If you have been living in the Netherlands for a while and have a health insurance policy (zorgverzekering), it is likely that you have heard of the term eigen risico but still do not fully understand what it means or how it impacts your wallet. Don’t worry: this is one of the concepts in the Dutch healthcare system that can be challenging to grasp, especially if you come from LATAM countries where such a concept does not exist.
In this article, I will explain everything from scratch and provide tools to help you decide whether increasing your eigen risico voluntarily is worth it to pay less monthly premium.
What Is the Eigen Risico?
The eigen risico is the annual deductible of your health insurance: the amount you pay out-of-pocket before the insurer starts covering expenses. Once that amount is exceeded during the year, the insurance covers the rest.
Here’s how it works: if you visit a specialist or hospital and receive an invoice for €500, and your eigen risico is €385, you pay €385, and the insurer covers the remaining €115. If you have another medical expense of €200 that same year, the insurer covers it in full because you have already exhausted your deductible.
Here are some important details:
- The deductible resets on January 1st: every new year starts with a zero deductible
- This applies only to individuals who are over 18 years old; children under 18 are exempt
- No coverage for visits to the general practitioner (huisarts): visiting the huisarts is always free, regardless of your deductible
- This does not apply to maternity services or certain preventive treatments
The Mandatory Eigen Risico: €385 in 2026
There is a minimum deductible that the law mandates for all insured individuals: the verplicht eigen risico (mandatory deductible). In 2026, it remains at €385 per year, with no changes from previous years. You cannot reduce or eliminate this; it is fixed for everyone.
This means that if your medical expenses in the entire year do not reach €385 —because you are young and healthy and only visit the huisarts occasionally— you will never activate the insurance coverage for those types of expenses. You pay the monthly premium, and the deductible is absorbed by you if something occurs.
The Voluntary Eigen Risico: Increase Your Deductible to Pay Less Premium
This is the decision you can make each year when contracting or renewing your insurance: voluntarily increase your deductible in exchange for a lower monthly premium.
You can add one of these amounts to the mandatory €385 deductible:
- +€100 → total deductible: €485
- +€200 → total deductible: €585
- +€300 → total deductible: €685
- +€400 → total deductible: €785
- +€500 → total deductible: €885 (maximum possible)
In return, the insurer applies a monthly discount on your premium. The discount varies by insurer but can reach €20 per month with the maximum deductible, which amounts to €240 per year.
When It Makes Sense to Increase and When Not
This is the key question, and the answer depends on how much medical care you expect to need during the year. There is no universal answer, but there are two clear scenarios:
Scenario A: Limited Use of the Healthcare System
You are relatively young and healthy, visit the huisarts occasionally, and do not have regular treatments or medications. In this case, increasing your voluntary eigen risico can make sense because:
- If you do not exhaust the deductible, the premium discount is pure savings
- With a maximum deductible (+€500) and a monthly discount of €20: save €240 per year
- You only lose money if your medical expenses exceed €385 plus the discount obtained
Scenario B: Regular Use of the Healthcare System
You have a chronic condition, take regular medications, do physiotherapy, or know that you will have significant medical expenses this year. In this case, increasing your eigen risico rarely makes sense:
- With the maximum deductible (€885) and a yearly discount of €150, if you spend more than €535 on medical care, you end up paying more than with the standard deductible
- Example: maximum deductible €885 − discount €150 = €735 that you pay for medical costs, compared to the €385 standard. Difference: €350 more expensive
Scenarios Where Increasing the Eigen Risico Never Makes Sense
- Pregnancy or planning a pregnancy: childbirth itself is exempt, but many associated checks and treatments consume deductible
- Specialized dental treatment: if you need orthodontics or other basic package-covered treatments
- Congenital medications: prescribed medications quickly consume the deductible
- If you do not have that financial cushion in your savings account: remember that in case of needing it, you would have to pay up to €885 at once
The Condition Many People Forget: The Financial Cushion
Increasing the deductible means assuming that if you have an unexpected medical expense, you will have to pay up to €885 from your own pocket at some point during the year. If this money is not available, a hospital admission or urgent treatment can become a serious financial problem.
That’s why before increasing your eigen risico, make sure that you have this amount available in your savings account. The premium discount only makes sense if you can absorb the risk you are taking on.
How to Calculate It for Your Specific Case
The most practical way to decide is by doing the following calculation:
- Find the monthly discount offered by your insurer for each level of eigen risico voluntary (you can find this on their website or through comparators like zorgwijzer.nl)
- Multiply that discount by 12 to get the annual savings
- Estimate how much you spent on medical care last year (excluding huisarts)
- If that amount plus the annual savings does not exceed the new total deductible, it makes sense. If it does, it doesn’t.
Practical Example: Your insurer offers €15 per month of discount for increasing the deductible to €885 (+€500). That’s €180 annually. Last year you spent €200 on specialized medical care. Does it make sense?
- With standard deductible (€385): pay €200 in medical expenses (you do not reach the deductible, so you pay everything)
- With high deductible (€885) and discount of €180: pay €200 in medical expenses − €180 in premium savings = net cost of an extra €20 per year
- Result: In this case, it does make sense, provided you have the €885 cushion available
When Can You Change Your Eigen Risico?
You can only modify your eigen risico voluntary once a year during the period of changing health insurance: between November and January 31st. If you change insurers in that period, you define the new eigen risico when contracting. If you stay with the same insurer, you can adjust it through your customer area.
If you want to take advantage of the next window to compare insurance options and make a well-informed decision, this article may help: Dutch Health Insurance 2026. And if you are looking for the most affordable option on the market: The Cheapest Dutch Health Insurance (2025).
💡 Are you paying too much for your health insurance? If you have already decided to increase your eigen risico to lower the premium, the next step is to ensure that you are with the cheapest insurer for your profile. Comparing takes just 2 minutes. → Compare health insurance with Independer
Summary: Should I Increase or Not the Eigen Risico?
- ✓ Makes sense if you are young, healthy, use little of the healthcare system, and have the financial cushion available
- ✗ No sense if you have chronic conditions, regular medications, or insufficient savings to cover a high deductible
- ✗ Definitely not if you are pregnant or planning to be pregnant that year
- Always do the calculation with your insurer’s actual figures, not generic averages
If you have doubts about your specific situation or don’t know how to read your insurer’s options, leave it in the comments.
