Every month you pay a premium for your basisverzekering/aanvullende verzekering, compulsory if you plan to live and work in the Netherlands, but what is going to happen to this in 2018?
The premium has been increasing the last few years. In 2016 Dutch health insurers made an unexpected loss of 334 million euros.
| Insurers | Loss in euros (millions) |
|---|---|
| Achmea | 196 |
| VGZ | 76 |
| CZ | 15 |
| Menzis | 47 |
The main cause of these losses is the use of the insurers own reserves to keep the premiums down for 2017. Health insurers also saw a decrease in the number of policyholders.
Monthly policy costs increased due to the expansion of the basic package stipulated by the government. However, according to Dutch health insurers, these additions were not compensated by the premiums. The discrepancy between the two figures thus had to be taken from the reserves.
Although it is yet to be officially confirmed, we can expect a rise in Dutch health insurance premiums and possibly an increase in own risk (eigen risico). The amount of own risk you will have to pay will be announced on Prinsjesdag, which falls on the September 19 this year.
At the beginning of November all Dutch health insurers will disclose the premiums they have decided upon for 2018. If you are unhappy with the amount you have to pay, compare packages from Dutch health insurance providers. Remember, if you want to switch, you have to declare this before December 31.