For candidates
Insurance as a self-employed professional in dental care.
Four things need to be in place before your first invoice goes out. This is what each of them does, what the law requires and what is wise — without the sales talk, because we don’t sell insurance.
Incapacity for work: the biggest risk.
If you work with your hands and are laid up, you earn nothing. Disability insurance (an AOV) is not compulsory at the moment — a plan for a compulsory basic policy for the self-employed has been on the table for years, but when and in what form it arrives is not final. Compulsory or not: this is the risk that touches your livelihood, not your margin.
What to compare: the waiting period (how long you bridge yourself), the benefit duration (until when it pays out) and what the insurer means by incapacity for work — your own occupation, or “suitable work”. A broodfonds or schenkkring — Dutch mutual sick-pay circles — can supplement the first months, but covers no long-term incapacity.
Professional liability, legal expenses and the Wkkgz.
Professional liability
Covers harm to patients caused by your professional actions. Practices that hire you ask for it as standard — without this insurance you won’t get to work as a self-employed professional in practice.
Legal expenses
Not compulsory, but worth considering: disputes over invoices or contracts, and support if a disciplinary complaint comes. That last one in particular is the reason for clinicians to look at this seriously.
Wkkgz complaints scheme
As an independent care provider you must have a complaints scheme and be affiliated with a recognised disputes body. This is a legal requirement, not a choice. You can join through your professional association, among other routes.
What salaried employment covers automatically.
For comparison, because this is half of the self-employed-or-salaried calculation: employed by a practice, your pay in case of illness is as a rule (partly) continued for two years, liability towards the patient generally sits with the practice, and pension contributions usually run automatically. Note: a disciplinary complaint is personal and can also hit a salaried clinician — when joining, ask how legal support for that is arranged.
Honestly: we don’t sell insurance and we don’t advise on it. What we do see is what goes wrong when it isn’t arranged — and that a well-organised self-employed professional stands stronger in the rate conversation with practices. For the specifics, get advice from an independent adviser.
The checklist before you start.
AOV or an alternative
Arranged, or a deliberate choice to carry the risk yourself — with a buffer.
Professional liability
Taken out before your first working day as a self-employed professional, not after.
Wkkgz in place
A complaints scheme plus affiliation with a recognised disputes body.
And beyond that: legal expenses insurance considered, and everything you take out priced into your hourly rate. Insurance is not a cost next to your rate — it belongs in it. How that calculation works is in the guide to self-employment or salaried employment.
Frequently asked questions.
Is an AOV compulsory for the self-employed in dental care?
No, not at the moment. A plan for a compulsory basic policy for the self-employed has been on the table for years, but when and in what form it arrives is not final. Compulsory or not: incapacity for work is the biggest financial risk you run as a self-employed professional.
What does an AOV cost?
That depends heavily on your age, your occupation, the waiting period and the benefit duration you choose. We deliberately name no amounts: request several quotes and compare not just the premium, but above all the waiting period, the benefit duration and what the insurer means by incapacity for work.
Am I insured for mistakes in salaried employment?
When you work in the employment of a practice, liability towards the patient as a rule sits with the practice and its insurance. Note: a disciplinary complaint is personal — it can also hit a salaried clinician. When joining, ask how this is arranged.
What exactly does the Wkkgz requirement involve?
As an independent care provider you must have a complaints scheme with a complaints officer and be affiliated with a recognised disputes body. This is a legal requirement, not a choice. You can join through professional associations and specialised providers, among others.
Want to know what your work is worth right now?
Create your anonymous profile. We put your situation next to what practices are paying right now — and your name stays with us until you say yes.