FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2024
Contact: press@justice4survivors.com, (201) 663-5746, (929) 866-0602
NEW YORK LAWMAKERS CALL ON THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES TO INVESTIGATE INSURANCE COMPANIES FOR VIOLATING STATE LAW IN CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE CASES
INSURERS ACROSS NY & THE NATION REFUSE TO PAY CLAIMS IN CHILD SEX ABUSE CASES
NEW YORK, NY – Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal and state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal asked the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) to investigate allegations that insurance companies are violating the Child Victims Act by refusing to pay out claims in child sex abuse cases. In a letter to DFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris, the legislators called on the agency to address complaints from survivors of childhood sexual abuse that their claims are not being processed by insurers. For months, survivors have raised this critical issue with DFS, but the agency has failed to respond.
Passed in 2019, the Child Victims Act (CVA) strengthened the rights of survivors by offering the opportunity to file back claims and receive just compensation for the abuse they endured – but five years later, thousands of survivors, the vast majority, are still waiting for justice. Insurance companies like Chubb have ignored DFS guidance to fully comply with the intent of the CVA, and continue to refuse to pay claims, undermining survivors and standing in the way of justice. In the latest example, just last week, insurance company Interstate remained the only impediment to reaching a settlement with hundreds of survivors in Rockville Center.
“At this point, silence is complicity,” said Stephen Jimenez, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and longtime advocate, author, and journalist. “Superintendent Harris’ failure to enforce her own department’s guidance is allowing insurers like CHUBB to profit from the pain and suffering of survivors who were sexually abused as children. The insurance industry is fighting to run out the clock and protect their profits, because every survivor that dies waiting for justice is one less claim for them to pay. We’re grateful to Senator Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Rosenthal for continuing to stand with survivors and demanding action on this critical issue.”
###
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 author and journalist Stephen Jimenez, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and longtime advocate who helped pass the Child Victims Act (CVA), and 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.