Holocaust claims process comes to an end

WASHINGTON--The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims concluded its claims and appeals processes Tuesday after having distributed $306.24 million to 48,263 Holocaust survivors and heirs.

"I fully recognize that no amount of compensation can redress the suffering inflicted during the Holocaust," said ICHEIC Chairman Lawrence S. Eagleburger. "Nevertheless, I believe that ICHEIC has achieved its goal of bringing a small measure of justice to those who have been denied it for so long."

ICHEIC was established in 1998 by the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners in conjunction with several European insurance companies, European governments, representatives of several Jewish and survivor organizations and the State of Israel to ensure the payment of valid insurance claims issued to victims of the Holocaust.

The organization conducted an extensive worldwide outreach campaign to encourage claimants--at no cost to them--to file. More than 70 European insurance companies and partner entities participated in the process, according to an ICHEIC statement.

"ICHEIC's archival research and matching processes resulted in member company offers to 8,000 claimants totaling nearly $100 million on claims that originally did not name an insurance company," according to a statement by ICHEIC Vice Chairman Diane Koken, a former Pennsylvania insurance commissioner and NAIC president.

Other awards included $30 million through the organization's Eastern European humanitarian claims process for claims on policies written by companies nationalized or liquidated after World War II and for which no present-day successor could be identified. The ICHEIC also awarded $31 million for 31,000 humanitarian awards on eligible undocumented claims that contained a high level of anecdotal information, but could not be matched against company records.

For additional information, see www.icheic.org.