Health Insurance Assistance

Getting the best health insurance step by step

What should you pay attention to when taking out student health insurance? We have developed the Selection Aid Tool to make it as easy as possible for you. Here, you can easily indicate which care is important to you and we will guide you through the most important choices in six steps. At the end of the Choice Help, you will be in our healthcare comparator.

Health insurance premium

If you are going to take out health insurance, it is good to know that you are only obliged to take out a basic health insurance and that the coverage of these insurance policies is the same with every insurer: this is determined by the government. How is it possible that the premiums differ? This is because the following matters vary per insurer:

• Type of policy (budget policy, in-kind policy or reimbursement policy)
• Health insurer quality (accessibility of customer service, speed of paying out claims, etc.)

In addition to the basic health insurance, you can opt for an additional package, this is not mandatory and the coverage and prices therefore vary per insurer

Type of policy

With regard to basic health insurance, you can choose from different types of policies, namely:

• Budget policy
• In-kind policy
• Refund policy

The budget policy is the cheapest policy, if you choose this you must take into account that you cannot go to every healthcare provider (if you want the care to be reimbursed). The same applies to the in-kind policy, although with such a policy you have much more freedom of choice. Do you want to be able to go to any healthcare provider and not have to worry about the possible bill? Then choose the refund policy. However, with the refund policy the invoice may not go directly to the health insurer, but you must pay it in advance.

Quality of the health insurer

Many insurers that offer a budget policy have the app as their only contact option. If you find this annoying, this may be a reason not to opt for a budget policy. It also varies per insurer how you can submit declarations and how quickly you have the money in your account. View the ratings and reviews of an insurer to see whether the quality meets your needs.

Save on your health insurance

For many students, the monthly healthcare premium is a big chunk of their budget, even if you receive healthcare allowance. How can you save on your health insurance? We list a number of options.

Deductible

By choosing a higher deductible you can save a lot on your health insurance. The mandatory deductible is €385 in 2023, but you can voluntarily increase the deductible by a maximum of €500 up to an amount of €885. By choosing this, you can save around €20 per month. Please realize that if you need care, you must be able to pay the €885. This does not apply to all care, a visit to the GP is exempt from the deductible.

Policy type

As indicated above, the budgetpolis is the cheapest basic health insurance, but with such a health insurance you go to a healthcare provider who is not contracted by your health insurer, you will not be reimbursed for the care. Taking out a budget policy can be an economical choice, but it is advisable to check whether your healthcare providers are reimbursed by your policy. If this is not the case, it may still be cheaper to take out a kind policy (which has broader coverage) or possibly a refund policy.

Additional

A supplementary health insurance is not mandatory and so it may seem a good idea to cut back on this if you do not wants to incur more costs. However, you may ‘earn’ money with additional health insurance: for example, do you use contraception, the physiotherapist and/or alternative care? Then it may be that it is cheaper to take out a supplementary package than to pay for such care out of your own pocket.

Premium payment

Many insurers offer you a discount on your premium if you pay the annual premium in one go. Ask whether this is also the case with the health insurer you have in mind and whether there are other discount options.

Dental care

Dental care is not reimbursed by basic health insurance, except in a few exceptional cases. If you need or want to go to the dentist on a regular basis, it may be wise to take out additional dental insurance . Take a good look at the different dental insurance policies, as dental insurance insures up to a maximum rate and often only a certain percentage.

Do you still have braces or do you expect to need one? Most insurers reimburse this through additional packages other than dental insurance. If you wish orthodontic costs, pay attention to whether the different packages that cover this have waiting times and/or ask acceptance questions.