DSW premium rises €14.75 a month in 2027
Health insurer DSW says its basic premium rise for 2027 is the largest ever in euros, and the national mandatory deductible also goes up from €385 to €400.
Customers of health insurer DSW will pay €14.75 more a month for basic insurance next year, taking the premium to €173.25. DSW says it is the largest premium increase ever in euros. In percentage terms it is not a record: the 2027 rise is 9.3%, against 10% in 2011.
Why it matters
- The national mandatory deductible rises from €385 to €400 in 2027.
- The healthcare allowance (zorgtoeslag) rises by about €11 a month in 2027, less than the DSW premium rise.
- Supplementary insurance premiums at DSW stay the same in 2027.
- Insured people can switch insurer until 31 December 2026.
DSW's basic premium was €127.75 a month in 2022, €137.50 in 2023, €149.00 in 2024 and €158.50 in 2025 and 2026. Earlier rises were €9.75 in 2023, €11.50 in 2024 and €9.50 in 2025; the premium stayed the same in 2026.
DSW's basic premium: €127.75 a month in 2022, €173.25 in 2027
Basic premium, € a month · 2022–2027
DSW's basic premium: €127.75 a month in 2022, €173.25 in 2027 (basic premium, € a month). From 127.75 in 2022 to 173.25 in 2027; highest 173.25 in 2027, lowest 127.75 in 2022. Source: DSW.
View data
| Period | Basic premium, € a month |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 127.75 |
| 2023 | 137.5 |
| 2024 | 149 |
| 2025 | 158.5 |
| 2026 | 158.5 |
| 2027 | 173.25 |
DSW says the increase is needed because demand for care keeps growing and wages and other costs in healthcare are rising. It also points to cuts in the national budget for health insurers.
DSW kept its 2026 premium unchanged thanks to a one-off surplus in the health insurance fund. That benefit has gone, so the cost increases for both 2026 and 2027 are now passed on.
The health ministry had assumed an increase of about €12.50 a month on Prinsjesdag, the day the budget is presented. DSW's rise is more than €2 higher. It blames this mainly on cuts of about €650m in the money insurers receive for district nursing, mental health care and hospital care. It takes €25m from its reserves to limit the rise; without that, it says, the premium would have gone up by €17.
DSW cuts the mandatory deductible (eigen risico) by €10 for its own customers, so they pay at most €390. The insurer says this symbolic step shows that it considers the deductible too high.
The government cannot endlessly pass the bill on through an ever higher nominal premium. That is a dead end.Aad de Groot, DSW director
DSW wants the premium to depend more on income. All health insurers must announce their 2027 premiums by 12 November at the latest.
CAK figures show 200,000 people are currently in arrears with the CAK, up from 172,000 in 2022.
Patiëntenfederatie Nederland, the patients' organisation, reacted after DSW announced its premium on Wednesday. It says the rise, combined with the higher deductible, will bring "even more patients into financial trouble".
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Guide: Dutch health insurance: deadlines to switch insurer
eigen risico
The mandatory deductible (eigen risico) is the amount of healthcare costs that insured adults in the Netherlands pay themselves each year before their basic health insurance (basisverzekering) starts to reimburse care. The government sets the maximum amount, which is adjusted over time. Some insurers, such as DSW, offer their own customers a lower deductible.
Prinsjesdag
Budget Day (Prinsjesdag) is held on the third Tuesday of September, when the Dutch cabinet presents the national budget and its spending plans to the States General in The Hague. It is also the day when the government announces many planned changes for the coming year, including in tax and healthcare.