I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 126
To provide for the recovery of insurance issued for victims of the Holocaust.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mr. ENGEL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Commerce
A BILL
To provide for the recovery of insurance issued for victims
of the Holocaust.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holocaust Victims In-
surance Act’’.
SEC. 2. STATUS OF POLICIES.
(a) REPORT.—Any person engaged in the business of
insurance in the United States directly or through a relat-
ed company during the period 1920 to 1945 shall, within
90 days of the enactment of this Act, report to the Sec-
retary of the Commerce on—
HR 126 IH
(1) the number of insurance policies issued dur-
ing such period;
(2) the holder, beneficiary, and current status
of those policies;
(3) the attempts made by such person to locate
the beneficiaries of such policies for which no claim
of benefits has been made;
(4) a comparison of the names of the holders
and beneficiaries of such policies and the names of
the victims of the Holocaust;
(5) the reason such person is unable, after rea-
sonable and good faith efforts, to provide informa-
tion described in paragraphs (1) through (4); and
(6) any money contributed to a fund established
to compensate victims of the Holocaust as discussed
in section 3(b) of this Act.
(b) PENALTY.—Any person who does not file a report
as required by subsection (a) shall be subject to a civil
penalty of $1,000 for each day such a report is not filed
as required.
(c) TRANSMISSION OF REPORT.—The Secretary of
Commerce shall immediately upon receipt transmit the re-
port required by subsection (a) to the Committees on
Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Sen-
ate.
HR 126 IH
SEC. 3. PAYMENT OF PROCEEDS OF INSURANCE.
(a) PAYMENTS.—If such a person engaged in the
business of insurance determines that it issued insurance
policies to individuals who were victims of the Holocaust,
such person shall pay to the beneficiaries or descendants
of the victims the proceeds of such policies.
(b) FUND.—Any such person who does not have
records of the individuals to whom it issued life insurance
policies during the period 1920 to 1945 is strongly encour-
aged to establish a substantial monetary fund to com-
pensate victims of the Holocaust. Such fund should be de-
rived from sources including the policies for which there
is no one entitled to its proceeds because the holder and
all beneficiaries perished in the Holocaust.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with
State insurance commissioners, shall, within 180 days of
the enactment of this Act, report to the Committees on
Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Sen-
ate, to the extent possible, on—
(1) the number of individuals who were victims
of the Holocaust who held life insurance policies
during the period 1920 to 1945;
(2) the number of such individuals for whom
payment was made under such policies and the
amount of such payments;
HR 126 IH
(3) the number of such policies for which no
payment has been made;
(4) the number of such policies for which pay-
ment was made to persons other than the policy
holder or their beneficiaries;
(5) the names of the companies which issued
such policies; and
(6) the relationship (if any) between such com-
panies and the governments of Germany, Italy, Aus-
tria, Croatia, Vichy France, Hungary, Romania,
Switzerland, and other provisional governments in
Nazi occupied countries.
SEC. 5. REGISTRY.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shall
develop a registry of those who died in the Holocaust
which shall be made available to the general public, includ-
ing insurance companies preparing a report under section
2(a). Such sums as may be necessary are authorized to
be appropriated for this purpose.
SEC. 6. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.
Any action brought by Holocaust victim or heir or
beneficiary of a Holocaust victim, seeking proceeds of such
policies issued or in effect between 1920 and 1945 shall
not be dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable
HR 126 IH
statute of limitations or laches provided the action is com-
menced on or before December 31, 2010.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
For the purpose of this Act:
(1) RELATED
COMPANY.—The term ‘‘related
company’’ means any parent, subsidiaries, or affili-
ated companies at least 50 percent of whose stock
is in common ownership with an insurance carrier
doing business in the United States.
(2) VICTIM
OF
THE
HOLOCAUST.—The term
‘‘victim of the Holocaust’’ means any person who
lost his or her life or property as a result of dis-
criminatory laws, policies, or actions targeted
against discrete groups of persons between April
1933 and May 1945 in Nazi Germany, areas occu-
pied by Nazi Germany, and or countries allied with
Nazi Germany.
(3) INSURANCE
POLICIES.—The term ‘insur-
ance policies’’ means, but is not limited to, life in-
surance, property insurance, dowry, or education
policies.
(4) PROCEEDS OF SUCH POLICIES.—The term
‘‘proceeds of such policies’’ means the face or other
payout value of policies and annuities plus reason-
able interest to date of payment without diminution
HR 126 IH
for wartime or immediate postwar currency devalu-
ation.
Æ