The MKB verzuim-ontzorgverzekering (SME sickness absence support insurance) combines reimbursement of the wages you continue to pay with carrying out the reintegration, including the risk of a wage sanction from UWV (the Dutch employee insurance agency).
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.
We compare the offerings of several insurers
An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
An ordinary sickness absence insurance (verzuimverzekering) reimburses money. This variant reimburses money and takes over work: the insurer supplies the case manager and the occupational health services, monitors the time limits of the Gatekeeper Improvement Act and draws up the plans. For a business without an HR department that is the real product. The reimbursement of wages is the arithmetical side of it.
The underlying obligation is the continued payment of wages during sickness under Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code, which lasts two years. During that period you must be able to show that you are working on reintegration, first within your own business and then on the second track with another employer. If UWV finds at the WIA application that you have made insufficient effort, a wage sanction follows and you continue to pay for a third year.
With this insurance that sanction risk sits with the insurer, provided you follow the case manager's instructions. That is also the most important condition: if you ignore the advice, the risk moves back to you. Cover ends after two years of sickness. What comes after that is WIA and belongs with a separate WGA or WIA top-up policy.
What does full-service sickness absence insurance for SMEs cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Liability
AVB for property damage and injury, BAV for professional errors.
Damage to third parties
Employers' liability
Care, custody and control as an extension
Your business
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
Business contents at replacement value as new
Goods at cost price
Business interruption or additional costs
If you employ people
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
Continued pay for 104 weeks
Group personal accident
WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
Situation
AVB
BAV
Cyber
Injury to a visitor or customer
Yes
No
No
Damage to a client's property
Sometimes
No
No
Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error
No
Yes
No
Downtime after a ransomware attack
No
No
Yes
Data breach involving personal data
No
Sometimes
Yes
Damage to property in your care
No
No
No
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 wage sanction is the real risk
A third year of continued pay for a long-term sick employee hits a small business harder than the first two years together, because it comes unexpectedly and is not budgeted for. UWV imposes that sanction where the reintegration file falls short: a plan of action drawn up too late, the second track not started in time, no reasons given for the choices made. With this insurance that risk lies with the insurer for as long as you follow the instructions.
You are buying a method of working, not freedom
The other side of having obligations taken over is that the insurer decides how the absence process runs: which occupational health service, which company doctor, when the second track starts. If you want to keep your own occupational health service or take charge yourself, an ordinary sickness absence policy suits you better. So compare not only on premium but on who makes the decisions if you and the case manager disagree.
Pregnancy and existing absence fall outside it
Continued pay during maternity leave runs through a benefit from UWV and not through the policy. Absence already running on the start date is also excluded: an employee who is off sick when you take out the policy remains at your own risk. For employees with no-risk status the insurer sets off the sickness benefit, so that you are not reimbursed twice.
Absence and liability are two different things
This policy reimburses wages. It does not cover compensation to an employee. If someone is injured at work, the duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code applies, and for road use during working hours the standard from Article 7:611 DCC. Those claims belong with your public and employers' liability cover and your WEGAS cover. Fines from the labour inspectorate are also uninsurable; they always remain at the employer's expense.
What does your premium depend on?
Insured payroll. The total payroll is the basis of calculation; premium is charged on it and adjusted afterwards.
Sector and mix of roles. Physically demanding work involves longer absence than administrative roles on the same payroll.
Sickness absence record. The absence percentage over recent years and whether there are long-running cases open.
Deferment period chosen. The number of waiting days or weeks before payment starts, per employee or per business.
Insured part of the wage. Whether you insure only the part you must pay by law or the top-up above it as well.
Size and composition of the workforce. The number of employees, their age profile and the share of temporary contracts.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your activities, turnover 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.
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.
An extension of the obligation to continue paying wages by up to a year, imposed by UWV at the WIA assessment if it appears that you made insufficient effort on the reintegration. Think of a plan of action drawn up too late or a second track that did not start in time. With the verzuim-ontzorgverzekering the insurer carries that risk, provided you followed its instructions.
What is the difference from an ordinary sickness absence policy?
An ordinary sickness absence policy reimburses the wages you continue to pay and leaves the execution to you. The support variant also supplies the occupational health services and the case manager, monitors the gatekeeper time limits and takes over the sanction risk. In return you give up control: the insurer decides which company doctor is used and when the second track starts.
Is an employee who is already off sick covered?
No. Absence already running on the start date is excluded. That case remains at your own expense until the person recovers or the two years are up. Do report current cases on the application, because leaving them out engages the duty of disclosure under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code and can affect cover for other cases.
What happens after two years of sickness?
The obligation to continue paying wages then ends, and with it the cover under this policy. The employee moves into the WIA and the consequences run through the contributions you pay as an employer or through carrying the WGA risk yourself. If you want to cover that period as well, you need a separate WGA own-risk policy or a WIA top-up policy for the employee.
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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