An employer must buy two insurances for each domestic helper before she arrives: medical insurance with an annual claim limit of at least $60,000, and personal accident insurance with a sum assured of at least $60,000. You pay for both, and the cost cannot be passed on to her. You can buy them together with the $5,000 security bond.
Medical insurance
What it covers. Inpatient care and day surgery during her stay in Singapore, with an annual claim limit of at least $60,000. If the plan has sub-limits, for example per condition, each must also meet the $60,000 minimum.
The 75 / 25 rule. Since 1 July 2023, for claims above $15,000 the insurer pays 75% and the employer 25%. The first $15,000 of a claim has no co-payment. A plan that only meets the minimum therefore leaves you a quarter of the part of a large bill above $15,000. Some plans go beyond the minimum and have no co-payment at all, so ask which kind you are buying.
Since 1 July 2025. Insurers use standard exclusion clauses. Premiums have two age bands, for helpers aged 50 and below and above 50, and the insurer pays the hospital directly once a claim is admissible.
Personal accident insurance
It pays a lump sum of at least $60,000 a year to the helper, or to her beneficiaries, for permanent disability or death from a sudden, unforeseen and unexpected event. It may not carry extra exclusion clauses beyond those in the Employment of Foreign Manpower Regulations.
What neither covers, and you still pay
MOM makes you responsible for all her medical costs, including hospitalisation and her six-monthly medical examination. Insurance covers inpatient care and day surgery, so ordinary clinic visits, anything the policy excludes, bills above the limit and the co-payment above $15,000 are yours. Keep a small reserve for clinic visits in your budget.
When to buy
Before she arrives in Singapore. You can buy medical and personal accident insurance and the security bond as one package, or separately, from a bank or an insurer. Your insurer or bank takes up to 3 working days to tell MOM, so do not leave it to the last week. The details are in the levy and bond.
At renewal. Extend the existing policies or buy new ones. A renewed Work Permit is usually valid for 2 years, but if the insurance package has less than 26 months to run, the permit ends 2 months before the insurance does. See how to renew a Work Permit.
Questions to ask before you buy
- Is there a co-payment above $15,000? Ask for it in writing.
- What does the policy exclude?
- Does the insurer pay the hospital directly?
- Does the cover match the length of the Work Permit?
- Is the premium for the whole contract or for one year? The cost guide shows what to expect: the full cost of a helper.
If you go through us, the insurance and bond are part of the package and are shown before you commit: see what our packages include.
Source: MOM, insurance requirements and rest days and well-being.
General information as of the date above. MOM's current rules and your own service agreement are what apply.