Occupational disability · waiting period · the BAZ bill
Compare disability insurance (AOV)
For a self-employed person, disability is the one risk that can wipe out your income in a single step. Three quarters of the self-employed have no cover, and a bill is now before parliament that is set to change that.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert.nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
A disability insurance (AOV) pays a monthly benefit when illness or an accident stops you working, up to an agreed final age. Four choices determine both your premium and your certainty: the disability criterion, the waiting period, the sum insured and the final age.
The criterion is the most important of the four. Under occupational disability the insurer pays out as soon as you can no longer carry out your own occupation, whether or not you could do some other kind of work. That is considerably wider than a criterion that looks at what you would still be able to do.
A bill is on the table that changes this landscape. The Basisverzekering Arbeidsongeschiktheid Zelfstandigen was laid before the Tweede Kamer (the Dutch House of Representatives) on 24 March 2026 and will oblige self-employed people taxed under income tax to insure themselves. It is not expected to come into force before 2030, but the choices you make now may count towards the transitional rules.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The core choice
Criterion
When does the policy treat you as unfit for work?
Occupational disability
Suitable work
Generally available work
The premium lever
Waiting period
The period between falling ill and the first payment.
30, 90 or 365 days
A longer period is considerably cheaper
Bridge the gap from savings
Up to when
End age
The age up to which the benefit continues.
Lower for physically demanding occupations
Running to state pension age costs more
Differs by occupation
What is covered
Situation
Private disability insurance (AOV)
BAZ (draft legislation)
You can no longer practise your own profession
Yes
No
You can still do simple, light work
Yes
No
A benefit above the statutory minimum wage
Yes
No
Payment within a few months
Yes
No
Access despite your age or medical history
Sometimes
Yes
Payment after a sports accident in your own time
Sometimes
Sometimes
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The criterion decides whether you are ever paid
Under occupational disability, what counts is whether you can still carry out your own trade. Under a wider criterion the insurer looks at work you would still be able to do, so a carpenter who can no longer lift is not unfit for work as soon as he could take on administrative duties. That difference matters more than any premium gap you will see in a comparison.
The BAZ bill: what is being proposed
The Council of Ministers agreed to the bill on 13 March 2026 and it went to the Tweede Kamer on 24 March, where the social affairs and employment committee began its regular scrutiny on 7 April. The outline: a premium set as a percentage of profit, capped at a monthly maximum, a benefit of no more than the statutory minimum wage, and a two-year waiting period. Assessment is based on a threshold role — simple, physically light work such as receptionist or production worker.
The two-year waiting period is the heart of the difference
The public basic scheme only pays after two years. If you have no income during that period, you have to bridge it from your own resources, a broodfonds (a mutual sick-pay fund) or a private AOV with a shorter waiting period. A broodfonds does not, incidentally, release you from the duty to insure as it is currently proposed.
Why look at this now rather than in 2029
There will be transitional rules and a reference date. If you take out an AOV yourself before that date, you keep a say in the cover, the waiting period and the criterion. After it, a scheme applies that runs to state pension age and involves no medical underwriting — which usually works out less favourably for healthy business owners. The exact date has not been set; the bill is still going through parliament.
What does your premium depend on?
Profession and risk class — the most decisive factor
Monthly sum insured
Waiting period chosen — 30, 90 or 365 days
End age
Disability criterion — own occupation or suitable work
Health and age at the outset — medical underwriting
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Not at present. The bill for the Basisverzekering Arbeidsongeschiktheid Zelfstandigen was laid before the Tweede Kamer on 24 March 2026 and still has to pass both houses. It is not expected to come into force before 2030.
What does the BAZ involve?
A compulsory public basic scheme for self-employed people taxed under income tax, with a premium set as a percentage of profit and capped at a monthly maximum, a benefit of no more than the statutory minimum wage and a two-year waiting period. Directors who are majority shareholders fall outside it.
How does it differ from a private AOV?
A private AOV usually insures occupational disability: if you can no longer carry out your own trade, the insurer pays. The BAZ assesses whether you could still fill a threshold role, meaning simple and physically light work. The waiting period and the level of benefit also differ considerably.
Do I need to do anything now?
If you do not yet have an AOV, it is sensible to weigh it up now. There will be transitional rules and a reference date; anyone who arranges cover in good time keeps a say in the criterion, the waiting period and the final age. The exact terms of those transitional rules have not been settled.
Which waiting period should I choose?
The period you can bridge yourself. Moving from 30 to 90 days makes a considerable difference to the premium; from 90 to 365 days, more still. Work out how long you could manage without income and choose just below that.
Am I insured if I have an accident in my own time?
Usually yes, but high-risk sports are often excluded or attract a loading. Declare what you do; undeclared high-risk activities are a classic reason for a claim being refused.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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