Date: February 14, 2000
For more information contact: Eileen Mallow (608) 266-7843 or eileen.mallow@wisconsin.gov

Madison, WI--Wisconsin's victims of the Holocaust of World War II, or their heirs, have a new chance to make claims on unpaid insurance policies, Commissioner of Insurance Connie L. O'Connell announced today.

An international commission has begun a program to find and help victims whose insurance policies were lost, destroyed or effectively erased before and during the war. In the United States, Wisconsin ranks 10th among states in the number of survivors of Nazi genocide.

"The horrible wrongs of the Holocaust can never be made right," O'Connell said. "Our hope is that this effort may provide some economic compensation for survivors or their families."

The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) will begin taking claim applications tomorrow after more than a year of preparation. The target population for the ICHEIC campaign is the mainly Jewish policyholders of life, education or dowry insurance before 1945.

A claim can be supported by providing copies or recollections of items which point to an insurance policy, such as:

• Calendars or other items displaying the name or logo of an insurance company
• Diary entries reflecting policy payments
• Premium receipts
• Private correspondence mentioning insurance coverage
• Correspondence with insurance company or agent
• Recollections regarding insurance agent's visits, visits at the company's office, medical examinations in connection with insurance coverage, etc.

The claims resolution process can proceed faster if claims are made in English or German, but the Commission will provide help for speakers of other languages if they need to complete claims forms in their native tongues.

While there is no charge for filing a claim, all claims must by filed by the February 1, 2002 deadline. The Commission will acknowledge a filed claim within 14 days.

To get more information or file a claim, potential claimants can call the Commission toll-free at 1-800-957-3203. The line will be in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Requests can also be filed on the ICHEIC Internet website at: www.icheic.org.

In Wisconsin, the state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) can provide information on the claims application process and steer possible claimants to the Commission. The OCI's Information and Complaints Section can be reached at 1-800-236-8517.

European insurers, the Israeli government, Jewish organizations and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) established the Commission in 1998. Wisconsin's OCI is a member of the NAIC's Holocaust claims taskforce along with the insurance departments of Florida, New York and other states.

Insurers that are members of the Commission are Allianz, AXA, Generali, Winterthur Leben, and Zurich.