The Expat Center has bought a unique group insurance policy from Aon. It resembles a general basic insurance and is meant for guest PhD candidates – PhD candidates who are performing their research in Wageningen with the use of a grant. PhD candidates who buy the insurance will receive a Dutch Health Card with a Vecozo code. This code tells the hospitals that all basic care is covered by the insurer. Consequently, the hospital charges the insurer directly and PhD candidates are no longer required to pay any deposit or invoices to the hospital, explains Petra Krop of the Expat Center. She has negotiated with Aon for six months to reach this insurance possibility.
Results
The new insurance is a solution for the international PhD candidates and their family members who, starting at the beginning of the year, had to pay a deposit of 300 euro to the Gelderse Vallei hospital before they could receive any care. The new insurance does not apply to Bachelor’s and Master’s students of Wageningen, Krop emphasises. ‘Aon did not want to discuss that yet.’
Premium
In the current insurance, which is close to an extended travel insurance, the PhD candidates are not insured against conditions that the candidate already suffered from while still in their home country. That policy has a monthly cost of 44 euros for the PhD candidates and 59 euros for their family members. The new policy covers a wider range of healthcare costs than a true basic insurance. The premium depends on age – a 29-year-old PhD candidate pays 73 euros per month.
Roughly 500 Wageningen PhD candidates and their family members qualify annually for the new insurance. The new insurance policy has already taken effect on 1 September.
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