Health insurers overcharged collection fees on late payers for years
For years, health insurers have been improperly charging insured for collection fees on arrear premiums and deductibles, according to eight rulings published by four courts. The rulings show that the four largest insurers - Zilveren Kruis, CZ, VGZ, and Menzis - have charged collection fees incorrectly up to and including last year, NOS reports.
Insurers are allowed to charge collection costs. But in these cases, the fees were unjustified because the insurers did not properly include the rules for charging these costs in their general terms and conditions.
According to lawyer and debt expert André Moerman, who studied the rulings for NOS, the insurers formulated their collection clauses too broadly. Such a clause states something like: “If you do not pay on time, we can charge you administration costs, collection costs, and statutory interest.” They did not mention amounts, listed additional costs, and didn’t say that the insured would receive a free reminder first. “That is insufficient information and, therefore, reason for the subdistrict court to annul the collection clause and reject the collection fees,” Moerman said.
The court rulings only have consequences for the insured who took the matter to court. Only in those cases did the judge scrap the collection fees. However, Moerman thinks that consumer protection by the court should apply to all cases. “It is time for the legislator to look into this.”
In recent years, health insurers have charged collection fees to hundreds of thousands of policyholders. Insurers are required to report payment arrears of six months or longer to the Central Administration Office. Last year they made 178.916 such reports, and 184,000 the year before, according to NOS. Insurers also charge collection fees to people with shorter arrears than six months.
The health insurers told NOS that they adhere to the legal standards for determining collection fees. They also changed the wording of their terms and conditions this year.
