by Essi Koskela

18 Nov 2021. “We in the Netherlands like insurances, we don’t like to be surprised.” – Tim Dircken

In the third part of the tíc financial webinar series, a small audience gathered in front of their laptops to hear about a subject that even the presenter named as his least favorite on the financial series: Insurances in the Netherlands.

Starting with the main message, the Dutch insurances don’t differ that much from other countries and pretty much anything can be insured. We covered the basics in about half an hour and then proceeded into an engaged Q&A session, where participants got the chance to get their fears professionally assessed from a financial perspective. Speaking on the behalf of participants, we were positively surprised by how interesting the webinar was.

Our Presenter

Tim Dircken, fellow tíc member and financial advisor from Dircken and Partners Financial Services, bravely provided answers to all our questions on private and business insurances, subjects ranging from property and vehicle to health insurance packages. Not only did he talk about the available insurances and how to get them, but he also discussed the business models of insurance companies. I had never thought of how this has a direct effect on the available options and prices.

From worst-case scenarios to morbid topics

“It’s called life insurance, but maybe death insurance would have been a better word […] So far everybody is still dying so no problem there.” -Tim Dircken

Although property and car insurance may be similar to other countries, we learned important details on coverage. For example, if you drop your phone and break it, it is better to do it at home than on the street. When we got to health and life insurance it started to get more specific to the Dutch system, even featuring rules about taxes. There are actually two common types of life insurances, the traditional option and one covering funeral costs. Interestingly, the insurance for funeral-costs is the cheaper the earlier you get it. Combining this fact with Dutch practicality and frugalitity basically means that it is common to offer the funeral cost insurance for babies when they are born. Sounds cruel, doesn’t it? A message for those past middle-age and only learning about this insurance: don’t bother. The insurance will probably cost you more than your burial.

“If you don’t die before the set date, all the money you paid [for the life insurance] is lost. But on other hand, you’re alive, so that’s also nice.” -Tim Dircken

Keep calm and get insured!

We are eagerly looking forward to the last parts of the financial series, to be organised in the first quarter and third quarters of 2022.

Feel free to contact tíc for access to the webinar material, in case this post sparked your curiosity on the exciting topic of insurances.

Look our for the rest of our Financial Series Webinars!

• Mortgages
• Pension system