Many employment agencies (UITZENDBUREAU) offer their employees collective insurance. This is the insurance purchased in companies that have contracts with employment agencies, and therefore lower rates of such insurance. In addition, the insurance only works when the employee works. For weeks when the employee is on vacation, for example, the insurance is not paid. This has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that only those weeks in which the employee actually works are paid because the payment is taken from the salary. The downside is that we are not health insured during the vacation, so if something happens to us during the vacation, we will not be reimbursed by the insurance company. The solution can be to pay out your vacation hours during your vacation and pay the insurance contribution from these hours. This should, of course, be agreed with your employer in advance.
More and more often employees decide to purchase private insurance. There are many insurance companies in the Netherlands that offer health insurance. These are both stationary and online companies. The main difference is the price. Just as with stationary and internet banks, so do insurance companies. These stationary companies are usually more expensive, but if necessary, they offer us direct contact with the employee “at the counter”. Internet companies are usually cheaper, but if we need to clarify matters, order medicines, reimbursement of treatment costs, etc., we have to contact them online (sometimes by phone, but such conversation can be quite expensive).
