Uitvaartverzekering: How Dutch Funeral Insurance Works

An uitvaartverzekering is Dutch funeral insurance. It pays for the funeral either as services arranged for you (natura), as money your family can spend (kapitaal), or as a mix of the two. The Dutch insurers' trade body, the Verbond van Verzekeraars, says about seven in ten households have one. No law requires it, but the legal timetable for a funeral is short, and many people want the arrangements and the payment settled in advance.

What is an uitvaartverzekering?

It is a life insurance policy with one job: to cover the cost of your funeral when you die. You pay premiums, and when you die the insurer either organizes the funeral or pays money towards it. The Verbond van Verzekeraars describes it as taking away the financial worry around the funeral, and says the insurer can also help arrange the funeral itself.

The trade body's page gives a rough guide: it says bereaved families pay about €7,000 on average for a funeral in the Netherlands. What you actually pay depends on burial or cremation, the grave or crematorium, the day of the week and what you choose to include, so treat that as a starting point. Our guide to average funeral costs in the Netherlands goes through the main charges.

Natura, kapitaal or combination: which type?

Insurers sell natura (in kind) and kapitaal (cash) policies, and some offer a mix. They differ in who controls the money.

Natura takes the most work off your family. Kapitaal gives the most freedom, including the option of a funeral somewhere else. Neither is better for everyone, and the wording of each insurer's policy differs, so read the conditions rather than relying on the label.

How much cover do you need, and what is waardevast?

A policy taken out now will be paid out years from now. Funeral prices rise, so a fixed sum can fall short. Policies that are waardevast (value-stable or indexed) raise the insured amount over time, in principle to follow the rising cost of funerals. Ask any insurer you are considering:

• Is the insured amount indexed, and how, and does indexation raise my premium?
• If the real cost is higher than the insured amount at the time, who pays the difference?
• What exactly does a natura package include, such as a grave, a gravestone, a reception or the coffin?

The Verbond van Verzekeraars says insurers inform customers in objective, general terms about what their cover pays for. Check your policy every few years against current prices to see whether it still matches what a funeral costs.

What are the Dutch rules on timing?

The Wet op de lijkbezorging (the Burial and Cremation Act) sets a short timetable. Article 16 says a burial or cremation may not happen sooner than 36 hours after death and must take place by the sixth working day after death. Under Article 17, the mayor can set a different term after consulting a doctor, and a funeral within 36 hours needs the public prosecutor's written consent.

No burial or cremation can happen without written permission from the civil registry officer (ambtenaar van de burgerlijke stand), which Article 11 says is issued free of charge. Under Article 18, the person who asks for the permission is responsible for arranging the funeral, following the deceased's wishes where reasonably possible.

That is why many families prefer a policy that can be used quickly. If you are the one arranging a funeral, a call to the insurer and a funeral director on the first day keeps the six working days manageable.

Can you cancel or switch an uitvaartverzekering?

Usually, yes. The Verbond van Verzekeraars says that in most cases a policyholder can now end the insurance mid-term and have the accumulated surrender value paid out, which was not always possible in the past. The page speaks mainly of natura policies, so ask your insurer about your exact policy. It also says insurers stopped paying commission to intermediaries after the 2013 ban.

Before you cancel, ask for two figures in writing:

1. What you would get back (the surrender value) compared with what you have paid in. The two can be far apart, especially in the early years.
2. What a new policy would cost at your current age for the same cover. A new policy is priced on your age today, so switching later usually means a higher premium.

Cancelling a policy and then finding yourself without cover is the costliest outcome, so arrange the new policy before ending the old one.

What if you live in the Netherlands but want a funeral abroad?

Expats often want to be buried or cremated in their home country. A kapitaal policy pays money that can in principle be used anywhere, while a natura package may be built around funeral directors in the Netherlands. The terms vary by insurer, so ask in writing whether the policy pays for repatriation and a funeral in another country, and what happens if you later move away from the Netherlands. Our guides to repatriation costs and the overseas death guide explain what moving a body across borders involves.

The contract is written under Dutch law. If the Dutch wording is hard to follow, ask the insurer for an English explanation or get a translation before signing.

How does this compare with funeral insurance elsewhere?

The products differ by country. In the United States, funeral or burial insurance is a small life policy that pays cash to a named beneficiary, often with a waiting period. Our guides to funeral insurance and the funeral insurance waiting period cover that system. Dutch natura policies, which arrange the funeral itself, have no direct US equivalent, although prepaid funeral plans work in a similar way. See prepaid plan vs funeral insurance.

What to do next

1. Find any existing policy and read what it pays and whether it is indexed.
2. Compare at least two or three offers for the same cover, and ask about the points above.
3. Write down your wishes (burial or cremation, music, place) and tell your family where the policy papers are.
4. If someone has just died, report the death to the insurer, then speak to a funeral director that day. The Dutch deadline runs from the date of death.