WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced today the Armenian Victims Insurance Fairness Act - legislation to provide states with the authority to assist survivors of the Armenian Genocide in making insurance claims.
"Because insurance companies have yet to open their lists and disclose the names of those policyholders who died in the Armenian Genocide, many survivors and family members have been denied benefits rightfully due to them," Rep. Schiff said. "To continue to deny these claims would be a further injustice to these survivors and their families. Families should not have to wait any longer for disclosure of policyholder lists."
At the end of the 19th century, major American and European insurance companies began expanding their operations into the Ottoman Empire and thousands of Armenians purchased life insurance policies as a form of savings and investment for the future. By 1915, it is reported that one French-based company had sold more than 11,000 policies in the area. Almost all of these policyholders were massacred when a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing was launched by the Ottoman Empire, killing more than 1.5 million Armenians.
Over eighty years later, insurance companies still have not paid the benefits due on the thousands of policies sold before the Armenian Genocide. Many families have tried for years to obtain owed benefits, but insurance companies have demanded that the survivors produce non-existent documents, such as death certificates.
Schiff's bill - the Armenian Victims Insurance Fairness Act - allows states, like California, to require insurance companies conducting business in the state to disclose Armenian Genocide era insurance information. Armenian Genocide survivors and their heirs contend that the failure of insurance companies to open their archives makes it impossible for them to collect on policies, which were faithfully paid before falling victim to the Ottoman Turks. The legislation explicitly expresses Congressional disapproval of any Executive branch policy or agreement that preempts State efforts in this area.
Schiff is a long-time advocate for ensuring justice to victims of the Armenian Genocide. As a California State Senator, Schiff co-authored legislation (S.B. 1915) to assist Armenian Genocide victims in recovering outstanding insurance claims. The bill essentially gave survivors and heirs a "right of action," or the right to sue for un-recovered insurance claims.
Since being elected to Congress in 2000, Rep. Schiff has continued to pursue the full recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the United States. Schiff has urged his House colleagues each year to recognize the Armenian Genocide and he introduced the Genocide Resolution in the current Congress with Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA).
He is a member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, a bi-partisan group of over 70 lawmakers who work together on issues dealing with the Republic of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian Genocide and human rights.
Rep. Schiff represents California's 29th Congressional District, including the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.