Some 1.1 million people changed health insurance company during the annual window for switching providers at the end of the year, according to preliminary figures from health insurance association ZN.

Once the remaining switchers, who have until the end of January to pick a new provider are included, the percentage of people making the change will be around 6.5%, like last year, ZN said.

The number of people checking ZN’s own information about the differences between insurance policies during the changeover period was up 23% on last year, the organisation said.

‘It would appear that more policy holders have been checking out the difference policies on offer before deciding whether or not to switch,’ ZN director Petra van Hulst said.

However, this did not result in more people changing provider. ‘Coronavirus does not seem to have influenced the number of people changing their insurance plan for 2021, although this was initially expected by insurers,’ says Koen Kuijper from comparison website Zorgwijzer.