Disability insurance (AOV) calculator
As a freelancer in the Netherlands you get no sick pay and no Ziektewet. If you can't work, your income stops and your fixed costs don't. Work out how much cover you need — and how long your savings last.
Your personal costs: rent or mortgage, groceries, health insurance premium.
Costs that keep running while you're ill at home: insurance, subscriptions, a leased car.
The gap between falling ill and your first payout. A longer wait cuts the premium, but you fund those months yourself.
What you're short each month
€2,900.00This is your net need. An AOV payout is taxed in box 1, so insure a higher gross amount.
Your savings fall 1.2 months short: a gap of €3,574.95 before any payout starts.
- Waiting period
- 3 mo
- Your savings last
- 1.7 mo
- Uncovered period
- 1.2 mo
- Shortfall over that period
- €3,574.95
An indication based on your own numbers. This is not a premium quote and not financial advice — premiums depend on your age, occupational class, end age and medical acceptance.
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What to know about AOV as a freelancer in the Netherlands
Self-employed people in the Netherlands have no right to continued pay or to the Ziektewet. If illness or an accident stops you working, your revenue stops — your fixed costs don't. An arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering (AOV) pays a monthly benefit in that case. This tool deliberately does not quote a premium: that depends on your age, occupational class, chosen end age and medical acceptance, and an invented number helps nobody. What we can honestly calculate: how much benefit you need, and whether your savings survive the waiting period.
How much benefit do you need?
Add the business costs that keep running while you're ill to your personal costs, then subtract what your partner brings in. That's your net need. Two things to watch. An AOV payout is taxed in box 1, so the amount you insure has to be higher than that net need. And insurers typically cover at most around 80% of your income — you can't insure yourself richer than you are.
The waiting period is your biggest lever
The eigenrisicotermijn (waiting period) is the gap between falling ill and your first payout. Pick 30 days and the premium is far higher than at 365 days — but with a long wait you fund those months out of your own pocket. That's why the tool counts your savings: a cheap premium with an empty buffer isn't cover, it's a postponed problem.
Premium deductible, payout taxed
An AOV premium is deductible in box 1 as an income-provision expense (uitgave voor inkomensvoorzieningen), and in return the payout is taxed as income — fiscal symmetry. Note that this holds for a periodic benefit. If you instead choose a lump sum, the premium is not deductible, the payout is not taxed in box 1, but the money then counts towards your box 3 wealth. The 2026 box 1 rates are 35.75% (up to €38,883), 37.56% (up to €78,426) and 49.50% above that. In the second bracket, €100 of premium costs you roughly €62 net. So size the insured amount in gross terms, not the net figure the tool shows above.
Is AOV becoming mandatory? (Wet BAZ)
In March 2026 the cabinet submitted the BAZ bill (Basisverzekering Arbeidsongeschiktheid Zelfstandigen, a mandatory basic disability insurance) to the Tweede Kamer. Both chambers still have to vote on it. Entry into force is planned from 2030, and with its two-year waiting period the first payouts follow no earlier than 2032. What matters if you're choosing now: there will be a reference date (peildatum). If you already hold an AOV that meets the conditions before that date — pays out on disability, runs until at least age 55, in your own name — you can be exempted from the mandatory scheme. It is not passed law yet, so check the current status before relying on it.
Alternatives and combinations
A broodfonds (schenkkring) is not insurance but a group of entrepreneurs who make each other gifts during illness, usually for a maximum of two years. Hence the popular combination: a broodfonds for the first two years plus an AOV with a 730-day waiting period for everything after — that long wait cuts the premium sharply. Just left employment? You can take out UWV's voluntary insurance within thirteen weeks, with no medical screening. Miss that window and the private market is your only route.
Frequently asked questions
Is disability insurance mandatory for freelancers in the Netherlands?
Not right now. The BAZ bill for a mandatory basic scheme has been with the Tweede Kamer since March 2026 and entry into force is planned from 2030. If you already hold a qualifying AOV before the reference date, you can be exempted.
How much benefit should I insure?
Your personal costs plus the business costs that keep running, minus your partner's income. Insure a gross amount, because the payout is taxed in box 1. Insurers usually go up to around 80% of your income.
Which waiting period should I pick?
As long as your savings can carry. Every extra month of waiting lowers your premium, but you fund those months yourself. The calculator above shows where your buffer runs out.
Is the AOV premium tax deductible?
Yes, as an income-provision expense in box 1. In return the payout is taxed. At the 37.56% rate (2026), €100 of premium costs you roughly €62 net.
Broodfonds or AOV?
A broodfonds is not insurance but a gifting circle, usually paying out for two years at most. If you're permanently unable to work, you're empty-handed after that. Many freelancers therefore combine a broodfonds with an AOV that has a long waiting period.
Sources and editorial note
Published by taskrik · last checked 28 July 2026. Every factual claim on this page rests on the sources below.
- KVK: de verplichte AOV voor ondernemers uitgelegd
- Ondernemersplein (KVK): arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering
- UWV: vrijwillige verzekering als u zzp’er bent
- Rijksoverheid: zelfstandigen zonder personeel (zzp)
General information, not tax or insurance advice. Rules and rates change; check the source if in doubt.
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