N.Y. Insurance Law § 2703: Insurer claims handling

§ 2703. Insurer claims handling. (a) Notwithstanding any inconsistent

provision of this chapter, any insurer organized, registered, licensed

or accredited to do an insurance business in this state, in receipt of a

claim against it arising from an occurrence during the period between

January first, nineteen hundred twenty-nine and December thirty-first,

nineteen hundred forty-five from an individual that such insurer knows,

or reasonably should have known, is a Holocaust victim shall:

(1) diligently and expeditiously investigate such claim;

(2) allow claimants to provide alternative documentation which does

not meet the usual standards of proof required by an insurer to

substantiate the particular claim, subject to standards established for

such documentation as prescribed by regulations promulgated by the

superintendent; and

(3) attempt to resolve, settle and, if appropriate, make payments on

claims irrespective of any statute of limitations or notice requirements

imposed by any law or such insurance policy issued to or covering the

life, property or interests of a Holocaust victim, provided that the

claim is submitted to the insurer within ten years from the effective

date of this article.

(b) Failure to abide by the terms of this section shall constitute a

defined violation for purposes of subsection (b) of section two thousand

four hundred two of this chapter.

(c) This article shall serve as additional and conclusive notice that

the superintendent is currently investigating all claims pertaining to

the victims of the Holocaust. Evidence of the intentional destruction or

alteration of any records or other materials pertaining to such claim

shall be admissible in both administrative and judicial proceedings as

evidence in support of any claim being made against the insurer

involving the destroyed or altered material. It shall be permissible

for an administrative or judicial court to infer that the intentional

destruction or alteration of any records or other materials pertaining

to a claim was done in order to prevent discovery of information to

support any claim of a Holocaust victim.