The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has named a multi-state working group to investigate allegations in which Holocaust victims and their heirs were denied insurance benefits on policies they paid for in good faith. In part, these disclosures arose out of the recent news about Swiss banking practices and the Jewish assets that disappeared in neutral Switzerland a half century ago. This investigation is part of the continuing effort to restore justice to the victims of the Holocaust.

Insurance is regulated by the states, not the federal government. The NAIC includes the 55 Insurance Commissioners in each state and U.S. territory. Although some commissioners are appointed, a number are elected, and all share the job of representing consumers when they encounter difficulties. On September 22, 1997, the NAIC held an informational presentation for the Special Insurance Issues Committee, with testimony from Holocaust survivors, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, and carriers.

Additional hearings are planned this fall, including:

CHICAGO AREA: November 10, 1997 Doubletree Hotel North Shore, Skokie, 9 am to noon
MIAMI AREA: November 20, 1997 Fountainbleau Hilton, Miami Beeach, 9 am to noon
SEATTLE: December 8 (TBA)
NORTHEAST: TBA
CALIFORNIA: TBA

We hope to contact as many Holocaust survivors as possible, either through hearings or via communication with the Working Group or individual state Insurance Commissioners. The Working Group represents a dozen states, but its research will include all U.S. survivors, not just residents of those states. The group's focus includes any life, commercial or property insurance in that period leading up to World War II and the Holocaust.

As of early October, the Working Group states included California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Washington.

If you have a claim, think you may have a claim, or have any information about these issues, it would be helpful for you to contact the Working Group through this page or by mail. You also may contact your state Insurance Commissioner. A list of those addresses and phone numbers is included on this page.

Details that would be useful to the Working Group include:

Documentation of an insurance policy that was canceled or where benefits were refused after 1933, the war years, or after World War II.
Instances in which Jews or others were denied benefits of their insurance coverage.
Any cases in which you recall or can furnish evidence of insurance coverage purchased in Germany or occupied Europe.
Contacts with other Holocaust survivors or relatives who might help us with these questions.
Any recollections you have of insurance coverage during this period, including families in which there were no survivors but who may have had some kind of insurance coverage.

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