Below you will find general information on Stichting Individuele Verzekeringsafspraken Sjoa (Holocaust Foundation for Individual Insurance Claims) which was founded to evaluate and honour requests relating to payments in respect of Jewish war policies. The purpose of the Foundation is explained. On the basis of a few questions you will be able to determine whether the Foundation could be of assistance in your situation. If this is the case, you can fill out a written application requesting the Foundation to investigate the matter on your behalf. You will also be told what details must be included in such a request. Finally, you will find some information on the procedure.
1. Purpose of the Foundation for Individual Insurance Claims
Stichting Individuele Verzekeringsaanspraken Sjoa (Holocaust Foundation for Individual Insurance Claims) was founded on 9 November 1999. The purpose of the Foundation is to determine to what extent an individual is entitled to a payment in respect of an insurance of an insured affected by the war who was persecuted for being Jewish. This insurance must have been taken out with an insurer who is a member of the Verbond van Verzekeraars (Dutch Association of Insurers). The purpose of the Foundation is to award someone a payment, depending on the evaluation of the Board of Directors.
2. The Board of Directors of Stichting Individuele Verzekeringsaanspraken Sjoa
Stichting Individuele Verzekeringsaanspraken Sjoa is an independent foundation. The Board of Directors is comprised of:
· Mr. E.J. Numann, LL.M. (chairman): Justice in the Supreme Court of the Netherlands;
· Mr. P. Neleman, LL.M. (secretary): former Vice-President of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands;
· Mr. J.G.C. Kamphuisen, LL.M (treasurer): emeritus professor Insurance Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen, former solicitor.
With regard to the agreement between the Central Jewish Consultation Board and the Association of Insurers regarding the handling of Jewish insurance pay-outs in relation to the Second World War: see the
press release of 9 November 1999.
3. In what cases might Stichting Sjoa be able to do something for you?
In order to determine whether Stichting Sjoa might be able to do something for you, each of the three questions set out below must be answered in the affirmative:
a. Were you yourself a victim of the Holocaust or are you a surviving relative of a victim of the Holocaust?
b. Do you think that your parents or other direct family members were in the possession of life insurance with a Dutch insurer?
c. You have not submitted a claim or request for information with a Dutch insurer, with the Dutch Association of Insurers or with the Centraal Meldpunt Joodse Oorlogsclaims prior to 9 November 1999?
If you can answer the above three questions with 'yes', it is worthwhile to submit a request to Stichting Individuele Verzekeringsaanspraken Sjoa. Below you can read what details the Foundation needs from you.
4. What details should you provide if you want your application to be taken into consideration?
You are expected to provide as much relevant information as possible. The minimum information required to take your application into consideration:
· your own name and address details and your relationship to the individual on whose behalf you are providing information;
· full first names and surname of the individual in question;
· dates of birth and death of the individual in question;
· places of birth and death of the individual in question.
In order to simplify the investigation, additional information might be useful. In specific:
· first names and surnames of any spouse of the individual in question;
· fast known address(es);
· insofar as known and still available: name of the insurer, information on the policy such as policy number, correspondence, payment receipts, etc.
5. What will the Foundation do with your details?
Following your application the Foundation will conduct a thorough investigation of the archives of Dutch insurers and of other relevant Dutch archives (such as the remaining archives of the Recovery of Rights in respect of Life Insurance). The Foundation will inform you as to the results of this archive investigation.
6. What can the archive investigation entail?
· No insurance details are found. This can mean that there never was any insurance. It is also possible that the insurance was paid out after the war or that the details are no longer present in the archives.
· Insurance details are found and these details show that the insurance was paid out to the entitled parties after the war.
· Insurance details are found but the details do not show whether any payment has been made.
Following the results of the investigation, the Board of Directors of the Foundation will make a decision in respect of your application for payment and you will be informed as to the decision.
The Board of Directors will decide on claims to payment in a fair and just manner. Interest will be paid for lost interest over any payment that is made (on the basis of the original insurance).
For more information on this topic: see the regulations of Holocaust Foundation for Individual Insurance Claims.
Note: You must bear in mind that archives of insurers and other institutions are no longer complete. As the greater part of all life insurance policies were paid out to the entitled parties in the years after the war, a lot of material has not been kept.
7. When can you expect a decision?
The archive investigation that must be carried out with regard to your request will primarily be carried out manually. Moreover, the archives which can be viewed are spread out across the country and are held by different companies and institutions. From 2000 - 2007 more than 15,000 applications were submitted. It is the target of the Foundation to make a decision as soon as possible, but it may take some time.
8. Objections Committee
In case you disagree with a decision of the Board, you can lodge an
objection with the Board of the Sjoa Foundation within six weeks of the
decision. The Board will hand your objection over to the independent
Objection Committee of the Sjoa Foundation.
The Objections Committee is comprised of:
· Mr.
H.L.J. Roelvink, LL.M., chairman - former Vice-President of the Supreme
Court of the Netherlands;
· Mr.
A.S. van Leeuwen, LL.M., member - Justice of the District Court Alkmaar;
· Mr.
M.A. Pach, LL.M., member - former Vice-President of the District Court
Zwolle-Lelystad;
· Mr.
F.N. Meijer, LL.M., member - former solicitor, former Justice of the
Court of Appeal Amsterdam.