Self-employed persons and their spouses
Health insurance cover of self-employed person
Persons who are entered in the commercial register as self-employed persons are provided with health insurance.
Commencement of health insurance cover
If you decide to start your own business, you have to register as a self-employed person in the Commercial Register. You can find more information on starting a business and the obligations of a self-employed person on the website of the Tax and Customs Board www.emta.ee and on the website of the Ministry of Justice under "Self-employed person".
If a person's health insurance is not valid on the day of submitting the data, his or her health insurance cover will commence after a 14-day waiting period.
If the insurance data is submitted during a valid health insurance cover, then there is no waiting period and the health insurance cover continues on a new basis without interruption.
Suspension of health insurance cover
The health insurance cover of a self-employed person will be suspended two months after the entry in the commercial register or register of taxable persons of the suspension of the activities, including seasonal activities of a person.
The commercial register or the Tax and Customs Board are required to inform EHIF of the termination of the operation of a self-employed person within 10 calendar days.
If a person recommences business activities after their suspension, the commercial register or the Tax and Customs Board must submit to EHIF the details of recommencement of business activities within 10 calendar days.
Upon receipt of the data, the insurance cover will continue without a waiting period.
Termination of health insurance cover
The health insurance cover of a self-employed person will terminate after making of the deletion entry in the commercial register or register of taxable persons.
The commercial register or the Tax and Customs Board must inform EHIF of the termination of activities within 10 calendar days.
The health insurance cover will be valid for another two months after the deletion entry is made.
You can check the validity of health insurance cover in the state portal under the service "Health insurance and family physician information".
Health insurance cover of spouse participating in activities of self-employed person
Self-employed person’s spouse is entitled to health insurance cover, if:
- their marriage is registered and valid
- the spouse participates in the activities of undertaking of the self-employed person
- the spouse is not employed by the self-employed person and is not his or her contractual business partner
Self-employed person’s spouse may also be insured on another basis (for example under an employment contract) while assisting his or her self-employed spouse.
Commencement of health insurance cover
In order to take out insurance for self-employed person’s spouse, the self-employed person entered in the commercial register must register his or her spouse participating in his or her activities in the Tax and Customs Board employment register under the type “spouse of a self-employed person liable to social tax”.
If the self-employed person’s spouse does not have valid health insurance cover on the day of submitting the data, then it will commence after the passing of the waiting period of fourteen days from the entry in the register of employment. If the self-employed person's spouse has health insurance cover that is valid on that day, the waiting period will not be applied and the health insurance cover will continue on the new basis without interruption.
Upon entering the data of the spouse in the employment register, the self-employed person is obliged to pay social tax for the spouse. You can find more information on the website of the Tax and Customs Board.
Suspension of health insurance cover
The health insurance cover of a self-employed person’s spouse will be suspended after two months have passed after making an entry on the suspension of activities of the self-employed person in the commercial register. The self-employed person must also on the same date suspend the registration of the spouse in the employment register. The basis for suspension must be "Suspension of employment for another reason".
Upon recommencement of the activities of a self-employed person, the health insurance cover will continue without a waiting period.
Termination of health insurance cover
The health insurance cover of a self-employed person’s spouse will terminate after two months have passed from the date of termination of participation in the activities of the undertaking entered in the employment register or from the deletion of the self-employment person from the commercial register. The self-employed person must terminate the registration of the spouse in the register. The basis for termination should be "Other reasons".
If a self-employed person is deleted from the commercial register, his or her spouse's health insurance cover will be also terminated.