The Dutch deductible, explained
The eigen risico is the amount of care you pay for yourself each year before your insurer reimburses anything. In 2026 it is €385. Your GP does not count towards it. The blood test your GP orders does.
What it actually is
It is not an extra charge on top of your premium. It is a threshold. The first €385 of care you use in a calendar year, you pay yourself. After that your insurer covers the rest of the basic package.
It resets on 1 January. Care given in December counts towards that year, care given in January towards the new one, which matters if you can choose when to have a non urgent treatment.
Children under 18 have no deductible and pay no premium for the basic package.
What does not count towards it
The Dutch government publishes a list of care that is free of the deductible. These are the items on it:
- Huisartsenzorg, inclusief de huisartsenpost
- Verloskundige zorg en kraamzorg
- Ketenzorg bij diabetes mellitus type 2, COPD en CVR
- Wijkverpleging
- Nacontroles bij orgaandonatie
- Reiskosten bij orgaandonatie
- Gecombineerde leefstijlinterventie
And here is the catch that decides most people's bill: your GP visit is free of the deductible, but bloedonderzoek dat de huisarts aanvraagt and geneesmiddelen die de huisarts voorschrijft are not. So you walk out of a free appointment and the follow up lands on your deductible.
Two figures for 2027, and both are real
€400 is what the deductible becomes if only the automatic inflation adjustment goes ahead. The freeze that kept it at €385 ends at the end of 2026.
€455 is that same adjustment plus an extra €55 from a separate bill. That bill has not been voted on, so the figure is not fixed.
They do not contradict each other: one is the baseline, the other is the baseline plus a proposal. If you see a single confident number for 2027 anywhere, it is a guess dressed up as a fact.
Where our figures come from
Every amount on this page comes from the Dutch government, not from us and not from another comparison site. We never publish a figure we cannot point at a source for. Where something is not yet decided, such as the deductible for 2027, we say so instead of picking one number.
We earn money when someone takes out a policy through a link on this site. That does not change what we write: the basic package is identical by law at every insurer, so there is nothing for us to tilt.
Read on
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay the deductible even if I never go to a doctor?
No. You only pay for care you actually use, up to the maximum. Use no care and you pay nothing on top of your premium.
Does a GP visit count towards my deductible?
The visit itself does not, including the out of hours GP post. But blood tests and medicines your GP orders or prescribes do count.
Can I pay the deductible in instalments?
Many insurers let you spread it over the year. The Dutch page on spreading the deductible explains how that works and what to watch for.