Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1) Purpose and Scope. This rule implements
section 626.9543, F.S. The "Holocaust
Victims Assistance Act" was established to ensure that the potential and actual
insurance claims, actual financial claims, and the assets and property of
holocaust victims and their heirs and beneficiaries be expeditiously identified
and properly paid, compensated, or returned. This rule establishes the
procedure by which:
(a) An insurer must file
a report relating to the insurance claims of Holocaust victims or insureds, or
their heirs, descendants, or beneficiaries with the Department;
(b) The method by which the Department will
monitor and verify compliance with the provisions of subsections (7) and (8) of
section 626.9543, F.S.; and
(c) The standards of proof necessary to
substantiate a claim against an insurer pursuant to paragraph
626.9543(5)(b),
F.S.
(2) For the purposes
of this rule unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Department" means the Department of
Financial Services.
(b) "Insurer"
means an insurer doing business in this state, not excluding an authorized
insurer or an eligible surplus lines insurer.
(c) "Eligible surplus lines insurer" shall
have the meaning set forth in subsection
626.914(2),
F.S.
(d) "Authorized" shall have
the meaning set forth in section
624.09, F.S.
(e) "Report" shall mean the written document
described as set forth in subsection (4), and submitted to the Department in
the format set forth in subsection (5) of this rule.
(f) "International Commission on Holocaust
Era Insurance Claims" is that entity established in 1998 to identify, settle,
and pay individual Holocaust era insurance claims at no cost to claimants and
that ceased operations in 2007.
(3)
(a)
Each insurer shall annually file a report with the Department no later than
December 31st of the year in which:
1. An
insurer begins conducting business in this state; or
2. An insurer who has previously filed a
report, takes any action or discovers any information that changes information
filed in a previous report; or
3.
An insurer is notified by the Department that it has previously failed to file
a report or that the Department is requesting a new or updated
report.
(b) A holding
company may file a report for all member insurers of the holding company
system; however, the holding company must supply the Federal Employer
Identification Number (FEIN) for each member insurer for which it is making the
required reporting.
(4)
Each report shall contain the following separate sections:
(a) Below a heading entitled "Relationship
with Insurance Companies," the report shall identify any insurance company,
with which the insurer has a legal relationship, which issued an insurance
policy to a Holocaust victim or insured.
1.
The report shall provide:
a. The date on which
the legal relationship commenced;
b. A description of the legal
relationship;
c. The country of
domicile and licensure of the insurance company; and
d. The country (and district or city, if
available) in which the insurance company issued any insurance policy to a
Holocaust victim or insured.
2. The information shall include a detailed
description of the efforts made to determine whether the insurer, or any
insurer with which the reporting insurer has a legal relationship, issued an
insurance policy to a Holocaust victim or insured.
(b) Below a heading entitled "Number and
Total Value of Policies," the report shall, with respect to each insurance
company that issued an insurance policy to a Holocaust victim or insured,
provide the number and total value in current U.S. dollars, of the insurance
policies unpaid in full or in part, including, if available, an annual running
tally of exposure.
1. The information shall
include a detailed explanation of the methodologies used by the insurer to
determine the number and total value of the insurance policies required to be
reported under this rule.
2. To the
best of its ability, the insurer shall indicate whether there were additional
insurance policies issued to Holocaust victims by it (or any insurance company
with which it has a legal relationship) for which there is no direct evidence
or documentation. The insurer shall also provide a complete description of the
efforts being made to document the existence of such insurance
policies.
(c) Below a
heading entitled "Claims Filed," the report shall provide a list of any
insurance claim filed by a policyholder who is a Holocaust victim, or insured,
or by his or her beneficiary, heir, or descendant, against the insurer or
against any insurance company with which the insurer has a legal relationship,
on an insurance policy. The report should include the disposition thereof, with
a detailed explanation of any attempt to locate insurance claims of Holocaust
victims or insureds, or their heirs, descendants, or beneficiaries.
(d) Below a heading entitled "Attempts to
Locate Beneficiaries," the report shall provide a detailed explanation of the
attempts made by the insurer, or by any insurance company having a legal
relationship with the insurer, to locate the beneficiaries of any insurance
policy issued to a Holocaust victim or insured for which no claim of benefits
has been made, including a list of any heirs, descendants, or beneficiaries who
have been located, and for every such policy: the name or identity of the
purchaser, the name or identity of the beneficiary, the date and place of
policy issuance, the type of policy, and the name or identity of the
agent.
(e) Below a heading entitled
"Explanation of Denial or Pending Payment," the report shall provide a detailed
explanation of any attempt to identify insurance claims of Holocaust victims or
insureds which were denied. The report shall also include a detailed
explanation as to why such claims were denied or payment withheld.
(f) The insurer may supplement the report
with additional information as it becomes available.
(5) The report shall be submitted in English
and either on paper or in an Adobe PDF or other digital format compatible with
Microsoft Word. The report shall be submitted to the Department of Financial
Services, Division of Consumer Services, 200 East Gaines Street, Room 524B,
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0317, or via email to
HolocaustAssistance@MyFloridaCFO.com. An insurer that has no information to
report may submit its report stating that fact in letter form.
(6) To achieve statutorily required
restitution, an insurer shall pay in full on behalf of, or cause to be paid in
full by, an insurance company with which it has a legal relationship, the
amount due with respect to any substantiated insurance claim made by
policyholders who are Holocaust victims or insureds, from or by their heirs,
descendants, or beneficiaries. Payment shall be calculated according to the
procedures established by the International Commission on Holocaust Era
Insurance Claims in the Guide to Valuation Procedures: Edition Dated 22-10-02
and Annex D thereto. The Guide to Valuation Procedures and Annex D thereto are
hereby incorporated by reference and available on the website of the
International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims at:
http://www.icheic.org/claims.html.
(7) For purposes of this rule and pursuant to
paragraph 626.9643(5)(b),
F.S., a claim shall be considered adequately substantiated by one of the
following:
(a) An original or copy of an
insurance policy;
(b) Information
in the records of the insurer that evidences the existence of an insurance
policy that remains unpaid in full or in part to the policyholder, or his or
her heirs, descendants, or beneficiaries;
(c) Written confirmation from the insurer
that its files verify the policy status, including the name or identification
of the insured, their heirs, descendants, or beneficiaries; or
(d) Other evidence, including parole
evidence, that a reasonable person would accept as reliable in the conduct of
his or her affairs, as contemplated by paragraph
626.9543(5)(b),
F.S.
Insurers shall not reject any evidence as being
insufficiently probative of any fact necessary to establish the claim if the
evidence provided is plausible in the light of all the special circumstances
involved, including but not limited to the destruction caused by World War II,
the Holocaust, and the lengthy period of time that has passed since the
insurance policy under consideration was
obtained.
Rulemaking Authority
624.308(1),
626.9543(11)
FS. Law Implemented 624.307(1),
626.9543
FS.
New 5-12-99, Formerly 4-137.010,
69O-137.010, Amended
5-11-14.
