ICHEIC Potential Policyholder List

This web page provides access to a list of potential Holocaust-era insurance policyholders compiled by the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC). All matters pertaining to the payment of insurance claims were dealt with by ICHEIC prior to the closure of its claims process. Because the list may be of historical interest to researchers, ICHEIC has made it available to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority.

Historical Background

In 1999, ICHEIC initiated the most extensive project ever conducted to investigate and record information on insurance policies from Holocaust-era archives from around the world. ICHEIC acquired lists of policyholders from participating insurance companies, which were then matched against an existing database of Holocaust victims (provided by Yad Vashem). ICHEIC also compiled records from insurance associations, various public archives, and other sources. The ICHEIC lists include more than 500,000 policyholder or policyholder-related names.

Names found here are those of individuals most likely to have had a life insurance policy of any kind (including education, dowry, endowment or pension/annuity policies) during the relevant period (1920-1945) and who are thought likely to have suffered any form of racial, religious or political persecution during the Holocaust.

The list is not a definitive source of policy information. The fact that a name appears on the list does not guarantee that the individual named or his or her heirs or beneficiaries would have qualified for payment under ICHEIC guidelines had they filed a claim during the ICHEIC claims filing period. There may be instances where policies were issued to individuals with common names that multiple researchers might mistake as the individual listed in their inquiry. Additionally, an insurance company’s investigation of a claim (where a claimant found a name on the website and filed a claim with ICHEIC during the claims filing period) may reveal that the claims was previously completely settled or paid, which would preclude further consideration of the claim under ICHEIC guidelines.

ICHEIC made this list available on its website to potential claimants during the claims filing period, as one mechanism to encourage claimants to file a claim. The list was never intended as a definitive (ICHEIC also encouraged any and all individuals who thought they might have a claim to file with ICHEIC, regardless of whether they found a relevant name on the policyholder list.) ICHEIC’s claims filing deadline of December 31, 2003, passed and as of March 31, 2004 ICHEIC no longer accepted any new claims. ICHEIC incorporated into its own internal research work all information provided by this list for the purpose of matching information with that provided by claimants. Please refer to www.icheic.org for information on the ICHEIC claims process.

To Search a Name

To search for a particular name, you must complete the "Last Name" box, although it is not necessary to provide the full name if you do not know it or are not sure of the spelling. You may type part of the name followed by an * (for example, Smi* for Smith). Any information you provide in the other boxes will narrow your search, but these boxes can be left blank.

If you want to see all of the names that begin with a particular letter, type that letter in the "Last Name" box, followed by an *. For example, type A* to see all of the names beginning with the letter A. Click on the "submit" button to see the results of your search.

Results

The ICHEIC potential policyholder list does not contain any further information about the individuals in your inquiry beyond the data provided here. If you wish to conduct further research on Holocaust victims, please consult Yad Vashem’s Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names and Shoah related Lists Database (see related links).

Potential Holocaust Era Insurance Policyholders (2005)