ policies was approximately 

22 $250,000,000 and fewer than 5 percent of the poli23 cies estimated to have been sold to Jews at the be24 ginning of World War II have been paid through 

25 ICHEIC. 


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1 (14) As of 2006, ICHEIC has not provided the 

2 State Department with the information required by 

3 paragraphs (3) through (7) of section 704(a) of the 

4 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 

5 2003 (Public Law 107–228), which requires the Sec6 retary of State to report to the appropriate congres7 sional committees on the status of the implementa8 tion of the Executive Agreement between Germany 

9 and the United States. 

10 (15) In American Insurance Association, Inc., 

11 v. Garamendi, the United States Supreme Court 

12 held that under the supremacy clause of the Con13 stitution of the United States, executive agreements 

14 and Federal Government policy calling for insurance 

15 claims against German and Austrian companies to 

16 be handled within ICHEIC preempted State laws 

17 authorizing State insurance commissioners to sub18 poena company records and require publication of 

19 the names of Holocaust era policy holders. 

20 (16) In the Garamendi case, the Supreme 

21 Court stated that Congress, which has the power to 

22 regulate international commerce, and prescribe Fed23 eral Court jurisdiction, had not addressed disclosure 

24 and restitution of Holocaust victims’ insurance poli25 cies. 


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1 (17) Subsequent court decisions have dismissed 

2 survivors’ suits against Assicurazioni Generali, 

3 S.p.A., even though there is no executive agreement 

4 between the United States and Italy. 

5 (18) Congress believes that United States 

6 courts do currently have jurisdiction to entertain ac7 tions by Holocaust victims and heirs of Holocaust 

8 victims to recover insurance proceeds sold to their 

9 families before the Holocaust. 

10 (19) Due to lower court interpretations of the 

11 Garamendi case, this Act expresses the intent of 

12 Congress to legislate to the maximum extent allowed 

13 by the Constitution regarding the rights of Holo14 caust survivors and the heirs and beneficiaries of 

15 Holocaust victims to obtain information from insur16 ers and to bring actions in United States courts to 

17 recover unpaid funds from entities that participated 

18 in the theft of family insurance assets or the affili19 ates of such entities. 

20 (20) The ICHEIC either chose not to pursue or 

21 did not put forth sufficient effort to investigate or 

22 obtain restitution for forms of insurance other than 

23 life, annuity, endowment, or dowry insurance sold to 

24 Holocaust victims, despite documentation that other 

25 forms of insurance benefits such as property and 


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1 casualty insurance, disability insurance, health in2 surance, transport insurance, and marine insurance 

3 were also improperly withheld from Jews, nor did 

4 the ICHEIC make sufficient effort to investigate the 

5 records of reinsurers who provided coverage for 

6 Jews’ policies prior to World War II, despite evi7 dence that reinsurers and reinsurance played a sig8 nificant role in the theft of the family assets of Hol9 ocaust victims. 

10 (21) Disclosures in 2006 concerning the vast 

11 Nazi archives at Bad Arolsen Germany, which have 

12 been closed to direct access by Holocaust survivors, 

13 families of Holocaust victims, and researchers since 

14 1955, underscores the necessity a comprehensive 

15 opening of all archival sources of information for 

16 Holocaust victims and their families. 

17 (22) Insurance payments should be expedited to 

18 the victims of the most heinous crime of the 20th 

19 Century to ensure that justice is served. 

20 (23) States should be allowed to collect Holo21 caust-era insurance information from any insurance 

22 companies that want to do business in such States. 

23 (24) Tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors 

24 around the world, including in the United States, 

25 live below or near the poverty level, and cannot meet 


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1 their basic day-to-day needs for food, medicine, shel2 ter, and other necessities. 

3 (25) This Act will enable survivors, heirs, and 

4 beneficiaries to obtain compensation commensurate 

5 with the real monetary value of their losses, and to 

6 penalize unjustly enriched insurers for their fraudu7 lent, deceptive, and unfair practices, which continue 

8 to the present day, and to deter such conduct in the 

9 future. 

10 (26) Holocaust victims and their families should 

11 be able to recover claims arising from Holocaust era 

12 insurance policies and the Federal Government 

13 should be able to recover for the unjust enrichment 

14 of insurers in Federal court when they consider it 

15 necessary to seek redress through the judicial sys16 tem. 

17 (27) Under the circumstances faced by Holo18 caust victims and their families, the courts of the 

19 United States should be open to Holocaust victims 

20 and their families for a reasonable number of years 

21 after enactment of this Act, without regard to any 

22 other statutes of limitation. 


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1 SEC. 3. HOLOCAUST INSURANCE REGISTRY. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE.—Chapter 

3 21 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 2119. Holocaust Insurance Registry 

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Archivist shall establish 

7 and maintain a collection of records that shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) consist of the information provided to the 

9 Archivist under section 5 of the Holocaust Victims 

10 Insurance Relief Act of 2007; 

11 ‘‘(2) be known as the Holocaust Insurance Reg12 istry. 

13 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE RECORDS.—The Archi14 vist shall make all the aforementioned records accessible 

15 to the public and searchable by means of the Internet and 

16 by any other means the Archivist deems appropriate.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

18 at the beginning of chapter 21 of title 44, United States 

19 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘2119. Holocaust Insurance Registry.’’. 

20 (c) AGREEMENTS WITH EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.— 

21 (1) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of State 

22 shall seek to enter into agreements with European 

23 countries to make available to the Holocaust Insur24 ance Registry information on covered policies that is 


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1 stored in the archives or other government reposi2 tories of such countries. 

3 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 6 

5 months thereafter, the Secretary of State shall sub6 mit to Congress a report on efforts to carry out this 

7 subsection. 

8 SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE OF HOLOCAUST-ERA POLICIES BY IN9 SURERS. 

10 (a) REQUIREMENT.—An insurer shall file, in an elec11 tronic format, with the Secretary of Commerce the fol12 lowing information: 

13 (1) The first name, last name, date of birth, 

14 and domicile of the policyholder of each covered pol15 icy issued or reinsured by the insurer or a related 

16 company of the insurer. 

17 (2) The name of the entity that issued the cov18 ered policy. 

19 (3) The name of the entity that is responsible 

20 for the liabilities of the entity that issued the cov21 ered policy. 

22 (b) FILING.—Information under subsection (a) shall 

23 be filed not later than 90 days after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO ARCHIVIST. 

2 The Secretary of Commerce shall provide to the Ar3 chivist of the United States any information filed with the 

4 Secretary under section 4(a) promptly after the filing of 

5 such information. 

6 SEC. 6. PENALTY. 

7 The Secretary of Commerce shall assess a civil pen8 alty of not less than $5,000 for each day that an insurer 

9 fails to comply with the requirements of section 4, as de10 termined by the Secretary. 

11 SEC. 7. USE OF AMOUNTS RECEIVED AS CIVIL PENALTIES. 

12 To the extent or in the amounts provided in advance 

13 in appropriation Acts, the Archivist of the United States 

14 may use amounts received by the Government as civil pen15 alties under section 6 to maintain the Holocaust Insurance 

16 Registry. 

17 SEC. 8. NOTIFICATION. 

18 (a) INITIAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and periodi20 cally thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall notify 

21 each State’s commissioner of insurance of the identity of 

22 each insurer that has failed to comply with the require23 ments of section 4 or has not satisfied any civil penalty 

24 for which the insurer is liable under section 6. 

25 (b) REQUESTS BY STATES.—On request by the com26 missioner of insurance of a State concerning an insurer 


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1 operating in that State, the Secretary of Commerce shall 

2 inform the commissioner of insurance whether the insurer 

3 has failed to comply with the requirements of section 4 

4 or has not satisfied any civil penalty for which the insurer 

5 is liable under section 6. 

6 SEC. 9. STATE HOLOCAUST INSURANCE STATUTES. 

7 (a) PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this Act preempts— 

8 (1) any State law requiring an insurer in such 

9 State to disclose information regarding covered poli10 cies sold or for which reinsurance was provided; or 

11 (2) any rights or remedies available to a claim12 ant under State law relating to a covered policy. 

13 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

14 Congress that if any litigation challenging any State law 

15 described in subsection (a) is dismissed because the 

16 State’s commissioner of insurance chooses to rely on this 

17 Act and therefore no longer seeks to enforce the State law, 

18 each party should bear its own legal fees and costs. 

19 SEC. 10. FEDERAL CAUSE OF ACTION FOR COVERED 

20 CLAIMS. 

21 (a) FEDERAL CAUSE OF ACTION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall exist a Federal 

23 cause of action for any claim arising out of or re24 lated to a covered policy against any insurer or re25 lated company. 


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1 (2) EFFECT ON OTHER CAUSES OF ACTION.— 

2 An action under paragraph (1) shall be maintainable 

3 in addition to any cause of action arising under 

4 State or international law. 

5 (3) STANDING.—A claim under paragraph (1) 

6 may be brought by the person who purchased such 

7 covered policy, a beneficiary or heir of such person, 

8 or an assignee of such person or a beneficiary or 

9 heir of such person. 

10 (4) TREBLE DAMAGES; INTEREST.—In an ac11 tion under this subsection, the measure of damages 

12 shall be not less than three times the amount of— 

13 (A) the claim under the covered policy in 

14 United States dollars as of December 31, 1938; 

15 and 

16 (B) interest at a rate of 6 percent per year 

17 compounded annually from the date when the 

18 claim for which an action exists under this sub19 section could have first been made until the 

20 date of judgment under this subsection. 

21 (5) ATTORNEYS FEES.—In an action under this 

22 subsection, a court shall award a successful claimant 

23 reasonable attorneys fees and costs incurred in in24 vestigating and prosecuting the claim. 


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1 (b) SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION.—The district 

2 courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action 

3 arising out of or related to a covered policy (whether 

4 brought under subsection (a) or otherwise). 

5 (c) PERSONAL JURISDICTION.—Notwithstanding any 

6 provision of Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 

7 to the contrary, in a civil action arising from or related 

8 to a covered policy (whether brought under subsection (a) 

9 or otherwise) commenced in a district where the defendant 

10 is not a resident— 

11 (1) the court may exercise jurisdiction over 

12 such defendant on any basis not inconsistent with 

13 the Constitution of the United States; and 

14 (2) service of process, summons, and subpoena 

15 may be made on such defendant in any manner not 

16 inconsistent with the Constitution of the United 

17 States. 

18 (d) RETROACTIVE APPLICATION.—This Act shall 

19 apply retroactively to any claim arising out of or related 

20 to a covered policy to the fullest extent permitted by the 

21 Constitution of the United States, including claims pre22 viously dismissed on the ground of executive preemption 

23 and claims for which class action settlements occurring 

24 prior to the effective date of this Act purport to effect 

25 a release of claims not accompanied by an actual payment. 


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1 (e) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Any action brought 

2 under this Act shall be filed not later than 10 years after 

3 the effective date of this Act. 

4 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) COMMISSIONER OF INSURANCE.—The term 

7 ‘‘commissioner of insurance’’ means the highest 

8 ranking officer of a State responsible for regulating 

9 insurance. 

10 (2) COVERED POLICY.—The term ‘‘covered pol11 icy’’ means any life, dowry, education, property or 

12 other insurance policy that was— 

13 (A) in effect at any time after January 30, 

14 1933, and before December 31, 1945; and 

15 (B) issued to a policyholder domiciled in 

16 any area that was occupied or controlled by 

17 Nazi Germany or by any ally or sympathizer of 

18 Nazi Germany at any time during the period 

19 described in subparagraph (A). 

20 (3) INSURER.—The term ‘‘insurer’’ means any 

21 person engaged in the business of insurance (includ22 ing reinsurance) in interstate or foreign commerce, 

23 if the person or a related company of the person 

24 issued or reinsured a covered policy, regardless of 


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1 when the related company became a related company 

2 of the insurer. 

3 (4) RELATED COMPANY.—The term ‘‘related 

4 company’’ means an affiliate, as that term is defined 

5 in section 104(g) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act 

6 (15 U.S.C. 6701(g)). 

Æ 


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