Of all the Dutch rules a newcomer meets, this is the one that comes with a bill. Health insurance in the Netherlands is a legal duty, not a choice, and there is no public health service you can fall back on while you decide. The rule is simple and the details are where people lose money.
Is health insurance compulsory in the Netherlands?
Yes. Everyone who lives or works in the country must take out basic health insurance (basisverzekering) with a Dutch insurer. The government gives you at most four months after you arrive to do it. The obligation applies "even if you have insurance from another country". The narrow exceptions include a posting from your home country: if your employer is abroad, the SVB (the social insurance bank) can tell you whether you stay insured there.
The insurance is not retroactive. You pay premiums from the day you sign, but care you receive earlier is not reimbursed. So the four months is a limit, not a goal. Sign up as soon as you have your BSN; see BSN number in the Netherlands.
What does basic cover include, and what does it cost?
The government sets the standard package and every insurer offers the same one. It includes GP visits, hospital treatment and prescription medication. A GP is the usual first stop in the Dutch system.
Insurers must accept everyone for the basic package, at the same price regardless of age or health. The cost has three parts:
- A fixed premium set by each insurer. For 2026, Rijksoverheid gives an average of about €157 a month. Comparison sites show a spread between insurers.
- An income-related contribution (the ZVW contribution), a percentage of your income paid by your employer to the Health Insurance Fund.
- A compulsory deductible (eigen risico): €385 a year for adults in 2026, not applied to GP consultations. The government has frozen it for 2026, and has plans to change how it works from 2027, which are not confirmed. Check the amount each year.
Children under 18 pay no premium for the basic package, but they must be insured.
If you are comparing insurers, wondering whether your posting, your student status or your pension changes the rule, or you just want to know what to ask before you sign, Moovy can explain the terms in plain English and tell you where to confirm each point.
What about supplementary insurance?
Supplementary insurance (aanvullende verzekering) is optional and covers what the basic package does not, such as physiotherapy or dental care. Insurers may ask about your health and can refuse you. That is the difference from the basic package, which they must accept.
A practical way to decide: look at what you actually use. If you have no dental or physio needs, you may do without. If you wear glasses or expect a lot of dental work, check the supplementary policies for the specific limits.
Can you get help paying the premium?
Yes, through the healthcare allowance (zorgtoeslag), requested from the tax administration (Belastingdienst), with a DigiD; see DigiD in the Netherlands. For 2026 the income ceiling is €40,857 for a single person and €51,142 with an allowance partner, and there is an asset limit on 1 January 2026 (€146,011 for a single person). The amount you get depends on your income, and the tax office has a table. The ceilings change every year.
What if you arrive with a European Health Insurance Card?
The EHIC covers medically necessary care during a temporary stay. It does not cover moving your life to the Netherlands. Bring it for the first weeks, but do not rely on it beyond that. British citizens use the GHIC for temporary stays, but once resident or working in the Netherlands, the same duty to insure applies.
What if you retire to the Netherlands with a foreign pension?
If a country pays you a pension and issues an S1 form, that form can organise your cover in the Netherlands. The CAK handles the S1 procedure for Dutch pensioners living abroad, so for a foreign S1 ask the institution that issued the form and a Dutch health insurer how to register it before the four months run out. If you also work or receive a Dutch pension, you generally need Dutch insurance within four months.
How do you choose an insurer for health insurance in the Netherlands?
Because the basic package is the same everywhere and insurers must accept everyone at the same price whatever your age or health, the differences between insurers are mostly about price, service and the supplementary options. The average premium for 2026 is about €157 a month, and comparison sites show a spread across insurers. When you compare, do not only look at the monthly premium. Check whether the insurer has a contract with your preferred hospital or physiotherapist if you add supplementary cover, how it handles claims, and whether it offers a policy in English.
You do not need a supplementary policy to be properly insured. If you add one, remember that insurers can ask about your health and may refuse it, which is why some people take supplementary cover at the same time as the basic policy.
What happens when you start using health insurance in the Netherlands?
You register with a general practitioner (huisarts), who is the usual first contact and the gateway to specialists and hospital care. Give your BSN to the practice and to the insurer; healthcare providers are required to use it to identify you. Your deductible works as follows: in 2026 adults pay the first €385 of care in a calendar year themselves, with GP consultations left out, and the insurer pays the rest of the covered care.
Keep your policy number and the insurer's contact details somewhere you can find them. If you travel, take your European Health Insurance Card for unplanned care in other EU countries.
What about people moving in with a partner or family?
Every adult needs their own policy. Children under 18 must be insured but pay no premium for the basic package, so register them with the insurer as soon as they have a BSN; for a newborn, within four months of birth. Households with small incomes should look at the healthcare allowance, requested from the tax administration. See DigiD in the Netherlands for the login you will need.
What do expats often get wrong about health insurance in the Netherlands?
Three things. They wait until month four. They assume the foreign policy counts. And they forget the deductible. A fourth is the supplementary policy: because insurers can refuse it, people who think they may need dental care or physiotherapy should decide at the start, not after the first bill. Ask your employer whether it has a collective arrangement.
What mistakes cost the most?
- Waiting until month four. Care in the meantime is not covered.
- Relying on a foreign policy. The Dutch duty applies anyway, apart from narrow exceptions.
- Ignoring letters from the CAK. They escalate to fines and automatic enrolment.
- Forgetting the deductible. At €385, a hospital visit early in the year is paid out of pocket first.
- Students. Many remain covered by their own insurance, but some must take Dutch cover. Check your situation with your university.
Once your insurance is in place, remember to claim the allowance if you are eligible, and read working in the Netherlands if you start a job. For the whole sequence of your first weeks, see moving to the Netherlands.