# Cabinet expects health insurance premium to rise €12.50 a month

> Insurers set their own 2027 basic premiums, and policyholders can cancel their current policy until 31 December to switch.

Economy · published 2026-11-13 02:56 · https://nlnow.nl/a/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; source: Insurers; cabinet's Budget Memorandum)

- 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."

## Background

- **Miljoenennota**: The Budget Memorandum (Miljoenennota) is the annual document in which the Dutch cabinet sets out its budget for the coming year, including planned government spending, income and policy choices. The Minister of Finance presents it to the House of Representatives on Prinsjesdag, the third Tuesday of September, and it forms the basis for the parliamentary debate on the national budget. It matters because it shows how the government plans to pay for public services such as healthcare, education and defence.
- **eigen risico**: The eigen risico is the deductible: the part of healthcare costs that people aged 18 and over pay themselves each year under basic health insurance (basisverzekering) before the insurer covers the rest. Its amount is set by law, with a maximum that the government sets each year, and it does not apply to certain care such as visits to the GP (huisarts). Insurers offer a premium discount (premiekorting) if you choose a higher voluntary eigen risico, which lowers your monthly premium in exchange for paying more care costs yourself.

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