|
Insurer may settle Nazi suit
|
 |
August 14, 1998: 7:14 p.m. ET
Swiss company cooperating over unpaid claims of Holocaust victims
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- One of the four major European life insurance companies being sued over unpaid claims of Holocaust victims has committed to resolve its claims, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The move by the Zurich Insurance Co. is the first significant step toward settling a class action lawsuit in the matter and avoiding punitive steps pending in many states.
It follows the announcement Wednesday night of a settlement between Swiss banks and Holocaust survivors who were suing to recover funds in Swiss bank accounts dating back to the World War II. The bank lawsuit and the insurance lawsuit are unrelated.
The Swiss insurance company has signed a "memorandum of understanding" for the establishment of an international commission to help Holocaust survivors or heirs of Holocaust victims receive payments for previously unpaid claims.
The proposed 13-member, international commission will have access to the insurance firms' books, will establish standards for determining the payouts, and will seek to make the payments within two years.
Holocaust survivors and their families in March 1997 filed suit in Manhattan federal court against European insurers who did not honor policies after World War II. The suit alleges the companies, or their predecessors, withheld, concealed or converted the cash value of policies sold before 1946.
A total of 18 European firms are now named defendants in the suit, which has 29 named plaintiffs, all of whom have documentation and have previously made claims that were rejected, according to their attorneys.
The largest named defendants are Allianz of Germany, Generali of Italy, the AXA Group of France, and the Zurich Insurance Group of Switzerland. All of the firms have significant operations in the United States.
As many as 26 states are considering moves to punish the insurance companies if they fail to resolve the wartime claims.
California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quakenbush has threatened to pull the firms' certificates of authority, which allow them to do business in the state, according to spokeswoman Dana Spurrier.
New York's governor has signed legislation that would impose fines on insurance firms that don't cooperate with the probes.
"The commitment from Zurich to expeditiously resolve claims sends a strong message to other insurance companies and will go a long way in getting these outstanding claims paid once and for all," said U.S. Sen. Al D'Amato, R-N.Y., who proposed the idea of a commission.
"Now that the Swiss banks have made compensation, it is time for the insurance companies to do the same," D'Amato said. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
