July 8, 2024
Contact: press@justice4survivors.com, 978-807-7950
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jimenez joins CJCC as fight to hold insurance industry accountable for refusing to pay CVA claims intensifies
New York – Stephen Jimenez, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and longtime advocate who helped pass the Child Victims Act (CVA), was announced today as a Trustee for the Coalition for Just and Compassionate Compensation (CJCC). Jimenez is an acclaimed author, journalist and producer. Last month, he appeared on Inside City Hall to discuss how DFS is allowing insurers like CHUBB to defy the CVA with impunity.
Jimenez’s appointment to the Board comes as the fight to hold insurers across New York accountable for their refusal to pay CVA claims intensifies, and as thousands of survivors of childhood sexual abuse await their day in court. Insurers across New York are outright refusing to pay CVA claims – in clear defiance of Department of Financial Services (DFS) guidance instructing insurance companies to cooperate fully with the CVA. The insurance industry’s tactics risk years of additional delays for survivors – many of whom are in their 70’s and 80’s. Despite survivors writing to DFS for months, the Department has thus far ignored their pleas and refused to hold the industry accountable.
“I filed my suit the day the CVA went into effect – but here we are, five years later, with no restitution in sight for thousands thanks to massive insurers like CHUBB protecting their profits at the expense of survivors,” said Stephen Jimenez, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and longtime advocate, author, and journalist. “How many more survivors have to die waiting for justice before Albany holds the insurance industry accountable? For years, we took the fight to the perpetrators and the institutions that allowed our abuse to occur, winning passage of the CVA – but the job isn’t done. Now, we’re taking our fight to the insurance industry, which is prolonging our suffering by refusing to pay out CVA claims – and we won’t rest until the full promise the CVA was designed to deliver is fulfilled.”
“We’re thrilled to officially welcome Steve, who has long been one of our strongest advocates, to our Board of Trustees,” echoed David Catalfamo, Executive Director of the CJCC. “His experience will undoubtedly help amplify the voices of other survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and send a clear message to Albany that this fight will continue until big insurers are finally held accountable for refusing to pay out claims for survivors.”
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The Coalition for Just and Compassionate Compensation (“CJCC”) is an independent alliance of survivors of child sex abuse, their representatives, and advocates seeking full restitution for survivors of child sex abuse. Among members of the coalition are attorneys James Marsh, Founding Partner at Marsh Law Firm, Jeff Herman, Founder of Herman Law Firm, and Hillary Nappi, Partner at Hach Rose Schirripa & Cheverie, who represent thousands of sexual abuse survivors in litigation against public and private entities.