W000510
Friday, November 23, 2001 2:08 PM
Fwd: Comments on Rulemaking
Attachment 1:
Comments on Rulemaking
My name is . I am the surviving spouse of ,
who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. We have two children,
, 19 and , 17. Our address is Rockville
Centre, N.Y.
I have read Title IV of the Act, and my comments are as follows:
The Rules dealing with Collateral Sources must make a distinction for
insurance proceeds that are received under policies paid for by the
decedent's family. Otherwise, similarly situated victim's families will
receive unequal treatment depending on how they provided for life insurance.
As a simple example, we paid substantial premiums for life insurance for
almost 20 years. Assume that another family decided to self-insure, and
instead of paying premiums, he/she places the amount equal to our premiums in
a bank account or into a mutual fund. Twenty years later, we have the
insurance proceeds, the other person has an appreciated bank account or
appreciated mutual fund balance. Our insurance proceeds reduce our award,
but his self-insurance fund does not reduce his/her award. At the very least,
the collateral source amount should be reduced by the premiums paid plus
interest.
We would also point out that although some life insurance proceeds are
paid through company plans, we, in effect, paid for the coverage by virtue of
the fact that the premium amount was imputed as income to us.
The Rules relating to Sec. 405(3)(B) should make clear that if our award
is reduced by Collateral Sources, that we could file a civil action to
recover the amount that reduced our award.
Sincerely yours,
Individual Comment