TIME RUNNING OUT TO FILE HOLOCAUST INSURANCE CLAIMS

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Illinois Director of Insurance Nat Shapo today cautioned Illinois Holocaust survivors and heirs that time is running out to file insurance claims with the International Holocaust Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC). "The deadline for filing claims is February 15, 2002. I strongly encourage all Illinois citizens who believe they are entitled to benefits from a Holocaust-era insurance policy to submit their claims to ICHEIC by that date," Shapo said.

Claim forms may be obtained by calling the international commission toll-free at (800) 957-3203 in the United States or from the ICHEIC website at www.icheic.org. As of December 7, 2001, ICHEIC has received 20,116 U.S. claims, 1,010 of which are from Illinois. Nearly 4,100 Illinois survivors have registered with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. as of November 2001.

Shapo said it is essential that potential claimants contact ICHEIC immediately to preserve their rights. The only exceptions to the deadline that are likely to be honored are claims generated by newly published lists. ICHEIC requires participating companies to produce available lists of Holocaust-era policyholders. Shapo said such lists are still being produced by ICHEIC companies and additional lists are expected should an agreement be reached with the non-ICHEIC companies through the German Foundation. ICHEIC has posted thousands of names on its website and continues to update its lists as more names become available.

" Lists are essential to an effective claims process. Companies must continue to produce available names of Holocaust-era policyholders and ICHEIC must honor any claims that result from such lists," Shapo added.

Director Shapo chairs the International Holocaust Commission Task Force of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and is one of five American regulators on ICHEIC. The NAIC, in cooperation with several European insurance companies, European regulators, representatives of several Jewish organizations, and the State of Israel, established ICHEIC in 1998 to develop a just claims process for unpaid insurance policies issued to victims of the Holocaust. ICHEIC established a two-year window for the filing of claims, as well as relaxed standards of proof to provide claims payments without full documentation. Provisions are also in place to provide benefits for those with claims against companies no longer in existence or companies that were nationalized under communism.

Director Shapo is also part of a small group that represents ICHEIC on its negotiations with the German Foundation which has allocated approximately $250 million for insurance claims and humanitarian purposes.