HBA-MSH, NRS H.B. 845 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 845 By: Nixon, Joe Insurance 2/25/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Prior to and during the Holocaust, insurance companies sold policies to individuals who were subsequently victims of the Holocaust. Many of these policies were lost or destroyed and still remain unpaid. Holocaust survivors and their heirs or beneficiaries have attempted to collect on these policies; however, the limitation period has expired. House Bill 845 allows an action to be brought against an insurer to recover on a claim arising out of an insurance policy issued to a Holocaust victim. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 845 amends the Insurance Code to authorize a Holocaust victim, or the heir or beneficiary of a Holocaust victim, who resides in this state and has a claim arising out of an insurance policy purchased or in effect in Europe before 1946 that was delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed by an insurer to bring an action against an insurer to recover on that claim in a court of competent jurisdiction in this state. "Holocaust victim" means a person who was killed or injured, or who lost property, as the result of discriminatory laws, policies, or actions directed against any discrete group of which the person was a member, during the period of 1929 to 1945, inclusive, while the person resided in Nazi Germany, areas occupied by Nazi Germany, or countries allied with Nazi Germany. The bill prohibits the dismissal of such an action for failure to comply with any applicable limitations period if the action is brought before December 31, 2010. Failure by an insurer to comply with such a claim constitutes grounds for suspension or revocation of the insurer's certificate of authority to engage in the business of insurance in this state. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage.