§ 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.