The Stichting Individuele Verzekeringsaanspraken Sjoa (Shoah Foundation for Individual Insurance Claims) pays out life insurance policies of people who were persecuted as Jews in the Netherlands during the Second World War to the rightful claimants. Our foundation was established in 1999 by the Dutch Association of Insurers (Verbond van Verzekeraars) and the Central Jewish Conference (Centraal Joods Overleg). We process policies taken out with (predecessors of) Dutch insurers that are members of the Dutch Association of Insurers.
On this website you will find a list of names with approximately 2,500 insured of life insurance policies that have probably not been paid out to the beneficiaries. Are you possibly an heir of a person on this list? You can submit a request for research here. We will then check whether the policy is indeed still payable and whether you are entitled to a payment. If you have concrete information about a life insurance policy with a Jewish policyholder or insured person from the war that is not on our list, we can also investigate that.
If you submit an application, we will conduct research in various archives to determine whether the policy indeed still needs to be paid out and who the rightful beneficiaries are.
Board
The decision to pay out a policy is made by the board. The board consists of:
- Ernst Numann, LL.M. (chairperson) – former Vice-President of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands
- Tineke Splinter-van Kan, LL.M. (secretary) – former Justice of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands
- Hans van Veggel, LL.M. (treasurer): former Dean of the Amsterdam Bar Association
Objection Committee
If you disagree with a decision made by the board, you can file an objection with our independent objection committee. This committee consists of:
- Anita van Leeuwen LL.M. (chairperson) – Judge in the North Holland District Court
- Els Wesseling-van Gent, LL.M. – former Advocate General of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands
- Willem Terwisscha van Scheltinga, M.A. – former Secretary of the Dutch Association of Insurers