Przezornosc Foundation

Background

Prudential operated in Poland prior to World War II through its subsidiary “Przezornosc”, which we acquired in 1927. As of 1 January 1937, Prudential ceased to accept new life business in Poland. Prudential did not trade in Nazi-occupied Europe. The assets of our Polish business were seized by the Nazi occupying authorities in 1939, at which time 4,623 policies were in force. Almost 36 per cent of these policies have been settled since the early 1950s, despite significant gaps in our records due in no small part to their large-scale destruction in Poland under Nazi Occupation.

Our search continues. However, we recognise that it is unlikely we will be able to trace all our former policyholders or their descendants. In recognition of this fact, we decided to establish the Przezornosc Foundation Poland.

The Foundation

The President of the Foundation Board is Philip Broadley, Group Finance Director of Prudential plc. David Carter, Group Archivist at Prudential plc is a Director of the Foundation Board. Prudential has established an advisory committee which supports the work of the Foundation Board. This committee includes representatives from a range of bodies associated with this issue. The Foundation Board manages the distribution of funds to the nominated charities. The funding is subject to annual review and audit by the Foundation.

At the launch of the Foundation in 2003 Philip Broadley said, “While we will continue our work in tracing former policyholders, this programme of investment in Poland's past, present and future reflects our continuing sense of responsibility to those policyholders that we will be unable to trace.”

List of Charities

Education:

Welfare:

Culture:

History