New York -- May 7, 1999 -- Ruth Laibson, Chair of
the Holocaust Awareness Committee of the Jewish Council for Public
Affairs (JCPA) issued the following statement today:
The JCPA is pleased that the International Commission on Holocaust-Era
Insurance Claims (IC), which met this week in London, made significant
headway towards resolving outstanding claims of survivors and
heirs. The agency applauds the agreement by the five European
insurers participating in the IC process to factor in interest
and present-day currency values when calculating claim payments,
and to accept liability for policies issued before company assets
were nationalized after World War II.
We extend our gratitude to IC Chair Lawrence Eagleburger, the
state insurance regulators, representatives of Jewish organizations
and survivor groups, and other IC members, whose perseverance
led to this positive breakthrough. The JCPA is hopeful that the
significant outstanding details of the settlement, most importantly
the ultimate valuation of claims, can be resolved expeditiously,
with an outcome that provides true justice for Holocaust survivors,
their heirs, and the Jewish people.
To that end, the JCPA reiterates the need for all insurance companies
that wrote or had insurance policies in effect between the years
1933 and 1945 to provide the names of the individuals who held
those policies, and their beneficiaries, in order to ensure that
any settlement figure accurately addresses the losses incurred
by the Jewish community. The JCPA appreciates the production of
such a list this week by the Assicurazioni Generali company of
Italy, and urges other companies to follow suit. Those European
insurers who have been implicated in Holocaust-related claims
and who have not yet agreed to participate in the IC process must
do so.
Over the last year, JCPA member agencies in communities across
the country have played an important role in linking state insurance
regulators to survivor communities, in order to apprise survivors
of efforts being undertaken to secure restitution of insurance-related
claims. The JCPA stands ready to assist the IC in its ongoing
efforts to inform survivors and their heirs about the claims process
that will be established at Mr. Eagleburger's direction.
