Cooperative VGZ

What Cooperative VGZ does

Coöperatie VGZ is a non-profit cooperative health insurer (coöperatie zonder winstoogmerk) headquartered in Arnhem, Netherlands, serving approximately 4 million insured members across multiple sub-brands — VGZ, VGZ Bewuzt, IZA, IZZ, Unive, UMC Zorgverzekering, Zekur.nl, and Zorgzaam. The organization traces its origins roughly 275 years to a mutual aid group of carpenters, and today operates in a regulated Dutch basic-health-insurance market with mandatory coverage. Its distribution is hybrid: an owned digital platform anchored by the VGZ mobile app (over 2.5 million users, including the Zorggids care-provider search), independent broker and agent networks, and consumer price-comparison platforms. Revenue is generated through recurring health-insurance premiums (basic and supplementary) paid by individual members and employer groups, with no profit distribution under the cooperative structure.

The technology stack runs on Microsoft Azure with Kubernetes-based container orchestration and API-driven service architecture, supporting an AI-augmented service operation. Deployments include an AI assistant named Aimy for customer-contact agents, a voice-and-chatbot that has handled approximately 700,000 contacts (nearly a quarter of incoming calls), Microsoft Copilot used organization-wide, protocol-driven AI for medical assessments, and AI-based completeness checking of authorization requests. An in-house IT organization of approximately 400 staff, plus a ~15-person Innovation team, supports the platform. Beyond insurance administration, VGZ extends into digital health services such as telemonitoring for COPD and heart failure and the "ikHerstel" recovery app, positioning the cooperative as a member-facing care platform rather than a pure claims payer. The organization is actively recruiting across nine functional areas (Data & Analytics, Finance, IT, Customer Contact, Marketing & Communications, Risk & Compliance, Staff & Support, Healthcare, Healthcare Procurement) and is investing in DORA-aligned IT risk and corporate internal-control capacity.

Name

Cooperative VGZ

Legal name

VGZ Zorgverzekeraar N.V.

Website

https://werkenbijvgz.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Coöperatie VGZ is a non-profit Dutch cooperative health insurer serving approximately 4 million members across seven sub-brands via a digital platform (VGZ app with 2.5M+ users), broker channels, and AI-augmented service operations, complemented by digital health services such as telemonitoring.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Insurance

NAICS

Direct Life, Health, and Medical Insurance Carriers (52411)

SIC

Hospital & Medical Service Plans (6324)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLALAAAH

Membership/Subscription Concierge Virtual Care

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Telehealth Platforms/Direct-to-Consumer Virtual Care Platforms

Keywords

• Health insurance
• Cooperative health insurer
• Digital member services
• Care procurement
• Telemonitoring services

Headquarters

HQ city

Arnhem

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Health Insurance Premiums: As a non-profit cooperative health insurer, VGZ generates revenue primarily through mandatory health insurance premiums paid by individual members and employer groups. VGZ is one of the largest health insurers in the Netherlands, serving approximately 4 million members across its brand portfolio (VGZ, VGZ Bewuzt, IZA, IZZ, Unive, UMC Zorgverzekering, Zekur.nl, Zorgzaam). Revenue is used to reimburse healthcare costs and fund healthcare accessibility, with no profit distribution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Coöperatie VGZ is a non-profit cooperative health insurer offering statutory and supplementary health insurance to approximately 4 million members in the Netherlands across multiple consumer brands (VGZ, VGZ Bewuzt, IZA, IZZ, Unive, UMC Zorgverzekering, Zekur.nl, Zorgzaam). The insurance offering is supported by a digital member platform including the VGZ app (2.5M+ users), AI-powered voice/chatbot customer service, the AI assistant Aimy, and digital health tools such as telemonitoring for COPD and heart failure and the ikHerstel recovery app.

Product overview

Coöperatie VGZ is a non-profit health insurance cooperative serving over 4 million members in the Netherlands. Their product portfolio centers on health insurance (Zorgverzekering) under multiple brands (VGZbewuzt, IZA, IZZ, Unive, UMC, Zekur.nl, Zorgzaam), supported by digital service platforms including the VGZ App (serving 2.5+ million users), an AI-powered voice and chatbot system (handling ~700,000 contacts/25% of calls), AI assistant Aimy for customer service support, and digital health tools such as telemonitoring for COPD/heart failure and the ikHerstel recovery app. The offering is a platform-plus-digital-services model where insurance products are complemented by an ecosystem of member-facing digital tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VGZ bewuzt: Sub-brand under the VGZ cooperative health insurance group.
• IZA
• IZZ
• Unive
• UMC zorgverzekering
• Zekur.nl
• Zorgzaam

Products and services

• Zorgverzekering (Health Insurance) Statutory and supplementary health insurance products (basis- and aanvullende verzekering) offered under multiple consumer-facing brands targeting different price points and segment preferences, distributed via the VGZ app, website, brokers, and price-comparison platforms to Dutch residents.
• VGZ App Mobile and web application used by over 2.5 million VGZ members to manage health insurance policies, search healthcare providers via the Zorggids feature (by wait time and distance), request digital insurance cards, view reimbursements and access digital health services.
• Voice- en Chatbot (Direct Contact Platform) Automated AI voice and chatbot system handling routine member inquiries via phone and chat, including health insurance card requests and basic information queries, freeing human agents for complex questions.
• AI Assistant Aimy AI-powered assistant supporting customer contact center colleagues at VGZ, enabling them to better and faster assist members with their inquiries, including knowledge retrieval and response drafting.
• Telemonitoring (COPD and heart failure) Remote patient monitoring services for chronic conditions including COPD and heart failure, developed in partnership with care providers, enabling digital healthcare delivery and reducing the need for in-person visits.
• ikHerstel App Digital recovery support application for patients, contributing to VGZ's hybrid model of healthcare delivery that combines physical and digital care.
• Zorggids (Care Guide) feature in VGZ App In-app feature enabling VGZ members to search for contracted healthcare providers by waiting time and distance, supporting 'passende zorg' (appropriate care) decisions.

Quantifiable outcome

• AI-powered chatbot handles approximately 700,000 contacts per year, nearly 25% of all incoming telephone contacts
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EN HR SolutionsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEN HR Solutions is a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) provider supporting VGZ's hiring processes. As one of the largest RPO organizations in the Benelux with approximately 20 years of experience and about 100 colleagues, EN HR Solutions manages recruitment activities on behalf of VGZ. This is a third-party staffing arrangement rather than a product or technology partnership.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Achmea: Largest insurance group in the Netherlands, parent of Zilveren Kruis and broader non-life/health portfolios. Comparable scale and digital investments but operates as a commercial (rather than cooperative) entity across multiple insurance lines.
• Bupa: Global health insurance and care provider with non-profit origins and international footprint. Comparable mission-driven, customer-focused positioning and integrated insurance-plus-care model, though at a much broader geographic scale.
• Discovery Limited: International health and life insurer with strong digital and wellness platform (Vitality). Comparable data-driven member engagement model and emphasis on digital tools to manage healthcare utilization, though operating across multiple geographies.
• Kaiser Permanente: US integrated managed-care organization combining insurer and provider functions with heavy investment in digital health tools and member-facing apps. Comparable mission-driven positioning, scale (12M+ members), and digital-first care-navigation strategy.
• ASR Nederland: Major Dutch insurance group offering health, life, and non-life products. Listed company with broader investment and pension offerings; competes with VGZ in health while operating a much wider portfolio.

Direct peers

• DSW Zorgverzekeraar: Regional Dutch health insurer known for distinctive member-ownership model and direct distribution. Comparable cooperative-like philosophy and direct-to-consumer approach, though smaller in scale than VGZ.
• Zilveren Kruis (Achmea): Largest health insurer in the Netherlands (part of Achmea Group), serving over 5 million members with comparable brand portfolio and distribution through brokers and comparison platforms. Directly competes with VGZ for both individual and employer group contracts.
• ONVZ: Smaller Dutch health insurer (~400K members) operating with comparable digital-first and quality-of-care positioning. Direct competitor particularly in the supplementary insurance and employer-sponsored segments.
• Menzis: Top-five Dutch health insurer serving approximately 2 million members with a cooperative-like positioning. Direct competitor in the same mandatory health insurance market with similar regional and employer-group focus.
• CZ: Another of the top four Dutch health insurers, structured as a non-profit cooperative (onderlinge waarborgmaatschappij) and serving roughly 3.5 million members. Highly comparable cooperative structure, mission-driven positioning, and multi-brand portfolio approach to VGZ.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CooperatieVGZ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cooperatievgz
• Xx.com/werkenbijvgz

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cooperative VGZ