Illinois passed a law proposed by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago that will expand the state’s ban on insurance discrimination based on foreign travel.
The law, signed last week, prohibits life insurance companies form denying, cancelling or charging higher rates based on a customer’s past or planned travel, including to countries on the U.S. State Department’s travel watch list, which includes Israel, according to the federation. In 2004, Illinois passed a law prohibiting insurance companies from adjusting their rates based only on past travel.
“This has been a challenge for both Jews and non-Jews seeking to travel to Israel,” said JCRC Executive Director Jay Tcath. “They have been confronted with the likelihood that applications for new or increased life insurance would be rejected based on that travel, whether in the past or future. It’s an issue that has been on our agenda for six years.
