Almost 60% of freelancers have no or little insurance cover if they become ill and unable to work, according to finance ministry research.

Most don’t take out insurance because of the high cost and many say they can fall back on a partner if they are forced out through illness. Around 25% say they have enough reserves to tide them over if they have to stop work.
The research was carried out among 780 freelancers who work at least 15 hours a week.
Benefits
Similar research by the social affairs ministry last year showed one in five freelancers – known as zzp’ers or zelfstandigen zonder personnel – have taken out insurance against loss of income if they become ill and only 2 in five are insured against long-term illness.
The Netherlands has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU, at 5.8%, but this may partly be due to hidden jobless among the country’s 750,000 freelancers.
Some 4.8% of the working population is officially registered as a freelancer, almost double the figure from a year ago.