New York, New York (June 11, 2008) - The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has approved a settlement of claims by Holocaust survivors and their families against Italian insurance company Assicurazioni Generali SpA  for refusing to honor life insurance policies purchased by people of  the Jewish faith and other victims of Nazi persecution prior to World War II.

The settlement resolves the majority of Holocaust victims' claims against Generali, the last of several European insurance companies to settle such claims. The combined settlements of all Holocaust insurance related class actions are expected to pay an estimated $6 billion to Holocaust victims and their heirs.Plaintiffs, who filed suit against the European insurance companies, have produced evidence showing that their families purchased life, disability and property insurance in pre-war Europe that insurance companies refused to honor in the decades following the War. For decades, insurance companies claimed that they "could not locate policies," that "policies were nationalized," that policyholders "stopped paying premiums so policies were cancelled," and even that the policies were void because heirs could not produce a death certificate for loved ones exterminated by the Nazis.Linda Gerstel of Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. a law firm that served as co-lead counsel in the original suit filed in 1997, said, "We applaud the Court's approval of this settlement, which imposes no cap on the amount to be allocated among class members and provides for payments based on a formula that takes into consideration the amounts due on policies, currency conversion and interest. It's been a long road, but step by step a measure of justice has been obtained for thousands of Holocaust survivors who lost so much and received so little in the way of restitution for too long."About Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C.Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C practices law in the areas of  Insurance Recovery, Commercial Litigation, Corporate & Securities, Employment & Labor Law,  Real Estate, Tax, Trusts & Estates, and Bankruptcy.  The firm's senior attorneys maintain national and international practices from offices in New York City, Newark, NJ, Philadelphia, PA and Washington, D.C.To view the decision, please click here. For more information, please contact:Linda Gerstellgerstel@andersonkill.com   (212) 278-1388Carol A. UeckermanCommunications/Marketing Managercueckerman@andersonkill.com212-278-1339