From Seguridad Social to AOV

When I moved from Spain to the Netherlands, there were plenty of things I expected to be different: the weather, the language and other cultural aspects.
What I did not immediately expect was how differently the Dutch system treats self-employed people when they become ill.

In Spain, as an autónomo, you pay contributions into Seguridad Social. Those contributions do more than provide access to certain social benefits. They also include protection for situations in which you are temporarily unable to work because of illness or an accident.

So when I started looking at self-employment in the Netherlands, I naturally assumed there would be something similar. Begin Europe and all.

For many Dutch freelancers and self-employed professionals, protecting your income when you become unable to work is something you currently have to arrange yourself. One of the main ways of doing this is through an arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering, usually shortened to AOV.

And if you have recently arrived from Spain, or another country with a more integrated social-security system, this is something worth understanding.

Your Dutch health insurance does not replace your income

This is probably the most important distinction to understand.

When you live or work in the Netherlands, you will normally have Dutch health insurance: your zorgverzekering.

It pays for medical care covered by your policy.

But imagine you are a self-employed graphic designer, consultant, electrician or software developer and you become seriously ill. Your doctor and hospital bills may be covered through your health insurance, but that does not mean somebody continues paying your monthly income.

Your rent or mortgage still needs to be paid.

Your groceries still need to be bought.

And your business and personal expenses do not suddenly disappear.

For an employee, there are statutory protections around illness and long-term incapacity for work. For a self-employed person, the situation is quite different.

At the moment, Dutch entrepreneurs are generally not legally required to have an AOV, although the government is working on legislation that may change this in the future.

That means you currently need to decide for yourself how much of this risk you are prepared to take.

What exactly is an AOV?

AOV stands for arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering, which translates roughly as disability insurance or income protection insurance.

The principle is fairly straightforward.

You pay an insurance premium. If you become unable to work because of an illness or accident and meet the conditions of your policy, the insurer pays you an income.

How much you receive, when payments start and how long they continue depend on the insurance you choose.

This is where AOV policies can become quite different from one another.

You normally make choices regarding matters such as:

• the amount of income you want to insure;

• how long you can manage without receiving benefits;

• how long you want the insurance to continue;

• what happens if you are partially rather than completely unable to work;

• and under which circumstances the insurer considers you unable to perform your work.

For that reason, comparing AOV policies purely on price is probably not the best strategy.

How much does AOV cost?

This was one of my first questions.

And unfortunately there is no single answer.

According to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK), AOV premiums are often somewhere between €100 and €300 per month, although your actual premium can be lower or considerably higher depending on your situation.

The price is affected by factors including:

Your profession

Someone doing physically demanding construction work generally represents a different risk than someone working behind a computer.

Your age

The older you are when taking out insurance, the higher the premium will generally be.

The income you insure

Insuring €2,000 per month obviously costs less than insuring €5,000 per month.

Your waiting period

This is particularly interesting.

You can choose to cover the first period yourself. For example, if you have enough savings to survive for six months without an income, you could choose an AOV that only starts paying after those six months.

A longer waiting period generally reduces the premium.

That creates an interesting possibility for entrepreneurs with sufficient savings: rather than insuring every possible short-term illness, you can use your own financial buffer for the first few months and insure yourself primarily against the really serious scenario — being unable to work for several years.

A practical example

Suppose you earn €4,500 per month from your business and your household needs at least €2,500 per month to comfortably cover its essential expenses.

You also have €20,000 in accessible savings.

Do you really need an AOV paying €4,500 from the first month of illness?

Perhaps not.

You might decide that you can cover the first six months yourself and that an insurance payment of €2,500 or €3,000 per month would provide enough long-term security.

Someone with no savings, three children and a large mortgage might reach a completely different conclusion.

That is why the right AOV is not simply about insuring your salary. It is about asking:

How much money would I actually need every month if I could no longer work?

There can be a tax advantage

Another useful detail is that premiums for certain AOV policies with periodic benefits can be deductible from your Dutch taxable income.

They are generally treated as expenditure for an income provision rather than as a normal business expense. If the premium is deductible, the eventual periodic insurance payments are generally taxable.

This means you should look at the net cost after tax, rather than only at the premium displayed by the insurer.

Your accountant or tax adviser can help determine how this applies to your particular situation.

Do I really need AOV?

This is where things become more personal.

You could decide not to take out insurance at all. Bare in mind that the rules are chaning here. Read more on this page

The Dutch government itself lists several possible ways for self-employed people to protect themselves against loss of income, including private AOV insurance, building your own financial reserves and, in certain situations, voluntary insurance through UWV. Other arrangements such as a schenkkring or crowdsurance can also be used to cover part of the risk.

Personally, I think the easiest way to look at the decision is to imagine one uncomfortable scenario:

What happens if I cannot work for the next three years?

Not three weeks.

Three years.

If your answer is that savings, investments or your partner's income could comfortably support you, you may decide to insure less.

If your answer is that your household would run into financial trouble after four months, the risk suddenly looks very different.

AOV is therefore not only an insurance question. It is part of your overall financial planning.

What about the new mandatory AOV for freelancers?

You may have seen reports that AOV is becoming compulsory for self-employed people in the Netherlands.

That is correct, but it is important to distinguish between government plans and the rules that apply today.

As of August 2026, AOV is not yet compulsory for entrepreneurs. The proposed Wet basisverzekering arbeidsongeschiktheid zelfstandigen (Baz) still has to complete the legislative process. The KVK therefore explicitly states that entrepreneurs currently remain free to decide how they protect themselves against incapacity for work.

Under the government's current proposal, qualifying self-employed entrepreneurs would eventually receive basic protection against long-term incapacity for work.

The proposal presented in 2026 includes a premium of 5.4% of profit, capped at approximately €171 gross per month based on the current calculation, a two-year waiting period and a benefit of up to the minimum wage. Private insurance meeting the required conditions could provide an alternative, while certain groups such as director-major shareholders would fall outside the proposed public scheme. These details can still change before the legislation becomes final.

So I would not postpone thinking about AOV simply because a government scheme is coming.

Even under the current proposal, you would still need to consider how to finance the first two years during which no benefit would be paid.

Coming from Spain, this requires a different mindset

For me, this is perhaps the biggest difference.

In Spain you quickly become accustomed to thinking of Seguridad Social as one system into which you make contributions and from which various forms of social protection can arise.

The Netherlands separates things much more.

You arrange health insurance.

You build your pension.

You think about your financial buffer.

And, as a self-employed person, you currently decide how you want to protect your income against illness or disability.

At first that can feel strange.

But there is also an advantage: you can tailor the protection much more closely to your personal situation.

Someone with substantial savings might choose a long waiting period and relatively inexpensive long-term cover. Someone who is the main income earner for a family may prefer much stronger protection.

The important thing is to make the decision consciously.

Five questions to ask before choosing an AOV

Before requesting quotes, I would write down the answers to these five questions:

1. How much do I really need each month?
   Calculate your essential household expenses rather than automatically insuring your entire current income.

2. How long could I survive without income?
   Your savings determine how much waiting period you can realistically accept.

3. What exactly does the insurer consider “unable to work”?
   Do not assume every insurance policy uses the same definition. Read the conditions carefully.

4. Until what age do I want protection?
   A policy running for a few years is very different from protection continuing towards retirement age.

5. What happens if I can still work partially?
   For many professionals, disability is not simply 0% or 100%. Make sure you understand how partial incapacity is assessed.

And don't hesitate to speak to an independent insurance adviser if the terminology or conditions are unclear.

My biggest lesson

When moving countries, it is easy to assume that familiar systems simply have a different name.

Sometimes they don't.

For Spanish entrepreneurs, the Dutch AOV system is a good example.

Your Dutch zorgverzekering is not the equivalent of all the protection you may associate with Seguridad Social. If you work for yourself, you need to think separately about what happens to your income when illness or an accident prevents you from working.

You might choose a comprehensive AOV.

You might combine a large savings buffer with cheaper long-term insurance.

Or you may decide that your financial circumstances allow you to carry much of the risk yourself.

There is no single solution that is right for every entrepreneur.

But there is one question every self-employed expat in the Netherlands should be able to answer:

If I cannot work tomorrow, who pays my bills?

If you don't know the answer yet, it is probably time to find out.
For my situatation i liked Centraal Beheer but there are many other options as you can find on this page. This is an affiliate link.

This article reflects the situation in the Netherlands as of August 2026 and is intended as general information. Insurance, tax and social-security rules depend on your personal circumstances and can change.