Date: February 22, 2002
For more information contact: Kyle Richmond (608) 267-9336 or kyle.richmond@oci.state.wi.us

Madison, WI--Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Connie L. O'Connell today announced that the deadline for Holocaust survivors and their heirs to file an insurance claim with the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) has been extended.

"The new deadline for filing claims is September 30, 2002," said Commissioner O'Connell. "I strongly encourage anyone who may have a claim to contact ICHEIC as soon as possible."

Claim forms may be obtained by contacting the international commission at 1-800-957-3203 in the United States or from the ICHEIC Web site at www.icheic.org. A link to the ICHEIC Web site is avaiable on the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance Web site at oci.wi.gov. As of December 7, 2001, potential claimants had filed 20,116 claims with ICHEIC, including 116 from Wisconsin residents.

The ICHEIC process allows for relaxed standards for review of life insurance claims from the holocaust era. ICHEIC will provide potential claimants with information necessary on the documentation that the commission will use to evaluate claims. The deadline has been extended to allow potential claimants to have the opportunity to review a new list of names on the ICHEIC Web site. O'Connell cautions potential claimants that they may lose their rights to a claim if they do not file by the deadline.

European insurers, the Israeli government, Jewish organizations and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) established the Commission in 1998. Wisconsin's Office of the Commissioner of Insurance is a member of the NAIC's Holocaust claims taskforce and its Information and Complaints Section can be reached at 1-800-236-8517.