Travel insurance for the Netherlands

For the most part, the Netherlands is a safe country for tourists to visit; however, general theft such as pickpocketing (especially while waiting for public transport) and bag snatching is common, particularly in Amsterdam.²

If someone steals your cash or credit cards, pickpockets your belongings or damages your luggage, your travel insurance cover may reimburse you for all or a portion of those losses so you can spend your euros on more important things.

The Netherlands is famous for its love of bicycles; it’s a great way for locals and tourists alike to travel and see the sites. In fact, there are more bicycles in the country than people, with approximately 23 million bicycles compared to the 17 million residents.³

With so many bicycles abound, it means that injuries are common. Travel insurance can cover the unexpected hospital cost and medical treatment that can come with accidents like these, provided you follow the country’s road rules and ride in a safe and responsible way. Insurance can also cover medical expenses for illnesses and other injuries if the Australia-Netherlands Reciprocal Health Care Agreement doesn’t already cover it.⁴ In the event of a medical emergency, your travel medical insurance can also cover your evacuation or repatriation back to Australia.

On any trip, there’s always the possibility of missed flights and cancelled or delayed travel, which might involve unexpected accommodation costs and missed or cancelled tours, tickets and events. You might also fall ill and need to cancel the rest of your trip to return home.

In these instances, your travel insurance company can cover some, or all, of these costs, so you’re not paying for experiences you didn’t get to have.

If you’re keen on adventure, you may want to add adventure cover to your general travel insurance policy. While many policies will cover a select range of adventure sports and activities, always check your PDS to know exactly what cover you have. For the more extreme adventure sports and activities, you will need specialised cover; without this, your insurer may reject any claims related to adventure activities.

To enjoy winter activities like ice-skating on the canals of Amsterdam or indoor skiing, you should consider snow and ski cover. Like adventure cover, your insurer may reject any claims related to snow sports activities unless you have this additional level of cover.

Without this cover, if you injure yourself on the slopes, any medical costs may need to be paid out of your pocket, which is enough to put a downer on anyone’s holiday.

Planning on driving? Your insurer can often cover the rental company excess that comes with misfortunes such as the rental car being stolen or damaged. Some insurers may also offer motorcycle and scooter cover. If you plan to jump on a two-wheel vehicle, you may need this cover if you have an accident and end up with medical expenses.

Every travel insurance plan has terms, conditions, limits and sub-limits, so it’s important to understand when and how you may be covered. In general, some exclusions may include the following:

• Incidents related to pre-existing conditions. Your insurer may cover certain pre-existing medical conditions, but not others. Regardless, you should disclose all medical conditions to your insurer before taking out a policy.
• Luggage lost due to carelessness. If you left your belongings unattended or didn’t take the proper precautions to keep them safe, you likely won’t be covered for their damage or theft.
• Injuries sustained while driving under the influence. Alcohol and drug-related claims generally aren’t covered. Keep this in mind when travelling to Amsterdam.
• Ignorance of road rules. If an accident occurs due to your blatant disregard for road rules, you won’t be covered.
• Driving without the right licence. Despite what you may hear, you need an international driver’s licence to drive in the Netherlands.²

Find out more about other common exclusions. For policy-specific exclusions, read the PDS provided by your insurer.

The Netherlands is one of the safest countries you can travel to and is ranked the 5th happiest country in the world.⁵ It also doesn’t experience a lot of severe weather or natural disasters. Most Dutch people are also fluent in English, so you probably won’t encounter many language barriers.

However, there is always some risk in all countries, especially when it comes to travelling. Travelling in a foreign country with different customs and laws can put you in a vulnerable position. Make sure you’re well prepared and watch out for pickpockets, as tourists are often easy targets, particularly in major cities such as Rotterdam, Amsterdam or The Hague and in busy areas such as cafes or restaurants.

If you’re using an Australian passport, you can travel through the Schengen area (a collection of 29 European countries) for 90 days without needing to apply for a Schengen visa. The Netherlands is one of the 29 countries in the Schengen area where Australian residents can travel visa-free for business or tourist reasons.⁶