Disability insurance (AOV) in the Netherlands for freelancers and directors
An AOV (arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering) is a disability insurance policy for self-employed people in the Netherlands, also known in English as income protection insurance. If you are a freelancer or company director, you arrange this yourself.
This page answers the questions internationals ask us: whether you need it, what happens if you leave the Netherlands, whether it will become compulsory, and what it costs.
A Dutch disability insurance (arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering, AOV) replaces part of your income if illness or an accident stops you working. If you are self-employed, you are not insured by the Dutch state the way employees are. A bill for compulsory cover, the Wet BAZ, was sent to parliament in March 2026 and had not been passed as of 7 October 2026; KVK does not expect it before 2030. What happens to a policy when you leave the Netherlands differs per insurer, and in our calculation on 22 August 2026 in the comparison tool we use, for the same profile and settings, the most expensive insurer charged more than three times the cheapest in the first year. Bouvy Advies in Naarden (AFM licence 12046005) compares almost all insurers in the Netherlands, advises in English and charges a fixed fee without commission.
I'm a freelance consultant in the Netherlands. Do I need disability insurance?
You need it if you could not absorb a year without income yourself. As a freelancer in the Netherlands no employer continues your pay when you are ill, and you are not automatically insured for the Dutch sickness benefit (Ziektewet) or the long-term disability benefit (WIA). Employees are different: their employer continues their pay for up to 104 weeks, after which UWV assesses them under the WIA. Employed yourself? Read what the WIA means for employees.
If you have enough savings or a partner with a stable income who can cover your expenses, you may not need a policy. We only advise disability insurance if it fits your actual risk and needs.
A disability policy pays after illness and after an accident. The only public alternative is voluntary insurance with UWV, which usually comes with a 13-week deadline and conditions about your earlier cover (more in the questions below).
Will my disability insurance become useless if we deregister from the Netherlands?
It depends on the insurer and on the product, which is why we check it before you sign rather than after you leave. The terms we have read (the versions in our library, checked in September 2026) show how far apart insurers are.
Interpolis AOV Kort is written for self-employed people who are liable for Dutch income tax. Movir wants to be told straight away if you go abroad for longer than six months or move abroad, and Movir may end the policy if you live abroad. Allianz wants a letter or email at least 30 days before you go abroad for longer than 60 days, and then decides whether to adjust or end the policy. Interpolis AOV asks you to report a stay abroad of more than three months, and may then lower the insured income or change the premium and exclusions.
If you are unable to work: Movir needs you to ask permission before you go abroad, otherwise you may lose the benefit for the time you are abroad. Interpolis wants you to contact them before you go abroad for more than a month, and you may have to travel to the Netherlands, or to a partner abroad that Interpolis appoints, for an assessment at your own cost. Allianz can decide not to cover you while abroad if it thinks leaving could worsen your condition, and does not pay for a worsening that happens abroad.
If you move abroad while we manage your policy, we work out with the insurer whether the cover can stay dormant or should end. If you already expect to leave within a few years, tell us at the start: it affects which insurers are suitable. The same question applies to term life insurance.
Going abroad temporarily rather than for good? The Expat Package Individual that we help you put together includes work incapacity as one of its optional covers: see expat insurances.
Is disability insurance compulsory for the self-employed in the Netherlands?
Not yet. A bill for compulsory cover, the Wet basisverzekering arbeidsongeschiktheid zelfstandigen (Wet BAZ), was sent to the Dutch parliament on 24 March 2026 and had not been passed as of 7 October 2026. KVK does not expect it to start before 2030, and it could be later.
The figures in the bill, which can still change: a premium of about 5.4% of profit, capped at about € 171 gross a month; a benefit of 70% of previous income, up to the minimum wage.
The bill is aimed at about 1.2 million self-employed people who pay income tax on business profit, and does not apply to a DGA. You may keep a private policy instead if it is at least equivalent (among other things, no limited benefit duration). The reference date for the transition rules is not yet set.
How much does disability insurance cost in the Netherlands?
The premium depends on your age, your occupation, the sum insured, the waiting period and the end age, so there is no single price. On 22 August 2026 we ran three profiles through the comparison tool we use, with every product that could give a premium: always € 36,000 a year insured (€ 3,000 gross a month), end age 67, extended cover, an indicative rate with introductory discount and a benefit rising 3% a year. The table shows the range between the cheapest and the most expensive insurer, not one premium.
| Profile | Insurers quoting | First year | Average per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carpenter, age 40, waiting period 30 days | 14 | € 1,856 to € 7,339 | € 3,506 to € 10,340 |
| System administrator, age 35, waiting period 30 days | 16 | € 648 to € 2,399 | € 1,874 to € 3,913 |
| System administrator, age 35, waiting period 365 days | 16 | € 422 to € 1,902 | € 1,274 to € 2,805 |
Three things stand out.
- Premiums differ widely. In the first year the most expensive insurer charged between 3.7 and 4.5 times the cheapest, and averaged over the whole term two to three times. For the carpenter that is almost € 5,500 in the first year, for the same profile and the same settings in the comparison tool.
- Your occupation makes a big difference. In the first year the carpenter pays about three times what the system administrator pays (he is also five years older, so this is not occupation alone), and of 17 products 14 quoted for the carpenter and 16 for the system administrator. Not every product accepts every occupation.
- The waiting period strongly affects the premium. Going from a 30-day waiting period to a year took roughly a fifth to a third off the premium. You then bridge that year yourself, so it depends on your savings and fixed costs.
How is disability insurance taxed in the Netherlands?
You can fully deduct premiums you pay yourself for private disability insurance with periodic benefits for invalidity, illness or accident from your box 1 income (work and home). The premium must be paid to an insurer that qualifies under Dutch tax law (including a Dutch-licensed insurer) or to UWV, and the benefits must be payable to you. If that policy pays out, you declare the periodic benefits as box 1 income. You get the deduction now, and any benefit you receive later is taxed.
You cannot deduct premiums for lump-sum policies, premiums your employer already took into account when withholding payroll tax, or premiums for compulsory Ziektewet and WIA. Premiums for voluntary disability insurance with UWV also qualify for deduction. If you get back premiums you deducted in an earlier year, you reverse that deduction in the year you receive them back.
If you live outside the Netherlands, you only qualify for the deduction if you are a qualifying foreign taxpayer (kwalificerend buitenlands belastingplichtige). If you stop being a Dutch resident taxpayer before benefits have started, an amount of at least the premiums you deducted counts as box 1 income just before you leave. This goes into a protective assessment (conserverende aanslag). This does not apply once benefits have started. We are not tax advisers. Your accountant or tax adviser handles your return. We check that the policy is the kind that can qualify: periodic benefits, not a lump sum, with a qualifying insurer.
Want help comparing disability cover options?
We look at your situation, compare premium and terms across insurers, and tell you if you do not need a policy.
What should I check in the policy besides the premium?
The definition of disability matters most. Own-occupation cover (beroepsarbeidsongeschiktheid) looks at whether you can still do your own job. Suitable-work cover (passende arbeid) looks at whether you could do other work that fits your education and experience, so the benefit can be lower or stop while you cannot do your own job. Assessment based on your own occupation is the most generous criterion for you. With TAF's InkomenZeker AOV, the insurer assesses your first year of disability on your own occupation, unless you stop your business or sell your shares in that year without the insurer's consent. After the first year, you can choose suitable-work assessment for a lower premium, but for some physically demanding or creative occupations, this is the only option. We read the definition first, then the premium.
The waiting period (eigenrisicoperiode) is how long you wait after becoming unable to work before payment starts. Check when the clock starts; with some insurers only from the day you see a doctor about it, which can make weeks of difference. A longer waiting period lowers the premium, but you bridge it yourself.
You choose an end age, usually around your state pension (AOW) age. Benefit duration is a separate choice: some policies pay until the end age, others for at most one, two or five years.
Some policies pay the agreed amount whatever your actual loss of income (a fixed-sum policy, such as Interpolis AOV Kort). Others check: Movir's Momentum Schade AOV assesses after one year of disability whether you actually lost income, and the benefit can be lowered.
Insurers base the insured amount on income you can evidence. Interpolis AOV Kort looks at the average over three years unless there are special circumstances, and insures at most 90% of that average at the start.
I run my business through a Dutch BV. What is different for me as a director?
As a DGA (directeur-grootaandeelhouder, a director who owns the company), insurers such as Interpolis and Avéro Achmea only accept you if the Dutch tax authorities do not treat you as an employee for employee insurance schemes; they state this in their terms. We check this before anything else.
Absence insurance (verzuimverzekering) of your own BV normally does not cover you as DGA. It is for staff with employment contracts, and a.s.r., Avéro Achmea and Turien exclude the DGA as defined in the Regeling aanwijzing directeur-grootaandeelhouder 2016. If the voting rules in your articles mean you can be dismissed against your will, you are not a DGA in that sense and the answer can differ; some insurers ask for a ruling from the tax authorities when you report sick.
For a DGA the insured income is the taxable salary from your own BV, in most policies plus the share of the BV's profit that is attributable to you. De Goudse, Movir and Allianz calculate it this way. Interpolis uses the gross salary agreed with your BV plus work-related pay such as a profit share or management fee, and counts structural dividend only if you actually work for the BV.
The Wet BAZ would not apply to a DGA. More detail on the director's side is on our page on disability insurance for the DGA (in Dutch).
Will my health history stop me from getting cover?
Applying for disability insurance means filling in a health declaration, which goes directly to the insurer's medical adviser and not to us. The outcome is the insurer's decision. We guide you through the declaration, explain what the result means for your cover, ask for a second opinion if needed and see whether another insurer judges it better.
If you switch from an existing policy, you must complete a new health declaration. This does not always work in your favour. If your current policy is suitable, we say so.
What does your advice cost, and why is there a monthly fee?
Dutch law bans commission on an individual disability policy (AOV): an adviser may not receive a commission from the insurer for it. With car or home insurance the insurer pays the broker a share of the premium every year, and that pays for the ongoing work. With disability insurance that is not allowed, while the same ongoing work exists. So the monthly fee is not an extra on top of the policy: it is the normal work of any adviser, made visible instead of hidden in the premium.
Examples of that ongoing work:
- Every year a disability questionnaire by email, so your cover stays current.
- When your occupation, income or circumstances change, we arrange the amendment.
- If you cannot work, we guide the claim, prepare you for the meeting with the insurer's labour expert (arbeidsdeskundige) and check the amounts paid.
- Every three years we look at whether switching insurers would gain you anything.
The amounts: € 995 one-off (€ 500 for the advice, € 495 for arranging the policy), then € 17.35 a month for the aftercare subscription. The subscription is indexed yearly to the consumer price index and runs for as long as we manage your policy. Both amounts are VAT-exempt.
We receive nothing from the insurer, and your premium goes to the insurer directly. The introductory conversation is without obligation. Before any work starts you sign an agreement for services with the fee in it, so you know the fee before we start.
Frequently asked questions
Do you offer short-term and long-term disability insurance? What if an accident stops me working? +
Yes, in the sense that you choose how long a policy pays: some policies pay until your end age, others for at most one, two or five years. A disability policy pays after an accident as well as after illness. You also choose the waiting period, the time between becoming unable to work and the first payment, and we match that to your savings and fixed costs.
Do I need disability insurance if I have savings? +
If you have enough savings or a partner with a solid income to absorb a long period without work, you may not need disability insurance. We only advise a policy if it fits.
Is my employer's disability cover enough, or do I need individual (WIA excess) insurance? +
Usually a private disability policy is not the answer for an employee. Your employer continues at least 70% of your (capped) wage for up to 104 weeks, then UWV assesses you under the WIA, and below 35% disabled there is no WIA benefit at all. Your employer may already have WGA gap or WIA excess cover on top of that, and buying more on top can mean paying for a benefit you never receive. So first check the employee brochure or certificate of the WIA insurance and your payslip, or ask HR. More on our page about the WIA for employees.
Can I insure myself with UWV instead of buying a private policy? +
Sometimes. Voluntary insurance with UWV is the only public alternative, for Ziektewet sickness benefit and WIA. Both require living in the Netherlands. If you leave employment and become self-employed, apply for both within 13 weeks after compulsory cover ends. Cover starts the day after it ended. Both require one year of uninterrupted cover immediately before compulsory cover ended. Gaps up to 60 days do not interrupt it. Someone who was employed for two years meets this condition; missing the 13 weeks usually costs access. If you stay partly employed, there is no 13-week deadline, but you need three years of prior compulsory cover.
Is there a disability policy I can take with me if we move abroad? +
It depends on the insurer. Interpolis AOV Kort is written for self-employed people who are liable for Dutch income tax, and Movir wants to know if you go abroad for longer than six months or move abroad, and may end the policy if you live abroad. We check each insurer's terms on this before you sign, and if you move while we manage your policy, we work out with the insurer whether the cover can stay dormant or should end.
Does my policy keep paying if I go abroad while I am unable to work? +
Movir requires permission before you go abroad while you are unable to work, otherwise you may lose the benefit for the time abroad. Interpolis wants you to contact them before you go abroad for more than a month, and you may have to travel to the Netherlands, or to a partner abroad that Interpolis appoints, for an assessment at your own cost. Allianz can decide not to cover you while abroad if it thinks leaving could worsen your condition, and does not pay for a worsening that happens abroad. Each insurer's rules are different; we check the terms before you sign.
What is a waiting period, and which one should I choose? +
The waiting period (eigenrisicoperiode) is how long after becoming unable to work you wait before benefits start. A longer waiting period lowers the premium considerably: in our own calculation, going from 30 days to a year took roughly a fifth to a third off. We match the waiting period to your savings and fixed costs.
What is the difference between a broodfonds and disability insurance? +
A broodfonds is not insurance but a donation circle: business owners who give each other money when one of them is ill. According to BroodfondsMakers and KVK those donations last at most two years per illness, a limit that comes from the circle's own regulations, not from law. A disability policy can run until your end age, and the two can be combined.
Am I covered by the absence insurance of my own BV? +
Usually not. A BV's absence insurance (verzuimverzekering) covers continued pay for staff with an employment contract, and a.s.r., Avéro Achmea and Turien exclude the DGA explicitly, referring to the Regeling aanwijzing directeur-grootaandeelhouder 2016. For your own income a private disability policy remains the route.
Can the whole process be done in English? +
We advise throughout the Netherlands and in English. Our fact-find form and services agreement are available in English. The policy terms of Interpolis, Movir and Allianz that we quote on this page are written in Dutch, so we go through what matters in them with you in English.
Can you review a disability policy I already have? +
Yes. We read your current policy on the definition of disability, the waiting period, the insured amount, the benefit duration and the end age, and compare it with what the market offers now. Switching means a new health declaration, so if your policy is fine we say so.
Is AOV tax deductible in the Netherlands? +
Yes. Premiums you pay yourself for private AOV with periodic benefits for invalidity, illness or accident, payable to you, are fully deductible in box 1, if you pay them to an insurer that qualifies under Dutch tax law or to UWV. If the policy pays out, the benefits count as taxable box 1 income. You cannot deduct premiums for lump-sum policies, premiums your employer already took into account when withholding payroll tax, or premiums for compulsory Ziektewet and WIA. If you live outside the Netherlands, you only qualify for the deduction if you are a qualifying foreign taxpayer. If you stop being a Dutch resident taxpayer before benefits have started, an amount of at least the premiums you deducted counts as box 1 income just before you leave, in a protective assessment (conserverende aanslag).
What are your fees, and is the first consultation without obligation? +
Dutch law bans commission on an individual disability policy (AOV), so we receive nothing from the insurer and you pay us directly. Our fee is € 995 one-off (€ 500 for the advice, € 495 for arranging the policy) and € 17.35 a month for the aftercare subscription, both VAT-exempt. The introductory conversation is without obligation, and before any work starts you sign an agreement with the fee in it.
What does the monthly service fee cover in practice? +
Dutch law bans commission on an individual disability policy (AOV). With car or home insurance the insurer pays the broker a share of the premium every year for the ongoing work; with disability insurance that is not allowed, while the same work exists. That work includes a yearly questionnaire so your cover stays current, amending the policy when your occupation or income changes, and, if you cannot work, guiding the claim, preparing you for the meeting with the insurer's labour expert and checking the amounts paid. The fee is € 17.35 a month, indexed yearly to the consumer price index, for as long as we manage your policy.
What is occupational disability? +
Occupational disability (beroepsarbeidsongeschiktheid) means you can no longer do your own occupation. Own-occupation cover pays on that basis, the most generous criterion for you. Suitable-work cover (passende arbeid) asks whether you could do other work fitting your education and experience. Under that cover, benefits can fall or stop while you cannot do your own job. With TAF's InkomenZeker AOV, the insurer assesses your first year of disability on your own occupation, unless you stop your business or sell your shares in that year without the insurer's consent. After the first year, you can choose suitable-work assessment for a lower premium, but for some physically demanding or creative occupations, this is the only option. For the WIA, an insurance doctor at UWV records what you can still do. A labour expert finds jobs within those limits, then UWV compares what you could earn with your old wage.
Does disability insurance cover mental health conditions such as burnout? +
It can, but burnout is not named as such in the terms we quote here. Under the Interpolis AOV and AOV Kort terms of October 2026, a depression or another psychological disorder described in the DSM can count, if a doctor establishes it as a medically objectifiable disorder that limits you in your work, you are at least 25% unable to work and the cause is not excluded on your policy schedule. With TAF InkomenZeker AOV you can leave psychological complaints out for a lower premium. If they are insured, you must be treated by a psychologist or psychiatrist (the intake does not count) and the condition must be definitively diagnosed by an independent psychologist or psychiatrist appointed by the insurer.
Can the benefit be indexed, and what does that cost? +
Yes, as an option stated on your policy schedule; without it, your benefit stays the same. Under the Interpolis AOV terms of October 2026, the benefit rises every full year from your first day unable to work, with the price index (never more than 4% a year, and it does not fall when the index falls) or with a fixed percentage on the policy schedule. Movir Momentum Schade AOV (terms 2025/1) indexes the insured amount every year, or only while you are unable to work, and if the insured amount rises, so does your premium. What it costs differs per insurer and is part of the premium: the premium examples earlier on this page were calculated with a benefit rising 3% a year.
What does "own risk insurance" mean? +
The term has two meanings in Dutch disability insurance. For your AOV, the own risk period (eigenrisicoperiode) is the wait before payments start. A longer wait lowers premiums, but you bridge it yourself. Some insurers count only from the day you see a doctor about it. An employer can become eigenrisicodrager for the WGA and the Ziektewet, and it can choose for each separately. It pays those benefits itself instead of leaving them to UWV, often with a private insurance behind it. Benefit levels and duration stay unchanged. See our page on eigenrisicodrager WGA (in Dutch).
What insurance is best for disability? +
There is no single best policy; the right one depends on your situation. We compare almost all insurers and read definitions before premiums. Check whether cover assesses your own occupation or suitable work: suitable-work benefits can fall or stop. Choose your end age and benefit duration separately. Check whether payments are fixed sums or depend on income loss. Moving-abroad rules differ by insurer and product. In our calculation on 22 August 2026 (same profile, same settings, in the comparison tool we use), the most expensive insurer charged 3.7 to 4.5 times the cheapest in the first year. Not every product accepts every occupation.
What are the disability benefits available in the Netherlands? +
The public scheme is built for employees. Their employer continues at least 70% of the capped wage for up to 104 weeks, and UWV then assesses them under the WIA: below 35% disabled means no benefit; 35% to 80% means the WGA; 80% to 100% and durable means the IVA. As a freelancer you are not compulsorily insured for the WIA or the Ziektewet, and as a DGA not for the WIA, so there is no automatic public benefit. The public alternative is voluntary insurance with UWV, with conditions and a 13-week deadline; a DGA can insure voluntarily for the WIA. The Wet BAZ was still a bill on 7 October 2026 and would not apply to a DGA.
What is the most disability will pay per month? +
There is no single maximum. For employees, the WIA counts salary only up to the maximum daily wage: € 309.91 gross a day as of 1 July 2026, including holiday pay. It is adjusted every 1 January and 1 July. So a high earner gets a benefit on part of the salary only; the IVA is 75% of that capped monthly wage. On your income as a freelancer, or as a DGA in the legal sense, you have no WIA cover unless you insured voluntarily with UWV. With a private policy the limit is what you insure, based on income you can evidence: Interpolis AOV Kort initially insures at most 90% of your three-year average, unless special circumstances apply. For DGAs, De Goudse, Movir and Allianz count taxable BV salary plus attributable profit.
Are the premiums on this page current? +
The premiums and examples are our own calculation on 22 August 2026 in the comparison tool we use. These are indicative only: insurers change rates regularly, and you should have your own premium calculated.
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