Accidents

Frequently asked questions about accidents

• You’ve been in an accident or incident for which you’ve incurred health-care costs. What should do you?

  It’s important that you report the accident or incident to us as soon as possible. You can contact our Verhaalszaken (third-party claims) department for this (by telephone: +31 30 639 62 64 or by email: verhaalszaken@onvz.nl). A five-year time limit generally applies, but the sooner you report the accident, the greater the chances that we’ll be able to recover your health-care costs successfully. Even if you had an accident a few years ago that you never reported to us, we’d still like to ask you to report this. We might also be able to recover these health-care costs successfully.

• Will reporting an accident or incident affect the coverage of your health-care plan?

  No. ONVZ is required to reimburse all claims in accordance with the policy terms & conditions. Where applicable, your excess and possibly a personal contribution will be deducted from the reimbursed amount, even if the claim is the result of an accident or incident with a liable third party. Here ONVZ follows the rules laid down in the Zorgverzekeringswet [Dutch Health Insurance Act].

• What about paying and recovering your excess following an accident or incident?

  The Verhaalszaken department only recovers the health-care costs that are covered and reimbursed by ONVZ. Your excess and any non-covered health-care costs are not paid by ONVZ, so we don’t recover them from the liable party either. These are also known as personal injury costs. It doesn’t always mean that you’ll have to pay for your treatment yourself. You can personally recover these costs from the liable party. In order to have yourThe Verhaalszaken department only recovers the health-care costs that are covered and reimbursed by ONVZ. Your excess and any non-covered health-care costs are not paid by ONVZ, so we don’t recover them from the liable party either. These are also known as personal injury costs. It doesn’t always mean that you’ll have to pay for your treatment yourself. You can personally recover these costs from the liable party. In order to have your personal injury costs reimbursed, you can contact your legal expenses insurer or a different legal representative.

• If you don’t have legal expenses insurance, what can you do?

  Please contact the Verhaalszaken department if you don’t have legal expenses insurance and still want to submit a personal injury claim to the liable other party. You may be eligible for our Aid for third-party claims service. Verhaalszaken will be happy to review the options with you.

• Do you require a supplementary plan to make use of the aid for third-party claims service?

  Yes, you do require a supplementary plan in order to make use of ONVZ’s aid for third-party claims service.

• Why is it important that you tell us that your health-care costs were incurred due to an accident?

  ONVZ tries to minimise health-care costs every year and recovering health-care costs helps with this, as ONVZ also pays the health-care costs resulting from an accident or incident for which someone else is liable. If another party is liable for creating these health-care costs, we can recover the amount paid to cover these health-care costs from the liable party. This enables us to minimise the health-care costs and at the same time ensure that the premium for all our insured persons remains as affordable as possible.

• An error was made during a medical treatment. Which steps can you take to get help?

  A medical error can have a massive impact, both physically, emotionally and financially, for example, if you’re no longer able to work, or can only work part-time, if your doctor doesn’t provide a statement about what exactly happened or if proof is needed as to which party is liable for reimbursing the personal injury costs. Sometimes it’s not immediately clear whether a case involves a medical complication or an attributable error. As a client it can be difficult to prove that an error was made, as you’re not a doctor after all. You can always contact our Verhaalszaken (third-party claims) department to discuss the situation. We’d also like to refer you to the Slachtofferwijzer (Guide for Victims) and Slachtofferhulp (Victim Support) websites for practical, emotional, legal and financial support.

• Why did you receive a letter from the Verhaalszaken department and what should you do?

  ONVZ uses a system that actively tracks down claims which in practice often turn out to be the result of an accident or incident. We never know for sure what the cause or reason is for health-care costs that are incurred, which is why we need to ask insured persons themselves about this. That is why we send letters to ask if there may have been an accident or incident, and if another party could be held liable for this. Sometimes these letters refer to health-care costs that were incurred a few years ago. We try to send the letters as soon as possible after the treatment date, but this also depends on claims made by health-care providers. You can respond to the letter by sending an email to verhaalszaken@onvz.nl or by calling us on +31 30 639 62 64. You can also send us the letter by post addressed to ONVZ, t.a.v. afdeling Verhaalszaken, antwoordnummer 2731, 3970 WJ Houten, Netherlands.