Insurance companies

If you intend to take an occasional part-time job, make sure you choose an insurance company (such as AON) that allows you to switch easily between private insurance for international students and basic healthcare insurance. The following website allows you to compare the policies offered by the different insurance companies in the Netherlands: www.kiesbeter.nl (Only available in Dutch).

As a student of the University of Amsterdam you can also take out a student basisverzekering (basic health insurance) policy from Zilveren Kruis. See the link below for more information.

Health Insurance (Policy excess)

Basic healthcare insurance includes a yearly 'policy excess or eigen risico' of € 170. This means that you need to pay the first € 170 in healthcare costs* yourself before you can start to receive reimbursement from your insurance company.

*Eigen risico does not apply to costs for the following:

• General Practitioner (GP)
• Obstetric / gynaecological care
• Maternity care
• Dental care package for people below the age of 18.

Citizen service number

You need to obtain a Citizen service number (Burgerservicenummer BSN-a unique ID number, equivalent to a tax and social security number) before you can take out basic healthcare insurance.

You will receive a BSN when you register with the City Hall. You can find more information about the BSN at www.uva.nl/work.

Healthcare allowance

People with a low income, such as students, who are covered by the basic health insurance can apply for an allowance (zorgtoeslag in Dutch) to help cover the costs of healthcare insurance. If you earn less than € 29,069 a year (as of 2008) you can receive a healthcare allowance from the Dutch Tax Administration, up to a maximum of € 552 a year.The exact amount of healthcare allowance that you can receive depends on numerous factors. The Dutch Tax Administration can help you with applying for healthcare allowance. They are open from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm at their office at Kingsfordweg 1, Amsterdam.

More information can be found at www.toeslagen.nl (in Dutch only).