Washington State Commissioner Requests Holocaust Progress Report

Deborah Senn, Insurance Commissioner of Washington, announced that she will hold a public hearing on Nov. 20 to assess the progress that European insurance companies are making in the international effort to compensate Holocaust victims and their heirs.

Allianz AG (Germany), Axa (France), Assicurazioni Generali (Italy), Zurich and Winterthur (Switzerland) were all requested to attend the hearing. Representatives of the companies were asked to testify about the status of the ICHEIC process in general as well as their company’s specific experience to date.

For those insurers shown to be working in good faith with the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims, Senn may suspend the requirements of the law. Washington’s Holocaust Victims Insurance Relief Act of 1999 requires insurers to provide lists of all policyholders during the Holocaust Era in Europe. Billions of dollars worth of insurance benefits were illegally denied to victims of the Holocaust and their heirs, including several hundred residents of Washington state.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, who heads the ICHEIC, was also invited to attend. Some of the Washington state residents who have filed more than 400 claims with ICHEIC may testify, as well. Commissioner Senn said information compiled at the hearing would be used to prepare a report for the 2001 session of the Washington State Legislature.