Saturday, 5 March 2011
Holocaust Survivors May Get Chance To Sue Insurers In American Courts
It looks like Holocaust survivors may be a step closer to collecting on Jewish life insurance policies that were never paid after World War II. This is due to members of American Congress filing bills that will enable them to sue European insurance companies that never paid beneficiaries money that was allegedly owed to them.
Insurance firms such as Assicurazioni Generali of Italy and Allianz SE of Germany may be forced to produce their lists of policies that were written up before the war. This could lead to aging survivors being paid proper compensation if they win their court cases. Several members of the Senate and the House have shown their support for the newly created legislation.
Scores of Jewish families attempted to collect on life insurance policies after the war. These plans were taken out on people who died in Nazi concentration camps, but the insurers said beneficiaries needed death certificates or the original paperwork, which of course weren’t available.
A South Florida lawyer for survivors, named Sam Dubbin, said about only three per cent of almost 900,000 insurance policies had been paid out. The policies were worth close to $600 before the war and are estimated to be worth about $20 billion today.
There have been several organizations formed to deal with the insurance claims since the 1950s. One of these is the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims. This group was able to secure just over $300 million for approximately 48,000 claimants between 1998 and 2007.
It looks like this may be the final hope for survivors. Previous requests to sue had been turned down by federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court as they said the commission was the only one that could end the dispute. If this bipartisan bill happens to pass, then the survivors will be allowed to sue the insurance companies in state courts. The bill never gained any momentum in the past when it was introduced in the House.
According to FoxNews.com a vice president of Allianz of America admitted the company collaborated with the Nazis, but said the Third Reich forced them and other insurance firms to hand over Jewish insurance policies and other assets. She added they didn’t really have a choice in the matter and the company will be glad to listen to people who have claims from the Second World War.
