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Basisverzekering explained – Dutch health insurance, the €385 excess and zorgtoeslag in 2026

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Basisverzekering is compulsory for everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands, and the clock starts the day you arrive. Here is what it costs in 2026, what the €385 excess does and does not cover, who gets zorgtoeslag, and how the huisarts, the huisartsenpost and 112 fit together.

Woman talking with a pharmacist holding a medicine box at a pharmacy counter
Photo: BuyoutReese09/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock

Everyone who comes to live or work in the Netherlands must take out a basisverzekering (basic health insurance) with a Dutch insurer within 4 months of arriving, with cover backdated to the day you arrived – even if you are still insured at home. It is a national rule with a national price tag: the average premium is €157 a month in 2026, and the eigen risico (compulsory excess) stays at €385 for another year. For 2027 the government's plans presented on 15 September 2026 put the excess at €400 and the premium at around €169 a month; both are planned, not final, and an earlier idea of cutting the excess to €165 has been dropped.

Who must take out basisverzekering, and by when?

Insurers must accept you for the basic package whatever your health, and they must charge everyone the same premium. Supplementary cover – dental for adults, physiotherapy, glasses – is optional and can be refused. Children under 18 must be insured but pay no premium; register a newborn within 4 months of birth and cover runs from the birth date. Health insurance is national, but you need a BSN (burgerservicenummer – citizen service number) from your gemeente (municipality) to sign up, and non-EU newcomers take their TB test at the municipal health service, the GGD.

Your situationDeadlineWhat applies
EU/EEA or Swiss citizen moving here to live or workWithin 4 months of arrivalCover and premium run from the day you arrived
Non-EU national with a residence permitWithin 4 months of the permit taking effectYou cannot insure while the application is pending, not even with an MVV (the long-stay entry visa); premium is owed from the permit start date
Student who only studiesNo Dutch policy neededHome cover stays valid; a paid side job, even a few hours, makes Dutch insurance compulsory
Employee of an employer outside the NetherlandsCheck with the SVB (Sociale Verzekeringsbank – the Social Insurance Bank)Home-country insurance can suffice; the SVB's Wlz (long-term care) assessment takes up to 8 weeks
Staff working only for an EU institutionNot allowedCovered by JSIS; cannot take Dutch basic insurance
Asylum seeker awaiting a decisionNot yetInsured collectively under the RMA scheme; after a permit, 4 months from its start date

Source: Rijksoverheid, the CAK and the SVB, read 24 September 2026.

Miss the 4 months and cover is not backdated: you owe no premium for the gap, but care you received in it is not reimbursed. Then the CAK, the body that checks who is uninsured, writes to you. If you have not insured, or asked the SVB for a Wlz assessment, within 3 months of that letter, you are fined €529.74 in 2026; a second fine follows if you are still uninsured 3 months later, and after that the CAK takes out a policy for you and deducts €172.70 a month from your income for 12 months, during which you cannot switch. International or private expat policies do not count: to the CAK you are uninsured.

What does Dutch health insurance cost in 2026?

Cost20262027 (planned, not final)
Average premium, basic package€157 a month (€1,884 a year); each insurer sets its ownAbout €169 a month; insurers publish prices by 12 November
Compulsory excess, adults€385€400
Voluntary extra excess€100 to €500 more, up to €885 in total, for a premium discount–
Maximum co-payment for medicines€250 a year€250
Children under 18No premium, no excess–

Source: Rijksoverheid, read 24 September 2026.

The premium is only part of it. An income-related contribution (inkomensafhankelijke bijdrage Zvw) is collected by the Belastingdienst (the Tax Administration): in 2026 your employer pays 6.10 per cent as an employer's levy, or 4.85 per cent is withheld from other income such as a pension, on income up to €79,409. You choose between a naturapolis (contracted providers, the insurer pays directly), a budgetpolis and a combinatiepolis; with a non-contracted provider you may pay part yourself. Insurers publish next year's premiums by 12 November; you can cancel by 31 December and sign a new policy before 1 February, backdated to 1 January.

What does the eigen risico cover?

The excess is the first €385 of care under the basic package that you pay yourself each year. GP care never counts, and neither does the huisartsenpost (out-of-hours GP service), midwifery and maternity care, district nursing or – new from 2026 – a specialist's advice requested by your GP and an exploratory mental-health talk. A visit to the hospital emergency department, however, does count. For adults the basic package covers only surgical dental care, the X-rays for it and full dentures, not check-ups, while children under 18 get most dental care without excess.

Zorgtoeslag: who gets the healthcare benefit?

Zorgtoeslag (healthcare benefit) is a national benefit from Dienst Toeslagen (the Benefits Office) for people on lower incomes, and it does not depend on the premium you actually pay. You must be 18 or over, hold Dutch basic insurance and have Dutch nationality or a residence permit – your partner too. It starts on the first of the month in which you meet all the conditions; you apply once via Mijn toeslagen with DigiD (your digital ID), it renews automatically, and you can still apply until 1 September of the following year. Report changes within 4 weeks.

Zorgtoeslag 2026SingleWith a partner
Maximum per month€129 (income up to €29,500)€246 together
Income limit€40,857€51,142
Assets on 1 January 2026€146,011€184,633
Planned maximum 2027€140, not final–

Source: Dienst Toeslagen and Rijksoverheid, read 24 September 2026.

Huisarts, huisartsenpost and 112: how care works day to day

You are free to choose your huisarts (GP) and not obliged to register with one, but you should: a practice may refuse you if you live too far away or it is full, and your insurer can help you find one. GP visits are fully reimbursed. When the practice is closed, phone the huisartsenpost first; it decides whether you come in, wait for your own GP or go to the emergency department. In a life-threatening situation call 112. It works from any mobile, even without credit or a SIM card, and the 112NL app lets you chat with the control room, translated into your language. For non-urgent police matters call 0900-8844.

NeedWhere to goCounts towards the excess?
Life-threatening emergency112–
Urgent, practice closedHuisartsenpost – phone firstNo
Everyday care and referralsYour huisartsNo
Hospital emergency departmentAfter the huisartsenpost sends you, unless life-threateningYes
Care abroad in the EU/EEA, Switzerland or the UKEHIC, usually printed on the back of your Dutch insurance card; never valid in your country of residence–
Uninsured, or fined by the CAKCAK, 0800 - 5028 (free), Monday to Friday 8:30–17:00; from abroad +31 88 711 5989–

Source: Rijksoverheid and the CAK, read 24 September 2026.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Register in the BRP (Basisregistratie Personen – the population register) and get your BSN (part 3)Within 5 days of arrival
2Compare insurers and take out a basisverzekering; add supplementary cover if you want itWithin 4 months of arrival, or of your permit start date
3Register your children, and any newborn, with the insurerWithin 4 months of birth or arrival
4Apply for zorgtoeslag via Mijn toeslagen if your income is under the limitFrom the month you are insured; at the latest 1 September next year
5Register with a huisarts near your homeIn your first weeks
6If you think you need not insure, ask the SVB for a Wlz assessmentBefore the CAK writes, or within 3 months of its letter
7Review your policy when next year's premiums are publishedBy 12 November; cancel by 31 December

Source: Rijksoverheid, Dienst Toeslagen and the CAK, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.