The number of payment arrears with health insurers has risen by almost 20 percent. This is the conclusion of the ABN AMRO Economic Bureau on the basis of data from debt collection companies.
ABNAmro estimates that in the first nine months more than 320,000 arrears were transferred from health insurers to collection agencies. This represents an increase of more than 17 percent compared to the same period last year. “The first signs are now beginning to become visible of problematic debts caused by inflation,” says economist Piet Rietman of ABN AMRO.
Payment arrears with health insurers are often seen as a drawing on the wall, because policyholders are often the first to leave a health insurer’s bill, because it is somewhat abstract and this debt appears to have less consequences than, for example, rent arrears.
Daily phone calls
Debt collection and bailiff organization Flanderijn confirms the picture. There, the number of health insurance files rose by 10 to 15 percent compared to last year. According to director and bailiff Michel van Leeuwen, this mainly concerns people who already had payment arrears. “We receive daily calls from people asking us whether the amount of a scheme can be reduced. That will be no different with health insurers.”
Van Leeuwen notices that there are also more often households earning average or above average income and who have never been in contact with a debt collection company before. Health insurer VGZ confirms the increase. There, the number of cases increased by 34 percent in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year.
VGZ spokesperson Jascha Hagendoorn does not want to give precise numbers. He does emphasize that the numbers were still far below the level before corona. During the corona crisis, the number of debt collection cases actually decreased. Health insurers CZ, Menzis and Zilveren Kruis have not seen a significant increase in the number of collection cases. CZ does indicate that there has recently been ‘a worrying increase’ in the number of requests to make a payment arrangement.
More payment arrangements requested
DSW sees a significant increase in the number of customers who have problems paying the premium. The number of people who applied for a payment plan rose by 50 percent in August from a year earlier. This concerned 900 payment arrangements compared to 600 a year earlier. Compared to a year earlier, the number of collection processes has not increased. “But that is also because we try everything to prevent people from ending up in a collection process,” says director Joop le Conge.
If you have not paid your premium for more than six months, you will not only have to deal with a collection agency, but also with the CAK (Central Administration Office). This takes over the premium payment on behalf of the health insurer and charges a fine on top of the health care premium. According to the CAK, there is no sign of an increase yet, but this is being taken into account.
More business with network operators
According to ABN, the payment arrears at health insurers are not only increasing, there are also more issues with network operators. According to ABN’s estimate, this is an increase of around 50 percent in the first nine months of this year compared to the first nine months of 2021. About 8 out of 10 cases involve situations in which there has been a move. and the new residents have not (yet) concluded a new contract with an energy supplier.
In the past, energy suppliers closed people off, but now they transfer those so-called ‘contractless energy matters’ to network operators. It must then try to persuade people to conclude a (variable) contract. At Flanderijn, the number of cases also rose sharply. According to Van Leeuwen, a possible explanation for the increase is that it has become more difficult for customers to conclude an affordable contract and that they may therefore be waiting longer.
In the meantime, the number of payment arrears with energy suppliers also seems to be increasing. At Vattenfall, the total number has increased by 20 to 30 percent since the beginning of this year. They also see that the average amounts are increasing and there is an increase in the number of referrals to debt relief. The number of additional customers in payment difficulties has so far been limited. At Eneco, approximately 5 percent of customers pay their bills late every month.
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