DEADLINE FOR FILING HOLOCAUST ERA INSURANCE CLAIMS IS DECEMBER 31, 2003

SPRINGFIELD, IL - J. Anthony Clark, Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance, today emphasized that all Illinois Holocaust survivors, or family members of victims of the Holocaust who believe they are entitled to benefits from a Holocaust-era insurance policy, must submit their claims to International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) by December 31, 2003 - the deadline for filing claims with the ICHEIC.

"I urge all claimants to file by the December 31 deadline," said Director Clark. "Claimants must file by this deadline in order to preserve their rights to benefits which may be due them from Holocaust-era policies."

Claim forms may be obtained by calling the ICHEIC toll-free at (800) 957-3203 in the United States or from the ICHEIC website at www.icheic.org. The claims would be for insurance policies taken out between January 1, 1929 and December 31, 1945 in areas under Nazi influence in Europe for which no benefits were paid.

ICHEIC requires participating companies to produce available lists of Holocaust-era policyholders. These lists of names are published on the ICHEIC web site in 23 different languages. "If your family name appears on this list, or even if you suspect your family may have had an insurance policy, it is imperative you file a claim by the deadline to assure you are eligible to receive any benefit that may be due you," said Clark.

ICHEIC is made up of insurance regulators from the United States, representatives from the State of Israel, international Jewish and Holocaust survivor organizations, and European insurance companies. Since 1998, ICHEIC has been trying to identify Holocaust victims and/or their heirs who may have had unpaid life, education, and dowry policies. More than 450,000 names are on the ICHEIC web site, representing more than one half million insurance policies.