Cabinet expects health insurance premium to rise €12.50 a month

The big health insurers published their 2027 premiums on the last day before the deadline. The most-chosen basic policy at CZ rises by €17.26 to €177.25 a month. At Menzis it rises by €9.50 to €165.75. VGZ raises Basis Keuze by €17.50 to €167.40 and Ruime Keuze by €16.50 to €170.75. Zilveren Kruis raises Basis Zeker by €5.70 to €164.95 and the cheaper Basis Start by €5.50 to €159.45.

Why it matters

• Policyholders can cancel their current insurance until 31 December and have until 1 February 2027 to find a new one.
• The premiums are for the compulsory basic policy; premiums for supplementary insurance follow next week.

Zilveren Kruis and Menzis raise premiums by less than the cabinet's calculation

€ per month

Zilveren Kruis and Menzis raise premiums by less than the cabinet's calculation (€ per month). Highest: VGZ Basis Keuze, 17.5; lowest: Zilveren Kruis Basis Zeker, 5.7; 5 items. Source: Insurers; cabinet's Budget Memorandum.

View data

Data: Zilveren Kruis and Menzis raise premiums by less than the cabinet's calculation

Item	€ per month
VGZ Basis Keuze	17.5
CZ	17.26
Cabinet's calculated rise	12.5
Menzis	9.5
Zilveren Kruis Basis Zeker	5.7

In the latest Budget Memorandum (Miljoenennota), the cabinet calculated that the basic health insurance premium should rise by €12.50 a month, based on expected healthcare costs.

Achmea, the parent company of Zilveren Kruis, is using about €400m to limit the rise. It benefits more than 5 million customers of Zilveren Kruis, De Friesland, Interpolis, FBTO and De christelijke zorgverzekeraar. Menzis is putting in €116m of its own reserves, which, the insurer says, keeps its rise below the €12.50 a month the Ministry of Health expected. CZ is using €20m.

Menzis says its increase reflects two years of rising care costs and the absence of a one-off windfall that dampened last year's rise. CZ also points to the loss of a one-off windfall from the Zorgverzekeringsfonds. Both cite an ageing population and an expanding range of treatments as causes, and Menzis warns that costs will keep rising in the coming years.

DSW announced in October a premium of €173.25 a month, almost €15 more, with an own risk (eigen risico) of €390 a year thanks to a discount. Stad Holland's premium rises by just under €12 to €176.50.

CZ chair Joep de Groot called for earlier support, including outside the medical sector: "We invest billions in care for patients, while with earlier support we can sometimes prevent problems from growing and people needing care."