Dutch health insurers are hoarding increasing amounts of premium income to invest in boosting their reserves, the NRC says on Friday.

Since the beginning of 2012, the four big insurance groups’ reserves have grown by €2bn – or €175 per policy holder, the NRC says. In total, they now have more than €8bn – or 1.3% of GDP – set aside to cover financial risks.

The insurance companies have to set cash aside because they are taking bigger financial risks and are required to increase their capital reserves by the central bank, the NRC says.

More than enough

However, their current reserves include an estimated extra €4bn, the equivalent of €350 per policy holder, the NRC says. This is partly to pay for the extra tasks they will take on in 2015, such as paying for long-term care.

The four biggest insurance companies control 90% of the market. Achmea, which includes Zilveren Kruis, De Friesland, FBTO and Agis, is market leader with 32%. VGZ, a cooperative, has 25%

Achmea is the only one of the big insurers which is driven by profits, but nevertheless, their combined profits reached €1.4bn last year, the NRC says.