The World Jewish Congress said Tuesday the decision by the head of an international Holocaust panel to value prewar life insurance policies at roughly 10 times their face value was final. The Jewish advocacy group, which is a member of the International Commission on Holocaust-era Insurance Claims, was responding to a statement by one of the five insurers on the panel, Allianz AG, that the thorny issue of how to value the policies was still open. Last Friday, the commission chairman, former U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, decided that the policies sold to Holocaust victims during the 1920s and 1930s would be valued at roughly 10 times their face value, though the precise formulas would be based on local government bond rates. But that did not mean a final deal had been reached. And he said all along that if the parties could not agree he would then render his final decision.
Considerable sums are at stake.
Only by joining it do Europe's insurers qualify for protection against punishing steps, including the suspension of licenses, that have been threatened by some state insurance commissioners. Three state insurance regulators serve on the panel, along with five European insurers, Israel, and Jewish groups. The insurers hope the panel's work also will wrap up class-action suits filed by Holocaust survivors. While valuation accords were close to being finalized for all of Europe except for Germany, where Allianz is based, a source close to the issues said that all of the panel's insurers were complaining about the formulas though they had agreed to account for devaluation and inflation. The issue flared up on Tuesday morning, when a few of the insurers who serve on the commission denied a final deal had been reached.