Iedereen in Nederland moet verplicht een zorgverzekering afsluiten. Eénmaal per jaar, op 1 januari, mag je wisselen van zorgverzekering. Je kunt dan een nieuwe zorgverzekering afsluiten en je oude verzekering opzeggen.

Verzekering opzeggen na 1 januari?
In slechts een beperkt aantal situaties kun je een nieuwe zorgverzekering aanvragen met een andere ingangsdatum dan 1 januari, zoals:

• Je bent 18 jaar geworden;
• De polisvoorwaarden zijn tussentijds gewijzigd;
• Je komt uit het buitenland en moet je verplicht voor de basisverzekering verzekeren;
• Je komt uit een militair dienstverband en moet je verplicht voor de basisverzekering verzekeren;
• Het collectief waaraan je deelneemt wordt beëindigd (toestemming van verzekeraar nodig om het contract tussentijds te beëindigen);
• Je bent nu (collectief) meeverzekerd op de polis van uw partner en je gaat scheiden;
• Je bent momenteel niet verzekerd;

Nee. Zorgverzekeraars zijn verplicht om mensen te accepteren die binnen hun werkgebied wonen. Hierdoor kunnen met name oudere verzekerden of verzekerden met gezondheidsrisico’s gemakkelijker veranderen van zorgverzekeraar. Voor de aanvullende verzekering geldt deze wettelijke acceptatieplicht niet.

Als een zorgverzekeraar uw zorgverzekering wegens fraude, of het niet betalen van de premie heeft beëindigd, mag hij u vijf jaar lang voor een zorgverzekering weigeren. U zult dan dus een zorgverzekering bij een andere zorgverzekeraar moeten sluiten.

When you arrive in the Netherlands you have to sign in at the town hall (Gemeentelijke Basis Administratie ‘GBA’). They will request a BSN-number for you that you will receive from the tax service. From that moment on you are required to have health insurance in the Netherlands; you have a maximum of three months from this date to arrange this.

In the comparison on our site we require a starting date for the policy. This can only be today, or a date in the future; if you close the policy we will send this information to the health insurance company that you choose.

When your insurer receives the policy request they will check with the GBA for the date of registration and this is what the insurer will use as the starting date for the policy. As such this can be different from what you entered on your application.

It is important to know that the company will request the premium retroactively, but that you can also claim for medical costs from the starting date the insurer uses for the policy. Therefore please ensure that all receipts for costs are kept as you will need to send these to your insurer.

Would you like more information on how you have to register in the Netherlands? We advise you to contact the Immigration and Naturalization desk (IND) via www.indklantdienstwijzer.nl or call 0900-1234561.

It is possible to take extra coverage to cover costs outside of the base coverage, which often includes:

• Dental treatment for persons older than 18 years;
• Therapies (physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc.);
• Glasses and contact lenses;
• Alternative medical care and medication;
• Extra maternity care.

The cover provided by these additional insurances can differ greatly between different companies and policies – and each policy can have differing levels of coverage available. It is therefore important to determine what coverage suits your situation best.

Although you are required by law to have a base insurance, additional insurances are entirely optional.

When should I take additional insurance? Do you expect high medical bills in the future, or would you rather not take the risk of incurring these costs? In that case it can be a good idea to take additional coverage.Our comparison includes both the base insurance and the different levels of additional coverage.

The own risk of a policy is the cost that the insured party has to pay in case of a claim. There are usually two reasons for having this attached to a policy. Firstly it is to save costs for the insurance company, as the insured party also pays a part of the claim; selecting a higher excess than the default excess means you receive a discount on the policy in return. The second reason is to try and make the insured party more cost conscious when making a claim.

The health insurance has a compulsory own risk excess, which can be increased by choice. (The excess consists of two parts: a compulsory excess and an optional component.) For 2012 the compulsory excess is € 220.

You can raise this in 100 euro steps to a maximum of € 720. The excess of a policy does not apply to:

• Persons younger than 18 years (including dental coverage);
• The cost of your GP;
• Midwife and maternity care;
• Claims made against any additional coverage added to the base policy;
• Aftercare for living organ donors (for liver and kidney transplants);
• Chain care, where different health care providers work together – for example treatment of diabetes.