Health insurance company De Friesland is being taken over by insurance giant Achmea from January 1 next year.

Friesland, which has some 500,000 policyholders, will operate as a separate unit within the Achmea group, with its own board and patients’ council.
The takeover means the Achmea group will soon cover five million of the country’s 16.5 million population.
The national patients’ council NPCF has asked the competition authority to investigate the health insurance sector following a string of recent takeovers, news agency ANP says.