Switching Health Insurance: How Does It Work?

As a resident of the Netherlands, you have the option to change your health insurance plan once a year during the “switching season.” This period runs from mid-November to the end of December. What kind of insurance plan best suits you depends on your personal situation, budget and preferences. The range of the insurer’s contracted healthcare providers is also important to consider.

Basic insurance and supplementary insurance

You are required by law to have a Dutch basic insurance. The government determines what care is covered by the basic insurance. This coverage is the same for every health insurer. The differences between the basic insurances lie in the degree of choice in health care providers and the amount of reimbursement when visiting a health care provider who has no contract with Zorg en Zekerheid. The basic insurance covers such care as the general practitioner (GP), hospital care, medication, medical transportation, obstetric care and maternity care.

If you wish to extend your coverage to include care such as physiotherapy treatments, dental care, contraceptives and glasses, you can take out one of our supplementary insurances in addition to your basic insurance. In 2025 this has been fixed at €385. If your care costs less than €385, you will not have to pay the full amount. For some types of care, such as GP consults, you do not have to pay the excess.

Excess

The excess is an initial amount that you have to pay yourself when you receive care that is reimbursed out of the basic insurance. You need to pay the excess when you are 18 or older and receive care covered by your basic insurance. The Dutch government determines the amount of the compulsory excess.

You can opt for a voluntary excess

You can raise the amount of excess that can be billed to you. This may be interesting for those people who do not expect to need a lot of care. When you raise the excess, you will get a discount on your insurance premium. You can raise the excess in steps of €100 up to a maximum amount of €885 (including the compulsory excess of €385). If you do make healthcare costs, you must pay the deductible amount (up to €885) yourself. So only choose this option when you have this amount on a savings account.

Why change your health insurance?

The price of your insurance changes every year. In 2025, there's an average increase of €11,32. You might want to check and compare your insurance, it can save you quite a bit of money. You might also have different needs than the previous year. Check your coverage and prevent extra costs.

Our partner in healthcare

Zorg en Zekerheid is your local healthcare insurer, committed to ensuring accessible and affordable healthcare that is always readily available. They provide excellent service and are always happy to assist you with any of your health insurance queries.

Especially for you as a member of Leiden International Centre

For 2025, we have made favourable arrangements with Zorg en Zekerheid, so that you can get a discount on your health insurance. Check out their wide range of insurance policies that you and your family members can benefit from:

• 10% discount on most supplementary insurances*
• Generous reimbursements for dental care and physiotherapy under your supplementary insurance
• A discount if you choose a voluntary excess

*Applies to the Zorg Zeker Policy and Zorg Vrij Policy plus the corresponding supplementary insurance plans. Go to zorgenzekerheid.nl/lic for more information.

Take out health insurance before December 31

It's easy to calculate your premium and take out your health insurance. Zorg en Zekerheid will make all the necessary arrangements and cancel your old insurance with effect from 1 January 2025. You won't have to do anything. If you are already insured with Zorg en Zekerheid, you can switch to the group policy offered by Leiden International Centre: add the group scheme to your insurance in MijnZZ.

Do you have any questions, or do you want more information?

You can find a great deal of information at zorgenzekerheid.nl/customerservice. You are also more than welcome at their insurance store at the Korevaarstraat 2 in Leiden.