Sickness absence insurance (verzuimverzekering)
- Payment after a waiting period
- Conventional or as stop-loss
- Often with occupational health services
- Covers wages, not WIA costs
Illness and disability: who pays what?
Illness costs money at three moments: during the period of continued pay, in the WIA period afterwards and, for business owners, from day one. Each moment has its own insurance, and they do not cover the same thing.
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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
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
For an employee it starts with the employer. Under Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code the employer continues to pay wages during sickness, for a maximum of 104 weeks and at least 70 per cent of the wage; many collective agreements set a higher percentage. On top of that come the obligations under the Wet verbetering poortwachter (the Dutch Gatekeeper Improvement Act): an action plan, periodic reviews and reintegration, including with another employer. Anyone who cannot show they took those steps can be given a wage sanction by the UWV (the Dutch employee insurance agency) and have to continue paying wages for even longer.
If the employee is still ill after two years, the WIAfollows. Anyone permanently and fully unfit for work goes into the IVA. The remaining cases fall under the WGA. The cost of that comes back to the employer, through a differentiated contribution or through carrying the risk yourself, in which the employer bears the WGA benefit and the reintegration for years.
For business owners, self-employed professionals and directors-cum-major shareholders who are not compulsorily insured, that chain does not exist. There is no continued pay and after two years no WIA. Only disability insurance (AOV) replaces that income. See also the AOV and the sickness absence insurance for SMEs.
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Three phases, three policies
Which policy you need depends on your role and on the moment the costs fall.
WGA own-risk bearing
Insures the WGA costs you bear yourself as a self-insured employer.
- Benefit and reintegration costs
- An alternative to the UWV contribution
- Compulsory guarantee declaration
- Returning to the UWV is restricted
AOV for business owners
Replaces your own income when you are unable to work.
- Criterion: your occupation or suitable work
- A waiting period you choose yourself
- Benefit until the end age
- Medical underwriting in advance
What is covered
| Situation | Employee | Business owner |
|---|---|---|
| Wages continue to be paid for the first two years of sickness | Yes | No |
| Statutory benefit after two years of sickness | Yes | No |
| Compulsory reintegration under the gatekeeper rules | Yes | No |
| Income on partial incapacity | Provided that | Provided that |
| Insurance paying for the wage costs you continued to pay | Yes | No |
| Cover for complaints already existing at the outset | No | No |
The statutory obligations are fixed. What a policy pays of them is set out in the conditions and depends on the waiting period chosen and the percentage insured.
What does your premium depend on?
- Payroll and workforce: the basis of calculation for sickness absence
- Sector and type of work: physical sectors weigh more heavily
- Absence history: the history determines the loading
- Deferment period: in working days or as a threshold amount
- Percentage of salary insured: 70 per cent or more in line with the collective agreement
- Age and occupation on an AOV: individual acceptance and loading
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, risk and 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.
Why arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
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.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that determine who carries the bill for long-term illness.
Continued payment of wages is a duty, not a choice
The employer continues to pay wages during sickness, whatever the cause and whether or not there is insurance. Sickness absence insurance changes nothing about that: it pays part of the wage costs afterwards. If you fail to take the steps under the Wet verbetering poortwachter (the Dutch Gatekeeper Improvement Act): problem analysis, action plan, timely WIA application — the UWV can extend the period of continued pay by a wage sanction. That extended period is normally not paid by sickness absence insurers.
Sickness absence insurance and WGA cover are not interchangeable
The sickness absence insurance covers the wages in the first two years of sickness, with a waiting period in working days (conventional) or a threshold on total annual wage costs (stop-loss). WGA own-risk bearing concerns the period after that: you then bear the WGA benefit and the reintegration of a former employee yourself, for years. Anyone insuring only sickness absence covers the first two years and is empty-handed in the third; anyone who only carries the WGA risk themselves pays the first two years out of their own pocket.
What is not included
The following, among others, are outside the cover: complaints already existing at the outset or for which a benefit was already being paid, pregnancy and maternity leave (that runs through the statutory benefit, not through the sickness absence policy), wages above the maximum daily wage or above the percentage insured, and the wage sanction after a poor reintegration file. Deliberate acts and recklessness are also excluded under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code, as is inability to work through detention, situations of war and, on an AOV, motorised speed events.
Notification and record-keeping determine the payment
What you declare at the outset about payroll, workforce and current absence falls under the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code; if that is not correct, the insurer can reduce or refuse payment through Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code. Also report sickness within the period stated in the policy and in any event as soon as reasonably possible (Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code). Late sickness notifications cost cover days and put the gatekeeper file behind from the start.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
How long do I have to continue paying wages as an employer?
During sickness, Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code imposes a duty to continue paying wages for a maximum of 104 weeks, at a statutory minimum of 70 per cent of the wage. Many collective agreements prescribe a higher percentage in the first year. If you do not meet the reintegration obligations, the UWV can extend that period with a wage sanction.
What is the difference between sickness absence insurance and an AOV?
Sickness absence insurance is an employer's policy: it pays the wages you continue to pay a sick employee. An AOV is a personal income protection policy for someone who has no employer, such as a self-employed professional or a director-cum-major shareholder. One covers someone else's wage costs, the other replaces your own income; they do not replace each other.
What does carrying the WGA risk yourself involve?
You then pay no differentiated WGA contribution to the UWV, but bear the WGA benefits and reintegration costs of employees who become unfit for work yourself, for years after the first two years of sickness. That requires a guarantee declaration from a bank or insurer and usually insurance to absorb the costs. It pays off mainly where absence is low and well under control.
Is a director-cum-major shareholder compulsorily insured?
That depends on the balance of control. A director-cum-major shareholder who cannot be dismissed usually falls outside the employee insurance schemes and therefore has no entitlement to WIA. In that situation their own AOV is the only source of income during long-term incapacity. Have the status established before you assume there is cover.
Does partial recovery count?
Yes, in all three schemes. For continued pay the duty reduces as the employee works more hours. In the WIA the degree of loss of earning capacity determines entitlement to benefit. On an AOV the insurer pays proportionally, from the percentage of incapacity set as the threshold in the policy.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Sickness absence insurance (verzuimverzekering) and income protection in one combination through AllianzTwo years of illness, WIA period, one contract
- Sickness absence insurance (verzuimverzekering) for agricultural businessesSeason, replacement staff, continued payment of wages
- Incapacity for work and your incomeOccupation criterion, waiting period, end age
- Compare sickness absence insurance (verzuimverzekering)104 weeks of continued wages, gatekeeper rules, wage sanction
- Full-service sickness absence insurance for SMEsContinued pay, gatekeeper, support
Read more
Within Verzuimverzekering
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Want the chain mapped out?
Request a quote without obligation. We look at continued pay, WIA costs and your own income together.
Prefer to call? 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 09:00–17:00.
Claim on the road? Emergency line 06 - 55 20 40 72.
About our service
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.
This page was compiled by Finass Verzekert (LinkedIn). Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.