Congress: 112 · Status: active · Israel/Palestine classification: neutral
Data (JSON) — machine-readable record of this bill (identifiers, sponsor, classification, actions, and the member-by-member vote breakdown).
Official record on Congress.gov — full text, actions, and cosponsor history for S 466.
Sponsor: Nelson, Bill (D-FL)
Restoration of Legal Rights for Claimants under Holocaust-Era Insurance Policies Act of 2011 - Allows a beneficiary (including an heir, assignee, or legal representative of a named insured or beneficiary) of a Holocaust-era life, dowry, education, annuity, property, or other insurance policy to bring a civil action in a U.S. district court against the insurer for the covered policy (or a related company of the insurer) to recover proceeds due or otherwise to enforce any rights under the policy. Covers any such policy issued to a policyholder domiciled in any area that was occupied or controlled by Nazi Germany (or by an ally or friendly government) or the territorial jurisdiction of Switzerland. Requires the award to a prevailing beneficiary of the amount of the proceeds due under the policy, plus prejudgment interest at 6% per year, compounded annually, calculated from the date the amount was originally due. Requires the award of treble damages against any insurer or related company that acted in bad faith. Sets a 10-year statute of limitations for claims filed under this Act. Prohibits any prior judgment or release entered for any claim arising under a covered policy in any civil action in a federal or state court from impairing any claim brought under this Act. Declares that any executive agreement between the United States and a foreign government entered into, or any executive foreign policy of the U.S. government established, before, on, or after the enactment of this Act, shall not supercede or preempt any state law or compromise, settle, extinguish, waive, preclude, bar, or foreclose any claim brought under this Act.
Allows heirs and beneficiaries of people who held life insurance policies issued during the Nazi era to sue U.S. insurers (or related companies) in federal court to recover unpaid policy proceeds. Claimants can recover the original amount due plus 6% annual interest, and triple damages if the insurer acted in bad faith. Claims must be filed within 10 years. The law blocks any international agreement or executive policy from blocking or settling these lawsuits.
This bill centers on Holocaust-era insurance claims rather than Israel-Palestine policy directly. However, it reflects congressional prioritization of Holocaust restitution as a historical justice matter, which relates to broader debates about accountability for historical wrongs and whose claims receive legal remedies.