Holocaust Commission Inefficiencies Disputed.NEW ORLEANS New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded -- Insurance regulators said they are concerned about two recent media reports that claim an international commission created to resolve Holocaust-era insurance disputes has spent 10 times more on administrative costs administrative costs, n.pl the overhead expenses incurred in the operation of a dental benefits program, excluding costs of dental services provided. than on paying claims to policyholders and their survivors. But members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' International Holocaust Commission Task Force, gathered at the NAIC's Summer National Meeting in New Orleans in June, also disputed some of the figures in the two articles that appeared in the Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). and Forbes magazine. The May 17 newspaper article claimed that the International Commission on Holocust-Era Insurance Claims had spent $30 million on expenses since it was formed in October 1998, and the five companies that have agreed to pay claims have distributed $3 million so far. Neal Sher Neal Sher is the former head of the United States Justice Department's Nazi prosecution unit. In 1987, Sher headed the "Office of Special Investigations, the Justice Department’s Nazi prosecution unit. , Holocaust Commission chief of staff, said, however, that Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA has already paid nearly $9 million in claims to Holocaust victims and survivors. The Holocaust Commission is headed by former U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger and includes Germany's Allianz AG Holding, France's Axa, Switzerland's Winterthur and Zurich Financial Services Zurich Financial Services Group is a major financial services group based in Zurich, Switzerland. Global operations North America The US consumer market is served primarily by Farmers Insurance Group the third largest personal lines property & casualty insurance Group, and Generali. The commission began processing claims in February 2000, with the companies agreeing to pay about 10 times the original face value of any unpaid Holocaust-era claims. Most of the settlement offers have averaged about $10,000. In both the Los Angeles Times and Forbes articles, Eagleburger admits that the commission has spent more than it should have, considering the amount of claims paid. "We are not oblivious to the concerns that have been raised about ICHEIC ICHEIC International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims ," said Nat Shapo, chairman of the NAIC's Holocaust Task Force and Illinois insurance director. One of the more costly administrative items is a 24-hour call center in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. that has handled more than 150,000 requests for information, claims forms and updates on claims status. Verifying the validity of the claims has been time-consuming, too. Many of the claimants have no documentation and cannot remember the names of the insurance companies that issued the policies. "We're talking about events that happened 60 years ago," Shapo said. The deadline for filing claims with the Holocaust Commission is Feb. 15, 2002. |
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