Minnesota Session Laws - 2000, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 367-S.F.No. 3423 
                  An act relating to insurance; requiring the 
                  commissioner of commerce to assist Holocaust victims 
                  to settle claims and recover proceeds from applicable 
                  insurance policies; proposing coding for new law in 
                  Minnesota Statutes, chapter 60A. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  [60A.053] [HOLOCAUST VICTIMS INSURANCE RELIEF.] 
           Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this 
        section, the following terms have the meaning given them in this 
        subdivision unless the context clearly requires otherwise: 
           (a) "Holocaust survivor" or "Holocaust victim" means any 
        person who was persecuted, imprisoned or liable to imprisonment, 
        or had property taken or confiscated during the period of 1933 
        to 1945, inclusive, by Nazi Germany, its allies, or sympathizers 
        based on that person's race, religion, ethnicity, physical or 
        mental disability, sexual orientation, or similar class or 
        group-based animus; 
           (b) "related company" means an affiliate, as defined in 
        section 60D.15, subdivision 2; a successor in interest; or a 
        managing general agent, of another company or insurer; 
           (c) "insurer" means an entity holding a certificate of 
        authority or license to conduct the business of insurance in 
        this state, or whose contacts with this state satisfy the 
        constitutional requirements for jurisdiction, that sold 
        Holocaust-related insurance policies, whether directly or 
        through or as result of sales by a related company, or is itself 
        a related company to any person, entity, or insurance company 
        that sold such policies, whether the sale of the insurance 
        occurred before or after becoming related; 
           (d) "proceeds" means the face or other payout value of 
        policies and annuities plus reasonable interest to date of 
        payments, without diminution for wartime or immediate postwar 
        currency devaluation, legally due under any insurance policy 
        issued by an insurer or any related company; 
           (e) "international commission" means the international 
        commission on Holocaust era insurance claims, referenced in and 
        established under a memorandum of understanding originally dated 
        April 8, 1998, between and among various state insurance 
        regulators, various alien insurance companies, and worldwide 
        Jewish groups, which commission held its first meeting in the 
        state of New York on October 21, 1998, and any successor; and 
           (f) "Holocaust-related insurance policies" means life, 
        property, liability, health, annuities, dowry, educational, 
        casualty, or any other type of insurance policies sold to 
        persons in Europe, that were in effect at any time between 1933 
        and 1945, regardless of when the policy was initially purchased 
        or written. 
           Subd. 2.  [ASSISTANCE TO HOLOCAUST VICTIMS.] (a) The 
        commissioner shall assist residents of this state who are 
        Holocaust victims or heirs or beneficiaries of Holocaust victims 
        to settle and resolve claims and to recover proceeds from 
        insurance policies that were improperly denied or processed. 
           (b) The commissioner may cooperate and exchange information 
        with other states working on the Holocaust survivor insurance 
        claims issue and with the international commission, and may 
        enter into agreements whereby a single processing office may be 
        established on behalf of, and to provide services to the 
        residents of, several states. 
           Subd. 3.  [HOLOCAUST INSURANCE COMPANY REGISTRY.] (a) To 
        facilitate the work of the commissioner under this section, the 
        commissioner may establish and maintain a central registry to be 
        known as the Holocaust insurance company registry, containing 
        records and information relating to Holocaust-related insurance 
        policies, provided by insurers as required in subdivision 4.  
        The commissioner shall establish standards and procedures to 
        make the information in the registry available to the public to 
        the extent necessary and appropriate to determine the existence 
        of insurance policies and to identify beneficiaries, successors 
        in interest, or other persons entitled to the proceeds of the 
        policies, and to enable persons to claim proceeds to which they 
        may be entitled, while protecting the privacy of policyholders, 
        their survivors, and their family members.  All information 
        received by the Holocaust insurance company registry from any 
        insurer, related company, or foreign government or regulator is 
        considered to be working papers or documents obtained in the 
        course of an examination that may be treated as confidential 
        under section 60A.031, subdivision 4, paragraph (f).  To the 
        extent necessary and appropriate to secure access to documents 
        and information located in or subject to the jurisdiction of 
        other states and countries, the commissioner may enter into 
        agreements or provide assurances that any or all documents and 
        information received from an entity regulated by or subject to 
        the laws of such other state or country, or received from any 
        agency of the government of any state or country, will be 
        treated as confidential by the commissioner and will not be 
        disclosed to any person except with the approval of the 
        appropriate authority of the state or country or except as 
        permitted or authorized by the laws of the state or country.  
        Any such agreement is binding and enforceable.  To the extent 
        necessary and appropriate to secure access to documents and 
        information from or in the possession of the international 
        commission as to which the international commission has given 
        assurances of confidentiality or privacy, the commissioner may 
        enter into agreements or to provide assurances that the 
        documents and information will be treated as confidential or 
        protected as nonpublic by the commissioner and will not be 
        disclosed to any person except with the approval of the 
        international commission or as permitted by any agreement or 
        assurances given by the international commission, and any such 
        agreement or assurance is binding and enforceable. 
           (b) The commissioner may cooperate and exchange information 
        with other states establishing similar registries and with the 
        international commission, and may enter into agreements whereby 
        a single registry may be established on behalf of, and to 
        provide services to the citizens and residents of, several 
        states. 
           Subd. 4.  [OPERATIONS OF HOLOCAUST INSURANCE COMPANY 
        REGISTRY.] (a) Any insurer that sold Holocaust-related insurance 
        policies shall within 180 days following the effective date of 
        this act, or a later date the commissioner may establish, file 
        or cause to be filed the following information with the 
        commissioner for entry into the Holocaust insurance company 
        registry: 
           (1) a list of the insurance policies and, for each policy, 
        the names of the insureds and beneficiaries and the face amount 
        of the policy; 
           (2) for each policy, whichever of the following that 
        applies: 
           (i) that the proceeds of the policy have been paid to the 
        designated beneficiaries or their heirs where that person or 
        persons, after diligent search, could be located and identified; 
           (ii) 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; 
           (iii) that a court of law has approved in a legal 
        proceeding resolving the rights of unpaid policyholders, their 
        heirs, and beneficiaries, a plan for the distribution of the 
        proceeds; and 
           (iv) that the proceeds have not been distributed and the 
        amount of those proceeds. 
           (b) An insurer currently doing business in this state that 
        did not sell any Holocaust-related insurance policies except 
        through or as a result of sales by a related company is not 
        subject to this subdivision if a related company, whether or not 
        authorized and currently doing business in this state, has made 
        a filing with the commissioner under this subdivision. 
           (c) The commissioner may fund the costs of operating the 
        Holocaust insurance company registry by assessments upon those 
        insurers providing information to the registry.  The 
        commissioner shall allocate the assessments based upon the 
        number of policies reported. 
           (d) The commissioner may conduct investigations and 
        examinations of insurers for the purpose of determining 
        compliance with this section, verifying the accuracy and 
        completeness of any and all information furnished to the 
        Holocaust insurance company registry, and developing and 
        securing additional information as may be necessary or 
        appropriate to determine those entitled to payment under any 
        policy and the proceeds to which the person may be entitled, if 
        any.  An investigation under this paragraph is considered to be 
        an examination under section 60A.031.  The costs of the 
        examination must be borne by the insurer investigated, or the 
        insurer to whom the related company is related, pursuant to 
        section 60A.031, subdivision 3.  Examinations may be conducted 
        in this state, or in the state or country of residence of the 
        insurer or related company, or at the place or country where the 
        records to be examined may be located. 
           (e) Notwithstanding the restrictions of section 60A.03, 
        subdivision 9, or 60A.031, subdivision 4, the commissioner may 
        cooperate with and exchange information with other states with 
        similar Holocaust insurance company registries, with the 
        National Association of Insurance Commissioners, with foreign 
        countries, and with the international commission.  The 
        commissioner may enter into agreements to handle the processing 
        of claims and registry functions of other states, and to have 
        other states handle all or part of the registry and claims 
        processing functions for this state, as the commissioner may 
        determine to be appropriate.  The commissioner may enter into 
        agreements with other states and the international commission to 
        treat and consider information submitted to them as submitted to 
        this state for the purpose of complying with this section.  As 
        part of any such agreement, the commissioner may agree to 
        reimburse any other state for expenses or costs incurred and to 
        accept reimbursement from any other state for services with 
        regard to residents of the other state. 
           (f) A finding by the commissioner that a claim subject to 
        the provisions of this section should be paid must be regarded 
        by any court as highly persuasive evidence that the claim should 
        be paid. 
           Subd. 5.  [SUSPENSION OF CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY FOR 
        FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION.] The commissioner may, in 
        accordance with section 60A.052, suspend the certificate of 
        authority to conduct insurance business in the state of 
        Minnesota of any insurer that has violated this section, until 
        the time that the insurer complies with this section.  The 
        suspension does not affect or relieve the insurer from its 
        obligations to service its existing insureds, and does not 
        permit the insurer to terminate its existing insureds, except 
        pursuant to the terms of the insurance contract, but does 
        prohibit the insurer from writing new business in this state 
        until the suspension is lifted by the commissioner. 
           Subd. 6.  [COOPERATION WITH INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION.] The 
        commissioner may suspend the application of this section to any 
        insurer if the commissioner has determined, in consultation with 
        the international commission, that: 
           (1) the international commission has, by December 31, 2000, 
        established and maintained a mechanism to accomplish 
        identification, adjudication, and payment of insurance policy 
        claims of Holocaust survivors or victims and their heirs or 
        beneficiaries, within a reasonable period of time; and 
           (2) the international commission's mechanism is functioning 
        effectively; and 
           (3) the insurer is participating in the international 
        commission in good faith and is working through the 
        international commission to resolve outstanding claims with 
        offers of fair settlements in a reasonable time frame. 
           Subd. 7.  [PRIVATE RIGHTS OF ACTION PRESERVED; VENUE.] Any 
        Holocaust survivor, or heir or beneficiary of a Holocaust 
        survivor or victim, who resides in this state and has a claim 
        against an insurer arising out of Holocaust-related insurance 
        policies, may bring a legal action against that insurer to 
        recover on that claim in the district court of the county in 
        which a plaintiff resides. 
           Subd. 8.  [EXTENSION OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.] An action 
        brought by a Holocaust survivor or the heir or beneficiary of a 
        Holocaust survivor or victim, seeking proceeds of 
        Holocaust-related insurance policies, must not be dismissed for 
        failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitations, 
        provided the action is commenced on or before December 31, 2010. 
           Subd. 9.  [TITLE OF ACT.] This section may be known as the 
        "Holocaust Victims Insurance Relief Act of 2000." 
           Subd. 10.  [EXPIRATION.] This section expires December 31, 
        2010. 
           Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment. 
           Presented to the governor April 10, 2000 
           Signed by the governor April 13, 2000, 4:51 p.m.