Determinants of the demand for health insurance coverage

The health insurance density in the Netherlands is among the highest in the world. This is shown by the fact that, in 2016, only 12 per cent of the Dutch insured opted for a reduction of health insurance coverage in the form of a voluntary deductible, while, at the same time, 84 per cent of the Dutch insured opted for an extension of health insurance coverage in the form of a supplementary health insurance.

This dissertation question whether risk aversion alone can explain the low uptake of voluntary deductibles and the high uptake of supplementary insurance, since the value in terms of reduction of financial uncertainty regarding financial losses is limited in those cases. Therefore, this dissertations aims to identify potential explanations for the demand for high health insurance coverage. The insights provided within this dissertation could be used to optimize the design of health insurance and more specifically the design of voluntary deductibles and the supplementary insurance and to better facilitate the individual’s decision-making process concerning the demand for health insurance coverage.