UNITED STATES, August 14, 2002: In the aftermath of Sept. 11, Jewish institutions are struggling with new insurance rates — 50 percent increases or more in some cases — that threaten to consume critical funds. These institutions — including Jewish community centers, synagogues and organizations — are fighting to maintain their protection in the event of a devastating terrorist attack. The situation is the result of major changes in the insurance industry, which suffered staggering losses from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Insurance companies have distributed those costs to their clients and are also cutting back on providing the terror coverage they once routinely did. Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation league, has sent letters to the White House and congressional leaders to urge examination of the issue. Rates are going up for everyone, according to P.J. Crowley, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit group sponsored by the insurance industry. “Are Jewish groups being singled out? No,” he said. “But insurers are being selective in providing coverage.” Insurers have little to go on to determine risk factor, said Gary Karr, spokesman for the American Insurance Association, except for the examples of Sept. 11 and government warnings. Indeed, the FBI issued widely publicized warnings to Jewish institutions earlier this year. In the event that Hindu temples become a target of violence in the U.S., they would face the same problem.
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