Supplementary health insurance

Basic healthcare insurance doesn’t cover every aspect of healthcare in the Netherlands. Therefore you can choose to take out supplementary insurance that will cover more healthcare treatments, like dental care and physiotherapy. On this page, you will find more information about supplementary insurance for students in the Netherlands.

What is a supplementary insurance?

Basic healthcare insurance offers you the minimum national coverage of healthcare. If you are looking for extra coverage, for example for dental care, physiotherapy or birth control, you can opt to take out supplementary insurance. What coverage do these supplementary insurances offer?

Packages of supplementary insurances

Most insurance companies offer supplementary insurance in different types of packages. They use words like top insurance or plus insurance to differentiate the different types of packages. Some of them use a star system ranging from one to four stars. More stars refer to higher overall coverage. The premium you are required to pay is also ascending when opting for a package with more extensive coverage.
Examples of additional coverage
Within these packages it is possible to find the following healthcare coverage:

• Dental care
• Physiotherapy
• Medical care abroad
• Additional reimbursements for medicines
• Coverage for glasses and lenses
• Birth control
• Comprehensive medical care outside the Netherlands
• Alternative treatments and medicine
• Additional reimbursements for maternity

Packages specifically for students

There are some insurance companies that offer insurance packages that will meet the needs of students and offer discounts on the premiums.
These student packages could exist of additional reimbursements for healthcare:

• Vaccinations when traveling abroad
• Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Test

Dental care

The majority of the dental practices in the Netherlands are private and therefore you will have to pay for the treatments yourself. With the Dutch basic healthcare insurance, only a few urgent dental treatments are covered. For all the regular treatments you need special supplementary insurance. You can insure up to 100% of dental costs. Some insurance companies offer specific supplementary insurance for dental care only and some insurance companies offer insurance for dental care within a broader package of additional coverages.
Read more about the dental insurance.

Physical therapy (physiotherapy)

If you need to visit a physical therapist in the Netherlands you don’t need a referral letter from your doctor. Look for the specialist that best fits your personal needs and directly contact them for an appointment. Physical Therapy however is not covered by Dutch basic health insurance, with some exceptions to the rule. Therefore supplementary or additional insurance is necessary for full coverage.
Read more about the coverage of physical therapy.

How much does a supplementary insurance costs?

The premium of supplementary insurance can differ between € 5,- to € 50,- on top of your premium for basic healthcare insurance. The premium depends on how comprehensive the coverage is.

Where can I get a supplementary insurance?

The same insurance companies that offer basic healthcare insurance also offer different packages of supplementary insurances. However, you are not obliged to take supplementary insurance at the same insurance company as where you got your basic healthcare insurance. The coverage of the supplementary insurances can differ a lot between these insurance companies and the different packages. Therefore we recommend that you compare the policy terms of different insurance companies in order to make the right choice.

When is it possible to get supplementary insurance?

You can only get supplementary insurance in addition to basic healthcare insurance. To find out if you can (and need to) apply for Dutch basic health care insurance, you can visit our page on basic health insurance

No legal obligation

The healthcare companies do not have a legal obligation to accept you for supplementary insurance. Therefore it’s possible that the insurance companies will ask questions about your health situation and that they can ask a higher premium if you have health issues. On the other hand, the premium for supplementary insurance could be lower for students since they are younger and generally have fewer health issues.