Frequently Asked Questions

I received a letter from CAK, what should I do?
What happens after you applied?
I feel sick (nausea). What do I do? Who do I call or see?
Who can I contact in the evening, night or in the weekend, when the general practicioner is not available?
How to find a general practitioner (“Huisarts”)?
Do I have to change my insurance when I start an internship or startworking?
Do I have to change my insurance when I start working for Flex Delft or have a job besides my study?
What happens if I do not pay the premium (on time)?
Is International Insurances an insurance company?
How can I cancel my student insurance when I leave the Netherlands?
Which address should I use to fill in the form and how do I pay for the insurance?
Which advantages do you have with our private insurances? Please pay attention.
What to do when I change address?

I received a letter from CAK, what should I do?

What you have to do depends on your situation.

 

When you have no income.

When you are an international student, researcher, visitor or family member and have no income in the Netherlands, and this is the first letter you received from the CAK stating that your are not insured (https://www.svb.nl/en/the-wlz-scheme/the-cak-says-that-you-are-not-insured), you have to ask the SVB to do an assessment.

 

How to ask for an assessment, follow the link.

https://www.svb.nl/en/the-wlz-scheme/manage-your-affairs-online/request-an-assessment-of-your-Wlz-insurance-position
The CAK mentioned this in the letter as well.

 

Once the SVB has received your assessment request, they will contact the CAK to make sure your case is put “on hold” until the SVB has decided the outcome. It is important that you respond to the letter from the CAK as quickly as possible, even if you think you have received it in error, otherwise you risk being fined. You must prove to the “SVB” that you are exempted from the obligation to have the Dutch public health insurance. The assessment with SVB takes a maximum from 8 weeks.

 

Most likely you are insured in the Netherlands, and have a private health insurance or you have a valid EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) with medical coverage in case of emergency. International students, researchers, visitors or family members without income in the Netherlands and who are here for a short period, can stay in the Netherlands, most of the time, with a less expensive private health insurance. They are exempted from the obligation of having the Dutch public health Insurance. This is all due to laws and
rules, SVB will during the assessment judge your personal specific situation.

 

When you have income.

When you do have income besides your study or research you need to apply for the Dutch Basic health insurance as soon as possilbe. Please send to us an e-mail or give us a call. We will inform you/advice you further. When this is the second letter from the CAK, you wil have received a fine as well. Best to email us or give us a call. We can help you/guide you.

 

What happens after you applied?
After applying for our student insurance you will receive an automatic confirmation by email from Insure To Study. This confirmation will also contain a temporay policy (‘Pre-polis’). If you didn’t receive it, please check your spam folder.

 

You will receive the original policy and all relevant documents by email within 2 working days. After arriving in the Netherlands, and we know, your Dutch address, we will send you everything (including the insurance card) via regular mail.

 

I feel sick (nausea). What do I do? Who do I call or see?
In the Netherlands the first one to see, when you don’t feel well is a general practitioner (GP). He/she will advise you on what to do, look for the cause and suggest treatments. You need a referral from a general practitioner for medicines, a medical test or to see a specialist in the hospital.

 

In the Netherlands, you can’t go directly to the hospital. In case of a real emergency the emergency number is 112.

 

Also please see the question “Who can I contact in the evening, night or weekend when the general practitioner is not available?”

 

Who can I contact in the evening, night or in the weekend, when the general
practicioner is not available?
When you feel sick during your GP’s of duty hours you can call him/she to get the details of an on-duty GP service. In every city there is a GP service website/phone number you can call. During a brief telephone interview the GP service will determine if it is necessary for you to visit the GP service (called huisartsenpost). For Delft for example: huisartsenpost Delft.

Website: www.huisartsenpostdelft.nl

Phone number: 015-2511930

 

How to find a general practitioner (“Huisarts”)?
TU Delft students please visit www.sgzstudent.nl. ‘SGZ student’ and your student insurance company ‘Insure to Study’ are working closely together. Upon presentation of your insurance card, which you will receive after you applied for the student insurance, SGZ will send your invoice directly to the insurance company.

 

It goes without saying you can see a GP of your choice. Perform a Google search: huisarts, streetname, city. Your search result will list all general practitioners in your area. It is not uncommon the GP will bill you during your visit. It is customary to pay upfront and get reimbursed afterwards by the insurance company.

 

You can also visit the following website with information about the general practitioners in Delft: https://www.zorgkaartnederland.nl/huisarts/delft

 

Do I have to change my insurance when I start an internship or start working?
International interns receiving at least the Dutch minimum wage that applies to their specific situation, are considered to be insured under the Dutch Health Insurance Act. This means they are legally required to take out Dutch basic health insurance. If the internship pay is less than this minimum wage, the interns are not allowed to take out a Dutch basic health insurance.

 

If the latter is the case, they can stay insured with the health insurer in their home country or take out a private international health insurance. Students from the EU/EEA may be eligible to receive a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which covers their necessary medical costs during their stay. They are advised to check this with the health insurer in their home country before departure. For the calculation of the minimum wage that applies to a specific situation, please see the following tool (only available in Dutch).

 

When you have any doubts, please send to us your working contract and we will check it for you.

 

Do I have to change my insurance when I start working for Flex Delft or have a job besides my study?
When you work for Flex Delft, for example as a teaching assistant, you always have to change to the Dutch basic health insurance. Even when you work only a few hours in the month. The Dutch basic health insurance has to start from the moment your employment contract starts. Even if you are in a part-time job besides your study, for example when you work in a restaurant or shop, you need to change your insurance. For more information or help, please send us an email.

 

What happens if I do not pay the premium (on time)?
The insurance company Insure To Study will inform you that you missed a payment, please check your email spam folder. Failure to pay the premium after 3 email warnings the insurance company informed you about the missing payment will result in sending your file to a collectors agency and your insurance will be suspended.

 

Is International Insurances an insurance company?
International Insurances is powered by Heilbron. Heilbron is an insurance advisor and specialist in health insurances. We offer insurances from Insure To Study, which is an insurance company.

 

How can I cancel my student insurance when I leave the Netherlands?
Please send us an email with a copy of your return ticket home and a copy of the removal from the municipality.

 

Which address should I use to fill in the form and how do I pay for the insurance?
When you apply, please fill in your current address, your address in country of origin. In the case, you already know your address in the Netherlands, you can fill it in on the form. When you don’t know your address in the Netherlands yet, you can inform us about this after arriving in the Netherlands. At the moment you apply, we will ask you to pay the premium for the first months. Therefore it is better to apply when you know for sure you will fly to the Netherlands.

 

Which advantages do you have with our private insurances? Please pay attention.
As these insurances are special for TU Delft students, guest researchers without income, visitors and their family members , pre-existing conditions are included. Medical coverages after getting the coronavirus are also included. As the coronavirus is qualified from the WHO (World Health Organisation) as an epidemic and pandemic, other insurance companies may exclude coverage in case of an epidemic and pandemic. Please be aware of this.

 

What to do when I change address?
It is very important that you change your address at the municipality. In this case the government agencies like the CAK, tax services etc. can always reach you. They use the addresses from the municipality. It is your responsibility to update your address and to be able to receive the letters send to you. When you are not home for a longer period,
have someone take care of your mail!