OOM Verzekeringen · compared independently · advice from Finass
SOS insurance through OOM
SOS insurance does not pay the doctor but the logistics around it: the emergency centre that finds a suitable hospital, the accompanied transport home and family members travelling out.
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.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
We compare the offerings of several insurers
An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
SOS cover is assistance and not health cover. What is insured is the deployment of an emergency centre available day and night: search and rescue, medically accompanied transport to the Netherlands or to a better equipped hospital, a family member travelling out where there is danger to life, and repatriation of remains. An early return home in the event of serious illness or the death of a close relative in the Netherlands also belongs here.
The hard condition appears in almost every policy: permission in advance. Anyone who arranges an air ambulance themselves, crosses the border by taxi or books a ticket on their own initiative and sends in the bill afterwards is in a weak position. The emergency centre assesses whether the transport is medically necessary, which form is suitable and at what moment. Without that assessment there is no basis for charging the costs to the insurance.
This cover rarely stands alone. It is the addition to medical or travel cover, for example alongside the travel insurance through OOM. Finass looks above all at whether they fit together: who pays for the treatment, who for the transport, and what happens if the two are with different insurers.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Basic cover
The basic cover insures the core of your SOS insurance. We show what OOM and other insurers offer within it.
Injury to persons
Property damage to third parties
Employees included
Retroactive cover (prior risk)
Extended cover
On top of that to damage to third parties, employers' and product liability and damage during work at the client's premises.
Employers' liability at the client's premises
Product liability
Agency workers, interns & volunteers
Care, custody and control (property in your care)
Complete package
The most complete cover. We compare OOM's extended version with the market.
Environmental impairment (unforeseen, limited)
Retroactive cover (prior risk)
Higher sums insured
What we do
What we do
At Finass
Direct with OOM Verzekeringen
Comparison across several insurers
Yes
No
Advice based on your own situation
Yes
Sometimes
One point of contact for claims
Yes
Sometimes
Cancellation with your current insurer arranged
Yes
No
We determine whether OOM Verzekeringen is the best choice
Yes
No
Advice fees for you as a customer
No
No
This overview concerns our service, not the cover. What is actually covered is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurer's insurance card (verzekeringskaart); you receive both before you take out cover.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Call before anything is arranged
The emergency centre is not a reporting point after the event but the party that takes the decision. It determines whether transport home is responsible, whether a local hospital is sufficient and which means of transport is used. If you only report once everything has been arranged, the insurer can rely on Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code: late reporting works against you in so far as it has prejudiced a reasonable interest, for example because the transport could have been organised more cheaply.
Medically necessary transport, not comfortable transport
Repatriation is paid for where returning home is medically responsible and medically necessary. Wanting to go home early because the holiday is spoiled, because treatment abroad feels unfamiliar or because a flight has been cancelled does not fall under it. If the care on the spot is equivalent, you stay where you are and the SOS cover pays for no transport, however understandable the wish.
What SOS cover certainly does not pay
The treatment itself is outside it: the hospital bill, the operation, the medication and the dentist belong to medical or health cover. The cost of the trip you lose by leaving early also falls outside it. That is a matter for the cancellation cover. Damage to baggage, missed connections and the cost of a replacement travelling companion also stay outside this policy.
Search, rescue and places nobody goes
Mountain rescue, searches at sea and evacuation from a remote area are the most expensive operations and are precisely the ones that are tightly limited. Normally excluded are areas subject to negative travel advice, taking part in expeditions off the beaten track, competitive sport, and events caused by acts of war or nuclear reactions. Also check whether search and rescue is a separate module and not automatically included in the basic cover.
Retroactive cover (prior risk)
Retroactive cover (prior risk) Included for your staff during work.
Defence & legal costs
What does your premium depend on?
Single-trip or continuous. Cover per trip is charged per day. A continuous version has an annual premium with a maximum trip length.
Area of cover. Europe, worldwide, or worldwide including North America. The transport over those distances determines the level of cost.
Number of people insured. A family or travelling party is included as a whole, with the return journey of those travelling with you counting as well.
Age of the oldest insured. With assistance, the chance of a medically accompanied return journey weighs more heavily as age rises.
Search and rescue included. This module raises the premium because deploying rescue services and helicopters mounts up quickly.
Winter sports and special sports. Skiing off-piste, diving and climbing increase both the chance of a call-out and its complexity.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
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.
Why do I have to call the emergency assistance centre first?
Because it decides whether transport is medically necessary and which form is suitable. It knows the hospitals on the spot, arranges the guarantee of payment and prevents you having to pay up front locally. If you arrange everything yourself, the insurer can rely on Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code and limit the payment to what it would itself have spent.
Is the hospital bill itself covered?
No. SOS cover pays for assistance and transport, not for treatment. The hospital's bill, the operation and the medication belong to your medical or health cover. The two have to fit together. If they are with different insurers, agree in advance who gives the guarantee of payment to the hospital.
Can my partner travel out if I am in hospital?
Usually yes, but subject to conditions: there has to be danger to life or an admission lasting longer than a period named in the policy, and the emergency centre has to give permission in advance. What is paid are the travel and accommodation costs within a capped period, not loss of earnings or the extra costs arising at home.
Does SOS cover also apply if I live abroad?
No, not as a matter of course. This cover assumes a trip from a fixed place of residence in the Netherlands and a return there. If you live permanently elsewhere, repatriation to the Netherlands is no longer an automatic right and you need an international arrangement, such as with a expat cover.
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.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
