(a) If an insurer or any affiliate of an insurer has failed to pay any valid claim from Holocaust survivors, the certificate of authority of the insurer shall be suspended until the insurer, or its affiliates, pays the claim or claims.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) “Holocaust survivor” means any person who is the beneficiary of an insurance policy, if the insurance policy insured a person’s life, property, or other interest, and the insured person was killed, died, was displaced, or was otherwise a victim of persecution of Jewish and other peoples preceding and during World War II by Germany, its allies, or sympathizers.
(2) “Beneficiary” means any person or entity entitled to recover under any policy of insurance, including any named beneficiary, any heir of a named beneficiary, and any other person entitled to recover under the policy.
(3) “Claim” means any claim submitted by a Holocaust survivor or other beneficiary arising under an insurance policy for any loss or damage caused by or arising because of discriminatory practices or persecution by the Nazi-controlled German government or its allies, or by insurers that refused to pay claims because of a claim that policies of insurance or records were missing or confiscated because of actions by the Nazi-controlled German government or its agents or allies. Claim also includes any claim by Holocaust survivors or beneficiaries to collect proceeds from dowry or education policies or from annuities.
(4) An “affiliate” of, or person “affiliated” with, a specific person, means a person who directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person specified.
(5) “Control” includes the terms “controlling,” “controlled by,” and “under common control with,” and means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement services, or otherwise, unless the power is the result of an official position with or corporate office held by the person. Control shall be presumed to exist if any person, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, holds with the power to vote, or holds proxies representing, more than 10 percent of the voting securities of any other person.
(c) An action to suspend a certificate of authority under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), except that (1) if the Office of Administrative Hearings is unable to assign an administrative law judge to preside over a hearing that commences within 30 days of the filing of an accusation or order initiating an action under this section, the administrative law judge may be appointed by the commissioner; and (2) if the commissioner determines that it is necessary to protect the interests of Holocaust survivors, he or she may issue an order of suspension pursuant to this section prior to holding a hearing.
(d) If the commissioner issues an order pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), he or she shall immediately issue and serve upon the insurer a statement of reasons for the immediate action, as well as a copy of the accusation or order containing the allegations that support the order. Any order issued pursuant to this subdivision shall include a notice stating the time and place of a hearing on the order, which shall not be less than 20, nor more than 30 days after the order is served.
(e) When considering an action to suspend a certificate of authority under this section, the commissioner shall include consideration of whether the insurer has participated in good faith in an international commission on Holocaust survivor insurance claims, and whether the commission is making meaningful and expeditious progress toward paying claims to survivors and righting the historic wrong done to Holocaust victims.
(Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 963, Sec. 2. Effective September 29, 1998.)