Tag Archives: insurance legislation

"With all those promises, I applied to ICHEIC. They said they could not find my father’s name. They sent a check for $1000 as a 'humanitarian payment.' ICHEIC sent out 34,000 of those $1000 checks. Survivors deeply resent the idea of a 'humanitarian payment' instead of the funds we know our parents set aside in case of a disaster. The whole thing was an insult to survivors, and it still is."

David Mermelstein’s Statement to the US Senate

I remember there was a plaque on our in house that said there was insurance, by Generali. My father was a careful businessman, so naturally he would have had insurance to protect his business and his family. Many survivors also remember those plaques, or an agent coming around every two weeks to collect premiums, but most of us 3were too young to know the name of the insurance company. Of course we have no documents for obvious reasons. In 1998, we worked closely with our Florida Insurance Commissioner, Bill Nelson, for a State law to make the companies publish all the names and allow survivors to go to court if they wouldn’t settle. That is when the companies came up with the idea of the ICHEIC commission – because of pressure from the states. Still, everyone told us ICHEIC was voluntary and not binding unless you agreed to a settlement. So, with all those promises, I applied to ICHEIC. They said they could not find my father’s name. They sent a check for $1000 as a“humanitarian payment.”ICHEIC sent out 34,000 of those $1000 checks. Survivors deeply resent the idea of a ‘humanitarian payment’ instead of the funds we know our parents set aside in case of a disaster. The whole thing was an insult to survivors, and it still is.

"With all those promises, I applied to ICHEIC. They said they could not find my father’s name. They sent a check for $1000 as a 'humanitarian payment.' ICHEIC sent out 34,000 of those $1000 checks. Survivors deeply resent the idea of a 'humanitarian payment' instead of the funds we know our parents set aside in case of a disaster. The whole thing was an insult to survivors, and it still is."

Full Senate Judiciary Hearing from September 17, 2019

Senate Judiciary Committee Examines Holocaust-Era Insurance Claims
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Holocaust-era insurance claims. The committee was considering whether legislation might be necessary to process Holocaust-era insurance claims that were not adequately addressed by the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC…
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
September 17, 2019
Panel:
Mr. Baird Webel
Specialist in Financial Economics
Congressional Research Service
Washington , DC
Mr. David Mermelstein
President
Holocaust Survivors of Miami-Dade County, FL
Miami , FL
Ms. Anna B. Rubin
Director
Holocaust Claims Processing Office
New York State Department of Financial Services
New York, NY
Mr. Samuel Dubbin
Counsel to
Holocaust Survivors Foundation USA
Coral Gables , FL
Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat
Former U.S. Ambassador and Special Advisor on Holocaust Issues
United States Department of State
Washington , DC

Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Unpaid Holocaust-Era Insurance

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

On Tuesday, September 17, at 10:00 am, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the subject of unpaid Holocaust Era Insurance Claims.  Further info and a stream of the hearing are available at the Senate Judiciary Committee website. HSF submitted the materials attached in the document below to Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham on Friday, September 13.

Protesting the Golf Tournament in Boca Raton in 2016 sponsored by Allianz, the Company which insured Nazi death camps and profited from the genocide of European Jews.

Statement by Jack Rubin to US House of Representatives

Jack Rubin’s Testimony to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
September 18, 2014

This past May, the Administration’s Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, and her colleagues, travelled to South Florida to meet with the survivor community, the adult children of survivors many of whom are caretakers, and the Jewish Family and Children’s’ Services professionals who have the prime responsibility to administer what little funds exist for survivors.  These meetings took place in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach.   I am proud that in each community the survivors and family members were united in our report: there is simply not enough funding available to meet the needs that we know about much less the problems faced by so many destitute survivors too embarrassed to seek help. 

While we were encouraged by the caring attitude that the Administration’s people brought, we are very concerned that their agenda is far too limited, i.e. focused solely on   making federal programs work better for survivors.  Well, that is a laudable and long overdue goal, and we offered what support we could.  However, it would be tragic of the Administration lost sight of the big picture and the urgency of the needs of survivors today which can only be addressed by substantial increases in funding from Germany and other culpable Holocaust countries and profiteers.  We implored the White House representatives to urge the President and Vice President to take a leadership position and bring our concerns to Chancellor Merkel personally.   

We know social service agencies and local leaders throughout the United States charged with the responsibility to provide care for survivors have to manage with insufficient resources.  But their hands seem to be tied when it comes to the most significant obstacles facing survivors.  Why don’t they speak up and support the survivors seeking to hold Germany responsible for providing the complete current amounts of funds survivors desperately need.  Why do retired German WWII veterans and even SS officers receive ample pensions and complete health care coverage, when Holocaust survivors are forced to choose between paying for food or medicine, and cannot pay for dental care, home care, utilities, home care, and other basic needs?   This isn’t right.  

Maybe, after this hearing and the Committee’s work, the White House will immediately build on the acknowledgement that the needs are great, and use its unique authority to deliver the comprehensive financial support that survivors need and deserve. 

The Struggles of Recovering Assets for Holocaust Survivors
September 18, 2014 3:00 PM