There’s a saying you may be familiar with: ‘Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.’ In other words, invest in insurance. You’ll hopefully never, ever have to use it. But if you do? You’ll be glad you have it. There are different kinds of health and social-security insurances that are worth knowing about if you’re living in Belgium.

Family and private insurances

Family insurance is a single form of insurance that covers a household and its members for civil-liability, health, life, and home insurance.

Private insurance encompasses a broader range of insurance plans. You purchase it directly from an insurance company for protection against highly specified risks.

Civil-liability insurance covers you for any injury or damage someone else might suffer due to your unintentional error. This is usually included as part of your family insurance or private insurance. If you decide not to invest in these forms of insurance, you are still highly encouraged to invest in civil-liability insurance.

Health insurance

Health insurance covers you for the costs of various health-related issues. It’s compulsory in Belgium. This means you need to join an accredited health-insurance fund or the free government-run Hulpkas voor Ziekte- en Invaliditeitsverzekering(opens in new window) (Auxiliary Illness and Disability Insurance Fund) if you’re living in Belgium.

If you take up residency in Flanders and you are older than 25, you are also obliged to join the “Flemish Social Protection”. In return for an annual fee, you can get financial assistance when you are in need of long-term care. You have to join one of the 6 recognised care funds in Flanders.

Hospitalisation insurance

Hospitalisation insurance covers you for the costs related to any inpatient hospital stay. Health insurance only reimburses you for a small portion of the costs related to hospitalisation—and the costs easily run into the thousands of euro. Hospitalisation insurance covers almost the entire cost of medical expenses. It also offers you financial protection and peace of mind that you’re sure to appreciate if you’re in a situation where injury or illness leads to a stay in the hospital.

How do you arrange hospitalisation insurance? There are several options:

• You’re affiliated with a mutual insurance company, a national union or a mutual society which, in the compulsory supplementary insurance, provides for hospitalisation or daily indemnities from a mutual insurance company. Note that the cover in this situation will be limited.
• You take out hospitalisation insurance with a mutual society.
• You take out hospitalisation insurance with an insurer.

You’ll also find that some employers include hospitalisation insurance as an employee benefit.

Primary care

When you are in need of mental care, an general practitioner is often a good place to start your search for help. A general practitioner can refer you to mental health care worker such as psychologists or psychiatrists in the region or to more specialized care providers.

A centre of general welfare (CAW) (in Dutch)(opens in new window) can provide support when dealing with welfare difficulties such as difficult relationships or family issues, personal troubles, financial, administrative, juridical or material difficulties

Psychiatric hospitals

Psychiatric hospitals are not the same as psychiatric-care homes. Instead, they have different departments specialised in providing targeted treatment and care for people with serious mental-health problems. They’re staffed by teams of doctors and social workers. A team usually consists of a psychiatrist, psychologist, occupational therapist, social worker, nurse, and maybe even other professionals. They help provide patients with the most appropriate forms of therapy.

A patient in a psychiatric hospital first goes to an admission or observation ward. This allows doctors to ascertain what the patient is suffering from and what treatment is needed. Admission is often voluntary, but under certain circumstances, it may be compelled(opens in new window).

Mental-health centres

Mental-health centres(opens in new window) are often referred to as CGGs (Centrums Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg) in Flanders. They provide comprehensive care and support to people in need of medical-psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care. They cater to individuals of all age groups—children, adolescents, adults and the elderly—who are undergoing significant mental-health challenges. CGGs are an integral part of the mental health services in Flanders.

CGGs do not work with admissions or inpatient stays. Care is primarily delivered through consultation through psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers who operate across different locations. Services include:

• specialised care – treatment and services that address issues such as alcohol and drug addiction, suicide prevention and forensic assistance, and support for individuals with disabilities facing additional psychological challenges.
• collaborative projects – CGGs actively engage with partner organisations to focus on specific target groups or themes. These initiatives cover a wide spectrum, including psychiatric care at home, early detection of psychiatric disorders, projects related to family violence or child abuse, the Buddy Operation Flanders project, the introduction of first-line psychological services, alternative judicial measures, and employment support, among others.
• supporting and consulting with other care and assistance organisations including Special Youth Care facilities, prisons, residential care centres, rest homes, and CAWs (Centers for General Welfare).

Psychosocial rehabilitation

This form of rehabilitation focuses on reducing personal limitations that may arise from psychosocial disorders, functional conditions and addictions, and on regaining autonomy. The period of rehabilitation is always limited in duration.

Maintaining and managing your health is important. This means exercising, eating healthy and finding healthcare specialists (in Dutch)(opens in new window) (a doctor, a dentist, a pharmacy, and possible others) so you’ll have access to appropriate medical attention if you do become ill.

A family doctor or general practitioner (huisarts) plays a central role in Flanders that is often significantly different to what’s found in other societies. Annual check-ups and tests are only performed if they are believed to be required.

The meaning, feelings and consequences related to pregnancy are different for everyone. In some situations, a person may choose to terminate a pregnancy through abortion. This is a major decision on physical and emotional levels. It is crucially important to talk about it with a partner, a family member or friend, even a doctor, healthcare provider or volunteer. There are numerous non-profit organisations committed to supporting people who are faced with abortion and helping them to understand the process involved in an abortion procedure.

In Belgium, abortion is only performed in the first twelve weeks or three months of pregnancy (corresponding to fourteen weeks from the first day of the last period). If this length of time is exceeded, abortion can only be performed if the pregnancy poses a serious threat to a woman’s health or if it has been established that the child will suffer from a severe and incurable defect.

The procedure is possible in a hospital, but it’s more common in a dedicated abortion centre. Abortion centres work with a third-party payment scheme. This means that the preliminary examination and any interventions are directly paid for by a patient’s health-insurance fund, with only a co-payment of 4 euros for the patient. The co-payment may vary if the procedure is performed at a hospital or other type of centre. Anonymity is guaranteed at an abortion centre; the procedure will not be recorded in a patient’s statement of reimbursements, nor their online file.