An advance payment can spare you from having to pre-finance all the financial consequences of a workplace accident while the damage is still being investigated. You do not always have to wait for a full recovery or a final settlement. However, liability, the damage that can already be demonstrated and the conditions of the payment must be clear.
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An advance payment is not extra compensation on top of your damage. It is a payment that is later offset against the final compensation. The amount is therefore not, as a rule, a fixed percentage of an expected final payment. On this page you can read which documents help and how to prevent an advance payment from unintentionally being treated as a final settlement. See also the general overview of compensation after a workplace accident.
Arslan Advocaten. Updated: 20 September 2026.
When can you request an advance payment?
Where liability has been admitted or is otherwise established, payment of damage already suffered and sufficiently substantiated may be possible before the full damage has been assessed. A specifically substantiated upcoming expense can also be the subject of discussion. The Dutch Personal Injury Council (Letselschade Raad) describes advance payments as part of a claims settlement that takes into account the fact that victims cannot bear costs and loss of income indefinitely.
If liability is still in dispute, a payment is less self-evident. Sometimes an amount is paid under an express reservation or without admission of liability. In that case, have someone assess which conditions apply and whether repayment may be demanded. A payment in itself does not always mean that liability has been admitted in full.
A first practical distinction is therefore: has liability been admitted, which part of the damage is already sufficiently established and what is still in dispute? With those three answers, a concrete request can be drafted. Merely stating that you are in financial difficulty often gives the other party too little information to assess an amount.
Which damage can you include in a request?
Think of demonstrable loss of income, necessary travel expenses, medical expenses not reimbursed elsewhere and reasonable costs of assistance. Each item must be connected to the accident. Also state what a health insurer, employer or benefits agency has already paid. Double compensation for the same damage is not the intention.
Help provided by family members can constitute an item of damage, but that does not mean that every hour or rate claimed will automatically be reimbursed. The nature, necessity and extent of the help must be assessed. For future loss of income, it is also relevant how much certainty already exists about limitations, work capacity and the income you would have had without the accident.
An advance on compensation for pain and suffering (smartengeld) can also be discussed. Smartengeld is compensation for non-pecuniary damage, such as pain and loss of enjoyment of life, and is separate from, for example, medical bills. An early estimate must leave sufficient room for further recovery and any permanent consequences.
Prepare a statement of damage that can be verified
A statement does not need to be complicated for the first request. Use the same details for each item: date or period, description, amount, compensation received and the remaining amount requested. Number the attachments and refer to those numbers in the statement. The insurer can then see exactly what is being requested and on what the amount is based.
- Income: payslips from before and after the accident, benefit statements and an explanation of missed allowances or hours.
- Care and recovery: invoices, proof of payment and information about reimbursement by your health insurance.
- Transport: dates of visits, destination, distance or transport costs and the purpose of the journey.
- Assistance: which tasks you could not carry out, who helped, for what period and why help was needed.
- Previous advance payments: payment date, amount and any designated purpose or condition.
- Upcoming costs: a quotation or other evidence of the necessity, amount and time of payment.
Distinguish between an established amount and a provisional estimate. If documents are missing, state which ones and when they are expected. A transparent partial request for sufficiently proven damage can be more useful than one large total in which certain and uncertain items are mixed together.
A worked example without any promise about your outcome
Illustrative example: someone has € 2,400 in demonstrable loss of income and € 350 in necessary, unreimbursed travel and care costs. € 1,000 has already been paid as an advance. If these items and liability are sufficiently established, a further request can focus on the outstanding amount of € 1,750.
This is purely a worked example. It does not mean that these amounts are owed in every case or will be paid within a fixed period. There may be disputes about the causal link, reasonableness, benefits received or the substantiation. The final damage may later turn out higher or lower than an earlier estimate.
Do not quietly include an uncertain future amount as established damage in the same statement. Explain the assumptions separately. That way it remains clear which part can be assessed now and which part requires further medical, occupational or financial investigation.
Sick pay and an advance payment are different payments
An employer may be required to continue paying wages during illness without thereby admitting liability for the accident. A benefit under the Sickness Benefits Act (Ziektewet) or WIA (incapacity benefit) has its own conditions. A personal injury advance serves to compensate damage and should not simply be confused with these other flows of money.
If you receive less income than before the accident, it must be examined what you would probably have earned without the accident and which amounts you actually receive. The difference cannot always simply be read from two net payslips. Allowances, variable hours, taxes and pension may also be relevant.
See also incapacity for work, WIA and reintegration after a workplace accident. Keep complying with deadlines and obligations in a benefits procedure, even while your damages claim is ongoing. A dispute with an insurer does not automatically suspend them.
What should the written request for an advance include?
State the file number, the date of the accident, the position on liability and the amount you are requesting. Enclose a calculation and the key supporting documents. Describe why payment is needed now, for example because a specific bill is falling due or a demonstrable monthly shortfall continues.
Ask for a reasoned response to the amount requested and, if part of it is disputed, for payment of the undisputed part. A reasonable response period depends partly on the information already available and the urgency. Do not present a deadline of your own choosing as a general statutory guarantee of payment.
State that it concerns an advance payment and that the full damage is still to be assessed. Check whether the other party gives the payment the same meaning. Keep the request, attachments, responses and bank statements in one place, so that it remains clear which amounts have already been received.
Advance payment, settlement agreement and full and final discharge
An advance payment should be distinguished from a final settlement. In a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst), the parties can agree that the matter is concluded with a certain amount. A clause on full and final discharge (finale kwijting) may mean that you can no longer claim additional damage for the same matter later, except for what has been validly reserved or otherwise follows from the agreement and the law.
Therefore, watch out for wording such as “full and final settlement” or statements that all present and future damage has been compensated. Do not sign merely because you urgently need money. Have someone explain which amount is being paid as an advance, which rights remain open and whether a reservation has been recorded clearly enough.
A final medical end state is not required for every advance payment. For a final settlement, however, the available prognosis and the uncertainties must be examined carefully. An urgent financial problem is not a medical indication that all consequences are already known.
What if the insurer does not respond or pays too little?
Start by establishing the reason. Are supporting documents missing, is there a difference of opinion about liability or is the link between the complaints and the accident being disputed? Ask for a specific explanation. In the case of unexplained delay, a reminder with an overview of earlier submissions can prevent the same documents being requested again and again.
If consultation does not help, a complaint, further consultation or a court step can be considered. Interim relief proceedings (kort geding) or partial dispute proceedings (deelgeschil) are not suitable in every case. Factors include the extent to which liability and damage are established, the urgency, the need for evidence and the costs. Let a lawyer determine which route suits the dispute.
In the event of acute financial problems, record which payments cannot wait. Think of a breakdown of fixed expenses and available income. Share only the information needed for the assessment and discuss how it can be provided securely. A request for an advance does not guarantee that an acute housing or debt situation will be resolved in time; other help may also be needed for that.
Agency workers, labour migrants and moving abroad
If wages, housing and transport are all arranged through the same employment agency, several financial problems can arise at once after an accident. Make separate overviews of them. A deduction for housing is not automatically an item of personal injury damage; the legal basis of the deduction must also be examined.
When returning to another country, supporting documents, amounts in foreign currency and the method of payment may need attention. Record actual costs and exchange rate details and agree in advance how documents will be provided. Reimbursement of treatment or travel abroad is not automatically a given. Benefits may also have their own conditions for residence outside the Netherlands.
If necessary, read more about returning abroad after a workplace accident and housing when an agency worker is unable to work.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to be fully recovered before I can receive an advance payment?
No. Where liability is established, sufficiently substantiated damage can already be compensated in the interim. The full damage does not always have to be finally determined for this.
How much is an advance payment after a workplace accident?
There is no standard percentage or fixed amount. The request must match the demonstrable damage, previous payments, the position on liability and any uncertainties.
Is the advance later deducted from the final compensation?
Yes, an advance payment is in principle offset against the final compensation. Therefore keep a complete record of payments received.
Can I receive an advance payment if liability is disputed?
That is less self-evident. Sometimes payment is made under conditions without admission of liability. Have the conditions and any risk of having to repay assessed beforehand.
Do I have to sign a full and final discharge for an advance payment?
An advance payment and a final settlement are different matters. Have a document containing a full and final discharge reviewed before you sign, so that it is clear which claims you may be giving up.
Help with a specific request for an advance
Contact Arslan Advocaten with the liability response, your statement of damage and the advance payments received. Mention it if a payment is urgently needed and why. Also discuss the costs of legal assistance: reasonable extrajudicial costs may be recoverable where liability exists, subject to statutory conditions, but not every procedure or expense is automatically free of charge.
Sources
- Dutch Personal Injury Council: advance payments and payment
- Dutch Personal Injury Council: mapping out your damage
- Dutch Personal Injury Council: compensation and settlement
- Dutch Civil Code, Book 6: compensation for damage
