Because of the coronavirus, our employees are temporarily working at home. We have taken this measure to prevent the virus from spreading further and to minimise the health risk to our employees. Especially during these times it is extra important that we stay available to help you. Although our employees work hard every day, sometimes you may have to wait a little longer than you are used to. We ask for your kind understanding.

Questions? Check our contact page.

People with the coronavirus may present with a fever and respiratory problems, like coughing, shortness of breath or pneumonia. The virus can be transmitted from person to person. It is currently assumed that 1 sick person can infect 2 other people on average. The sicker a person is, the more people they might infect.

Source: RIVM

These are the most important measures you can take to prevent the coronavirus from spreading:

• Keep, as much as possible, 1,5 meters distance from each other (also when grocery shopping)
• Stay at home if you have a runny nose or a cough, a sore throat or a fever
• Avoid contact with others (social distancing)
• Work at home as much as possible
• Wash your hands with soap regularly
• Cough and sneeze on the inside of your elbow
• Use paper handkerchiefs
• Do not shake hands

Contact investigation
If someone reports to their doctor with symptoms and the doctor thinks that the patient may have the novel coronavirus, a protocol is put into action. The doctor asks for a test. Meanwhile, the suspect patient is kept in isolation, either at home or at the hospital. If the test comes back positive, the patient remains in isolation and the Municipal Public Health Service (GGD) carries out a so-called contact investigation. All people with whom the patient has been in contact during the infectious period must monitor their health during the incubation period. If they develop symptoms of the disease, they must report this to the GGD. The whole process then starts again from the beginning.

Source: RIVM

Medical contact-based professions are contact-based professions in which care is provided on the basis of health-care laws, or which have to do with blood collection and blood supply.

Medical contact-based professions include, for example, the following health-care providers:
• dentists and orthodontists
• physiotherapists
• paramedics (remedial therapist, speech therapist, occupational therapist and dietician)
• opticians and hearing care professionals
• suppliers of medical appliances

If possible, health-care providers and patients are to maintain a distance of 1.5 metres from each other. In addition, health-care providers only work by appointment. You should therefore first contact your health-care provider to make an appointment. Are you looking for another health-care provider? If so, please refer to the list of contact-based professions excluded from lockdown (Dutch).
Source: RIVM

Hospitals do everything they can to continue to provide care as you are used to. The quality of the care they provide is paramount. A number of hospitals are dealing with quarantined personnel. As a result, there is less staff available at those hospitals. In order to continue all urgent procedures, hospitals sometimes have to cancel planned care. They carefully consider the best solution for each patient. We therefore follow the policy of the hospitals. They keep us informed of current developments.

Good to know
View the 'urgency list of specialist medical care' on the website of the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) for an approximation of when you can return to the hospital for planned care.

If you have any questions, please contact the ZorgConsulent by calling 0800 022 14 50 (toll free) on weekdays from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, choose option 2.

Do you have a fever (above 38c) and respiratory complaints, such as coughing or shortness of breath? And have you been in contact with a patient with the coronavirus or have you been in China (including Hong Kong), Italy, Iran or South Korea in the past 14 days? Contact your doctor by phone.

If you have you visited one of those areas and only have a cold or a mild fever, stay at home and minimise contact with others. You could be experiencing the first symptoms of COVID-19, but it can also be a regular cold. It is not necessary to call your doctor. You should contact your doctor if your symptoms worsen and if you get a fever and respiratory complaints (coughing and shortness of breath).

Source: RIVM

Most children with the coronavirus only present with mild symptoms. They can get infected and may infect others, but they generally do not get seriously ill or stay sick for long.

Source: Dutch Association for Pediatrics (NVK)

Does your child have a (serious) chronic illness? You can find more information about the coronavirus and care-intensive children on the website of the Child and Hospital Foundation (Dutch translation only).

Some municipalities have implemented an emergency ordinance, which means you are no longer permitted to enter your pharmacy. If this is the case in your region, your medicines will be delivered to your house or can be obtained from a medicine safe. If you need medicines, call or email your pharmacy and ask how they will get them to you. Do not go to the pharmacy if you have a cold, cough, or fever.

No signature required on SMR forms
If you would like to send us a smoking cessation (SMR) form via your healthcare provider, a signature from you as the insured is temporarily not required. Your healthcare provider will instead write on the form: 'No signature because of corona'.

Hoarding
If your prescription drugs are used up within 1 or 2 weeks, you can ask for a new supply from your pharmacy. Your pharmacy will dispense a maximum of 3 months’ worth of your medicine to make sure there is enough for everyone.

On mantelzorg.nl you will find the answer to the most frequently asked questions about informal care and corona. For example: is it still wise to visit the person you are caring for? What if their daytime activities suddenly stop? Can you ask the home care organisation to take over some tasks from you? What if the home care organisation asks you to take over tasks from them?

Unable to find the answer to your question? Our ZorgConsulenten are happy to help you. You can reach them on 0800 022 14 50 (free) from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm every working day, choose option 2.

If a certain area has been issued an orange or red travel advice, the Ministry of Foreign Office recommends not travelling to that area. Travelling to countries with a yellow travel advice is considered responsible, but you are still advised to be extra vigilant.

A region is issued an orange (or red) travel advice when it does not have the coronavirus sufficiently under control there, does not welcome Dutch tourists or imposes quarantine on arrival. Which country or region falls into which category can easily be found on nederlandwereldwijd.nl.

An orange or red travel advice does not affect the level or scope of the coverage of your health-care plan. This also applies to the supplementary plans Wereldfit and Superfit. However, we do advise you to follow the travel advice issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

180 days maximum
Please take into account that the maximum insured period abroad of 180 days as per our General rules and regulations always applies, even if you exceed this maximum period due to mandatory quarantine. The situation surrounding the coronavirus can change at any time. In the event of a new outbreak, countries may take strict measures, such as restricting access to certain areas and closing borders. This can go very quickly. It is up to you if you are willing to take the risk.

Zorgassistance emergency centre
Do you unexpectedly need health care or assistance abroad? Please contact our Zorgassistance emergency centre.

Even if you are not infected with the coronavirus, you sometimes have to stay in quarantine. If you have to be quarantined arboad because of the coronavirus, your health-care costs might not be fully eligible for reimbursement. This depends on your situation. Always remember to call the Zorgassistance emergency centre before you incur health-care costs abroad.

Quarantined in hospital
If you are quarantined in a hospital because you have or may have the coronavirus, the basic health-care plan reimburses your health-care costs up to a maximum of the Dutch rate. If you have Wereldfit or Superfit you are covered for the costs of urgent, necessary care that exceed the Dutch rate.

Quarantined elsewhere (because you or your travel companion is infected with the corona virus)
Do you need to be quarantined outside the hospital, e.g. in a hotel? In that case Wereldfit and Superfit sometimes reimburse the extra accomodation costs.
If you miss your flight due to illness or quarantine, Superfit and Wereldfit sometimes reimburse the extra transport costs. This only applies if you are unable to fly for medical reasons, for example because you have been hospitalized or are too ill. If you are denied boarding for safety reasons, for example because you are (presumably) infected with the corona virus, we will not reimburse any additional transport costs.

You can read more about our cover for extra transport and accommodation costs in our General rules and regulations and coverage.

Quarantined elsewhere (without you or your travel companion being infected by the corona vius)
For example, everyone in the hotel where you are staying has to be quarantined preventively because one or more of the guests in the hotel has the corona virus. In that case we will not reimburse the extra accomodation costs. We do not reimburse costs incurred as a result of missing your flight due to this type of quarantine

Early return
Do you have Wereldfit or Superfit? In some cases we will reimburse an early return. Our emergency centre will determine whether repatriation is possible. If you are (presumably) infected with the corona virus, repatriation is not possible. If you arrange transportation to return home or travel to another region yourself, we may not (fully) cover the costs of that transport.

A negative travel advice is not ground for repatriation. Please note that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not repatriate any more travellers either. In such a situation, we advise you to contact your travel organisation. They may be able to help you.

Zorgassistance emergency centre
Do you unexpectedly need health care or assistance abroad? Please contact our Zorgassistance emergency centre.

Do you have to get yourself tested abroad on the advice of a doctor or the authorities because you are showing symptoms of the corona virus? Your expenses will be reimbursed by the basic insurance up to a maximum of the Dutch rate (€ 65). Our supplementary plans Wereldfit and Superfit also reimburse the costs that exceed the Dutch rate. If you have no complaints but want to get yourself tested for the corona virus, the test is not covered.

No, you cannot save your remaining cover for next year. The cover of supplementary health-care plans is valid for one calendar year. Would you like to change your supplementary plan? Or cancel it? Any change will take effect from 1 January of the following year.

The basic health-care plan covers regular care in the Netherlands to treat of the coronavirus, even if you incur health-care costs during home quarantine. Please note that you need to pay health-care costs to the maximum of the annual excess yourself.

Your doctor decides whether a check is required. If it is, the basic health-care plan will reimburse the costs. Keep in mind that the costs of this preventive check may be offset against your excess.

If you get yourself tested for the corona virus at your own request without having any complaints, the test is not covered. This also applies to a mandatory corona test done before being allowed into another country.