In this guide
Every autumn my inbox fills with variations of the same message. Someone has been to a physiotherapist, a dentist or a private clinic, has submitted the bill, and has been reimbursed a fraction of what they expected. They are convinced something has gone wrong. Almost always, nothing has gone wrong — the policy did exactly what it said it would do, in a document nobody read.
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The four documents you actually have
Open your insurer’s portal and you will find variations on four files. Knowing which is which saves an hour.
The polisblad (policy sheet). One or two pages. Your name, BSN, policy number, start date, the exact name of your basic policy, the name of any supplementary package, your chosen deductible, and the premium. This is the summary of what you bought — not what it covers.
The polisvoorwaarden (policy conditions). The long one, often eighty pages or more. This is the legally binding text: definitions, reimbursement rules, obligations, exclusions, complaint procedure. You do not read it end to end. You read four or five clauses, which I list below.
The vergoedingenoverzicht (reimbursement overview). The table that says what you get: treatment by treatment, with amounts, session counts and conditions. For supplementary cover this is the single most useful document in the set.
The zorgzoeker or provider list. A searchable list, usually online rather than as a file, of which hospitals, clinics, physiotherapists, dentists and mental-health providers your insurer has contracted for the coming year. It changes annually and it is not part of the PDF you saved last January.
If you only have time for two of these, take the vergoedingenoverzicht and the provider list.
Layer one: the basisverzekering is the same everywhere
The most useful thing to understand about the Dutch system is what is not a differentiator. The content of the basisverzekering is set by law and is identical at every insurer. GP care, hospital and specialist treatment, prescription medication within the national reimbursement system, maternity and midwife care, ambulance and emergency care, mental healthcare within the statutory scheme, and a defined list of medical aids all sit in the basic package regardless of whose logo is on your card. Our guide to what Dutch health insurance covers walks through the package in detail.
For 2026 the average monthly nominal premium works out at roughly €159, based on the government’s Miljoenennota estimate. Actual premiums across insurers and policy types sit in a band of roughly €142 to €185 per month for basic cover, and the mandatory deductible is €385. So when one basic policy costs meaningfully less than another, the saving is not coming out of the covered treatments — it is coming out of the network, the reimbursement percentage for care outside that network, or the service level.
Two rules in the basic layer matter to internationals specifically. Insurers have an acceptance obligation: for the basisverzekering they may not ask health questions, refuse you, or price you differently because of a pre-existing condition. And if you become subject to the Dutch insurance obligation after moving here, you have four months to arrange cover, backdated to the date the obligation started — meaning premiums are owed for that period whether or not you used care.
Layer two: the polis type, which is where the money is
Same package, different rules about where you may use it. This is the clause to find first, usually in the opening chapters of the polisvoorwaarden under a heading about gecontracteerde zorg or vergoeding van zorg.
Restitutiepolis. You may go to any provider, contracted or not, and the insurer reimburses up to the statutory or market-conform rate. Highest premium, maximum freedom. Worth knowing: pure restitution policies have become scarcer as insurers have narrowed or withdrawn them, so verify per insurer rather than assuming the option exists.
Naturapolis. The insurer has contracts with a network and pays those providers directly and in full. Use a non-contracted provider and you receive a percentage of the average contracted rate — commonly in the 65 to 80 percent range depending on the policy and care type. The floor here comes from the hinderpaalcriterium, a legal principle that the reimbursement may not be so low that it becomes a practical barrier to accessing care.
Combinatiepolis. Restitution rules for some care types, natura for others. Common and easy to misread, because the freedom you have for hospital care may not extend to mental healthcare or physiotherapy.
Budgetpolis. A narrower naturapolis: a smaller network and lower reimbursement outside it, in exchange for the lowest premium. Some insurers have dropped these; where they still exist they suit people with no existing treatment relationships and no strong hospital preference.
A worked example of why the names tell you nothing. a.s.r. sells its basic insurance in three variants called Bewuste Keuze, Ruime Keuze and Eigen Keuze — “conscious choice”, “generous choice” and “own choice”. Read as marketing, they are interchangeable. The number that separates them is the non-contracted reimbursement: Bewuste Keuze pays contracted providers 100% and non-contracted providers a maximum of 65%; Ruime Keuze pays up to 85% outside the network, with GGZ and district nursing at 75%; Eigen Keuze pays 100% at providers with and without a contract. All three carry 100% free hospital choice at Dutch hospitals, so the variant name is genuinely decorative and the percentage is the whole story (asr.nl/zorgverzekering and asr.nl/zorgverzekering/basisverzekering, checked 17 September 2026). Whichever insurer you are reading, that is the figure to hunt for before anything else.
Check a.s.r. health insurance →
The practical question is not which type is best in the abstract. It is whether the specific providers you intend to use are in the network. If you have a therapist you like, a hospital fifteen minutes away, or a specialist mid-treatment, check those names in the provider list before comparing premiums. Comparison tools such as Independer let you filter by policy type and see the reimbursement rules per insurer side by side, which is faster than opening eight sets of conditions.
Layer three: the aanvullende verzekering, where nothing is standard
Supplementary insurance is an ordinary commercial product. There is no legally defined content, no acceptance obligation, and no consistency in naming — one insurer’s “Zilver” is another’s “Uitgebreid” and neither tells you anything.
Read the vergoedingenoverzicht for four things per treatment you care about:
- The annual maximum. Dental cover at “75 percent” is meaningless without the ceiling. A package covering 75 percent up to €250 per year pays €250 in a year with a crown.
- The per-item or per-session cap. Physiotherapy is often expressed as a number of sessions, not euros; glasses as an amount per two or three years.
- The waiting or qualifying period. Some benefits, particularly orthodontics and higher dental tiers, only pay after you have held the package for a defined period.
- The conditions attached. Referral required, prior authorisation required, provider must be registered in a specific quality register, treatment must appear on a named list.
The eight-point checklist
Work through these on your own documents. Twenty minutes, once a year.
- Policy type. Restitutie, natura, combinatie or budget — and, for a combinatiepolis, which rule applies to which care type.
- Non-contracted reimbursement percentage. The single number that decides what an out-of-network bill costs you.
- Your own providers. Search your GP, preferred hospital, dentist, physiotherapist and any mental-health provider in this year’s provider list. Contracts are renegotiated annually.
- Deductible. €385 mandatory in 2026, plus any voluntary amount you agreed — up to €500 extra — which reduces your premium but raises your first-bill exposure. See our explainer on how the eigen risico works.
- Supplementary maximums. Annual ceiling, per-session cap and waiting period for each benefit you expect to use.
- Referral and authorisation rules. In the Dutch system the GP is the gatekeeper for most specialist care; skipping that step is a common reason a claim is rejected rather than reduced.
- Cover abroad. The basic package pays urgent care worldwide, but only up to Dutch tariffs, and it does not include repatriation. Check whether your supplementary package includes a worldwide module before buying separate cover — see travel versus health insurance.
- Claim mechanics. Whether the provider bills the insurer directly or you pay and submit, the submission deadline, and whether the app accepts photographed invoices.
Five clauses that catch internationals out
“Gecontracteerde zorg” assumed to mean “any Dutch hospital”. It means the hospitals on this year’s list for this specific policy. Academic hospitals are usually contracted; independent clinics frequently are not.
Private clinic bills. Independent treatment centres advertise short waiting times and English-speaking staff. Under a naturapolis, a non-contracted clinic is reimbursed at the policy percentage of the average contracted rate — and the remainder is yours. Our piece on private healthcare costs sets out the numbers.
Dental care for adults. Not in the basic package beyond specific exceptions. Every euro of routine adult dentistry comes from a supplementary package or your own pocket.
Physiotherapy session counting. For non-chronic conditions the basic package generally does not cover the early sessions, which is precisely where most people’s treatment sits. The physiotherapy guide explains the session rules.
Assuming an employer collective changes the basic cover. It does not — the basic package is fixed by law. What a collective arrangement can change is the supplementary package on offer and the service around it, so compare it against the open market rather than assuming it wins.
What changes for 2027, and when you will know
If you are reading this in September, hold on before making decisions for next year. Insurers are legally required to publish their premiums and conditions for the coming year by 12 November, and the switching window runs from mid-November to 31 December. Until then, 2027 premiums, supplementary content and provider networks are not final, and any figure circulating for next year is an estimate rather than a policy you can buy.
One item worth watching in the meantime: the mandatory deductible. It is €385 for 2026; the 2027 amount is set by the government in its autumn budget and had not been confirmed when this was written, so check rijksoverheid.nl before you compare plans. Treat €385 as the current number and wait for November before rebuilding your budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a naturapolis and a restitutiepolis?
A naturapolis pays in full only within the insurer’s contracted network, and typically 65 to 80 percent of the average contracted rate outside it. A restitutiepolis pays up to the statutory or market-conform rate at any provider. A combinatiepolis applies restitution to some care types and natura rules to others.
Does every Dutch insurer cover the same things?
For the basisverzekering, yes — the content is set by law. Insurers differ on premium, provider network, service and English-language support. Supplementary packages are where the real differences live.
Can a Dutch insurer refuse me because of a pre-existing condition?
Not for the basic insurance: there is an acceptance obligation with no medical questions. Supplementary packages may involve health questions and may be refused or restricted.
Where do I find the English version of my policy?
Most large insurers publish English summaries; the Dutch polisvoorwaarden remain the binding text. Use the English document to orient yourself and confirm anything financially material with the insurer in writing.
What is the vergoedingenoverzicht and why does it matter more than the brochure?
It is the reimbursement table: amounts, session counts, maximums and conditions per treatment. Brochures describe a theme; this document describes what gets paid.
Do I need to check my policy again if I do not want to switch insurer?
Yes. Legal changes to the basic package, adjustments to supplementary maximums and renegotiated provider contracts all happen annually, whether or not you touch anything.
Final thoughts
Once you know what your current policy actually says, comparing is quick. Run your policy type, deductible and the providers you use through Independer to see where the same cover costs less, or look at a single insurer’s conditions directly — a.s.r. publishes its three variants and their reimbursement percentages side by side if you want a worked example to read against. Then diarise mid-November, when next year’s real numbers arrive.
Related reading: best Dutch health insurance plans, the complete health insurance guide for expats, how to switch health insurance step by step, and zorgtoeslag explained.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a naturapolis and a restitutiepolis?
A naturapolis reimburses care in full only at providers your insurer has a contract with. Go outside that network and you typically get a percentage of the average contracted rate — commonly in the 65 to 80 percent range, depending on the policy and the type of care. A restitutiepolis pays up to the statutory or market-conform rate at any provider, contracted or not, which buys you free choice at a higher premium. A combinatiepolis mixes the two, applying restitution to some care types and natura rules to others. The only way to know which rules apply to you is to read the reimbursement clause in your own polisvoorwaarden.
Does every Dutch insurer cover the same things?
For the basisverzekering, essentially yes. The content of the basic package is set by law and is identical whichever insurer you choose, so the differences between insurers are the premium, the provider network, the service and how easy it is to deal with them in English. Everything genuinely different sits in the aanvullende (supplementary) package, which is a commercial product with no standard content at all.
Can a Dutch insurer refuse me because of a pre-existing condition?
Not for the basisverzekering. Insurers have an acceptance obligation for the basic policy: no medical questions, no exclusions, no surcharge based on your health. Supplementary packages are different — insurers may ask health questions there, and may refuse you or exclude certain treatments, particularly for higher dental or physiotherapy tiers.
Where do I find the English version of my policy?
Most large insurers publish an English summary of cover and some publish full English conditions, but the Dutch polisvoorwaarden are the legally binding text. Treat the English document as a reading aid and, if a difference matters financially, ask the insurer in writing to confirm the point rather than relying on the translation.
What is the vergoedingenoverzicht and why does it matter more than the brochure?
It is the reimbursement overview: the table listing every treatment, the amount or number of sessions covered, and the conditions attached. Brochures market the theme of a package; the vergoedingenoverzicht tells you the annual maximum, the per-session cap and whether you need a referral or prior authorisation. When the two disagree, the conditions win.
Do I need to check my policy again if I do not want to switch insurer?
Yes, once a year. Insurers may change the basic package in line with legal changes, adjust supplementary content and maximums, and renegotiate provider contracts. A hospital or clinic that was contracted this year may not be next year, which is the change that most often surprises people who assumed nothing moved because they did nothing.