Domestic helper insurance is not optional in Singapore. If you employ a migrant domestic worker, the Ministry of Manpower requires you to maintain both medical insurance and personal accident insurance for her. For most non-Malaysian helpers, you will also need a S$5,000 security bond.
That means every compliant domestic helper insurance policy starts from roughly the same regulatory baseline.
The differences become more important once you look beyond it.
Some plans stick fairly closely to the mandatory minimum. Others increase hospitalisation limits, reduce your share of large medical bills, cover outpatient treatment, pay towards temporary domestic help, reimburse wages and levy during hospitalisation, provide higher repatriation limits or include protection if you need to hire a replacement helper.
For this guide, we compared currently available domestic helper insurance from established Singapore insurers and distributors, focusing on medical protection, employer co-payment, personal accident cover, repatriation, temporary-help benefits, liability cover and practical claims features.
Quick Answer: What Is the Best Domestic Helper Insurance in Singapore?
Best overall: MSIG MaidPlus
Best for pre-existing condition coverage: Income Domestic Helper Insurance
Best for eliminating hospital co-payment: FWD Maid Insurance
Best for broad employer protection: AIG Domestic Helper Insurance
Best bank-distributed option: DBS Domestic Helper Protect by Chubb
Best digital-first option: Tiq Maid by Etiqa
If your priority is keeping your potential exposure to a large hospital bill down, we would pay particular attention to co-payment arrangements and the overall hospitalisation limit, rather than simply choosing whichever insurer is running the largest promotion.
Best Domestic Helper Insurance in Singapore at a Glance
| Plan | Best for | Hospital & surgical cover | Personal accident | Notable feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSIG MaidPlus | Best overall | Up to S$120,000/year | S$60,000/year | Higher medical limits and up to S$20,000 repatriation |
| Income Domestic Helper Insurance | Pre-existing conditions | S$60,000/year | Up to S$80,000 | Pre-existing condition cover for eligible long-serving helpers |
| FWD Maid Insurance | Reducing co-payment | S$60,000/year | Meets MOM requirement | Higher tier offers 0% co-payment above S$15,000 |
| AIG Domestic Helper Insurance | Employer protection | Up to S$100,000/year | Up to S$100,000 | Liability, contents and temporary-helper benefits |
| DBS Domestic Helper Protect by Chubb | Bank customers | S$60,000/year | S$60,000 | Premier plan reduces co-payment to 10% |
| Tiq Maid by Etiqa | Online purchase | Meets MOM requirements | From S$60,000 | Digital purchase and optional co-insurance protection |
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Benefits vary by plan tier and optional add-ons. Always read the current policy wording before purchasing.
What Insurance Does MOM Require for a Domestic Helper?
Before comparing insurers, it helps to understand the minimum.
As of 2026, MOM requires employers to provide medical insurance with an annual claim limit of at least S$60,000 for inpatient care and day surgery.
For eligible medical claims above the first S$15,000, MOM’s standard structure allows insurers to pay 75% while employers bear 25%, although insurers can offer plans or add-ons that reduce your share further.
You must also buy personal accident insurance with a sum assured of at least S$60,000 per year, payable to the helper or her beneficiaries if an accident causes permanent disability or death.
For non-Malaysian helpers, employers generally also need a S$5,000 security bond.
Since 1 July 2025, enhanced medical-insurance rules also require standardised allowable exclusions, separate premium bands for helpers aged 50 and below versus those above 50, and direct payment by insurers to hospitals once an admissible claim has been established.
Those are the basics.
The plans below stand out mainly because of what they provide beyond those minimums.
1. MSIG MaidPlus
Best for: Strong all-round medical protection
Insurer: MSIG Insurance (Singapore)
Plans: Standard, Classic and Premier
MSIG MaidPlus gets our overall pick largely because of its hospitalisation limits.
Its Standard plan provides S$60,000 of annual hospital and surgical cover, while Classic increases that to S$80,000 and Premier to S$120,000 per year. The higher tiers therefore give you more headroom than plans that stop at MOM’s S$60,000 minimum.
The plans also include 90 days of pre- and post-hospitalisation diagnostic services and treatment.
Personal accident protection is S$60,000 per year across the three tiers, while accidental medical expenses rise from S$1,000 on Standard to S$3,000 on Premier.
Another useful feature is alternative domestic help.
If your helper is hospitalised because of an eligible illness or injury, MSIG pays S$50 per day towards temporary help, for up to 30 days on Standard, 45 days on Classic and 60 days on Premier.
Repatriation coverage can also reach S$20,000 in the event of permanent disablement or death.
Editor’s Verdict
MSIG is our strongest all-rounder because the differences between its tiers are meaningful rather than cosmetic.
In particular, S$120,000 of hospital and surgical cover on Premier gives substantially more breathing room than simply satisfying the S$60,000 statutory minimum.
That matters because the mandatory insurance requirement does not mean every possible medical bill is completely covered.
We would look at MSIG particularly seriously if your concern is major hospitalisation rather than just meeting the Work Permit requirements as cheaply as possible.
MSIG also publishes a fairly clear claims checklist online, which is useful if you ever actually need to use the policy.
Our pick for: Best Overall Domestic Helper Insurance
2. Income Domestic Helper Insurance
Best for: Helpers with eligible pre-existing medical conditions
Insurer: Income Insurance
Plans: Basic, Standard and Enhanced
Income has one particularly important differentiator: pre-existing medical condition coverage for eligible helpers.
Across its Domestic Helper Insurance tiers, Income states that hospital and surgical cover can include pre-existing medical conditions where the helper has been employed in Singapore for more than 12 consecutive months. That will not matter to every household.
For someone renewing insurance for a long-serving helper with an existing medical history, however, it may matter considerably.
All three plans provide S$60,000 of hospital and surgical cover. Personal accident cover is S$60,000 on Basic and Standard and rises to S$80,000 on Enhanced.
Income also provides 60-day pre- and post-hospitalisation treatment coverage and offers optional co-payment protection.
Standard and Enhanced plans add benefits such as wage compensation and expenses associated with having to stop employing your helper because of serious illness or injury.
There is also a practical medical-services angle. Income provides access to MediPass, which offers preferential rates for services including GP consultations, specialist care, dental treatment, vaccinations and compulsory six-monthly medical examinations.
Editor’s Verdict
Income would be our first insurer to investigate if you are renewing coverage for a helper who has already worked in Singapore for more than a year and has a pre-existing condition.
Most basic comparisons focus on whether one policy offers S$60,000 or S$80,000 of accidental death cover.
Pre-existing condition treatment can be considerably more consequential.
We also like that the insurer provides quite a lot of public information explaining what the product does and does not cover, rather than forcing you to start an application just to understand the broad structure.
Our pick for: Best for Eligible Pre-Existing Conditions
3. FWD Maid Insurance
Best for: Employers who want to minimise hospital co-payment
Insurer: FWD Singapore
FWD is one of the more interesting choices if the 25% employer co-payment above S$15,000 is what worries you.
Its plans provide S$60,000 of hospitalisation and surgical coverage per year, but the highest tier currently reduces the employer’s co-payment on eligible hospitalisation and surgical expenses to 0%, compared with 25% on the lower tiers.
That is a meaningful difference.
Suppose an eligible hospital bill is substantially above S$15,000. The statutory insurance structure can leave the employer paying part of the amount above that threshold. A plan that waives the co-payment can therefore reduce your out-of-pocket exposure even though the headline annual hospital limit remains S$60,000.
FWD also provides accidental outpatient medical reimbursement of up to S$3,000 depending on tier and outpatient medical benefits for illness on selected plans.
Claims can be submitted through FWD’s app.
Editor’s Verdict
This is a good example of why comparing plans by headline hospitalisation limit alone is not enough.
FWD does not necessarily win on the biggest medical limit.
Its strongest argument is that an upper-tier plan can remove the 25% co-payment that employers would otherwise face on the eligible portion of a large hospital bill above S$15,000.
For some households, that may be more valuable than buying a policy with a higher headline limit but retaining a larger co-payment.
Our pick for: Best for Reducing Hospital Co-Payment
4. AIG Domestic Helper Insurance
Best for: Broad protection for both helper and employer
Insurer: AIG Singapore
Plans: Classic, Superior, Elite and Premier
AIG has one of the broader collections of secondary benefits we found.
Depending on tier, its Domestic Helper Insurance provides up to S$100,000 of hospitalisation and surgical cover and up to S$100,000 of worldwide personal accident protection.
The policy also includes benefits that directly protect the employer.
Employer’s contents are covered for up to S$30,000 on higher tiers, while domestic-helper liability reaches S$100,000 across the listed plans.
There is accidental medical reimbursement of up to S$2,000, part-time helper expenses of up to S$500 and salary and government-levy benefits during eligible periods.
AIG also provides up to S$10,000 for repatriation expenses.
Optional dread-disease cover is available for specified conditions including major cancers, heart attack, kidney failure and stroke.
Editor’s Verdict
AIG makes the most sense to us if you view helper insurance as household risk insurance, rather than simply something you need to renew a Work Permit.
Contents cover, domestic-helper liability, temporary-helper expenses and salary or levy benefits do not sound as dramatic as hospitalisation cover.
But these are precisely the benefits that can become relevant when an incident disrupts the household around the medical event.
The higher tiers are therefore worth comparing if you want a broader package rather than the narrowest MOM-compliant option.
Our pick for: Best Broad Employer Protection
5. DBS Domestic Helper Protect by Chubb
Best for: A straightforward option from a familiar bank channel
Underwriter: Chubb Insurance Singapore
Distributor: DBS Bank
Plans: Classic and Premier
DBS distributes Domestic Helper Protect, which is underwritten by Chubb.
The structure is relatively easy to understand.
Both Classic and Premier provide S$60,000 per year of hospital and surgical expenses, but Classic follows a 25% co-payment structure above the relevant threshold while Premier reduces this to 10%.
Both also provide S$60,000 for accidental death and permanent disability.
Premier adds stronger employer-side benefits, including S$2,000 of contents cover, up to S$1,000 for replacement-helper expenses, and wage and levy compensation of S$60 a day for up to 60 days. Classic provides S$30 a day for up to 30 days.
There is also a S$5,000 insurance guarantee bond.
Optional protection can reduce your exposure under the security bond to a S$250 excess in qualifying circumstances, while employer liability can be increased to S$300,000 or S$500,000.
Editor’s Verdict
DBS/Chubb is not the most generous policy in every category, but the Premier plan has a sensible feature set.
The 10% hospitalisation co-payment is particularly worth noting. It sits between the standard 25% arrangement and policies that offer a complete waiver.
The online purchase process also makes this convenient for someone who would rather deal through a familiar bank rather than compare unfamiliar insurers individually.
Just remember that DBS is the distributor; Chubb is the insurer underwriting the policy.
Our pick for: Best Bank-Distributed Domestic Helper Insurance
6. Tiq Maid by Etiqa
Best for: Digital-first purchase and straightforward online management
Insurer: Etiqa Insurance
Brand: Tiq
Tiq Maid is Etiqa’s direct-to-consumer domestic helper insurance.
The product is available online and comes in multiple tiers, with personal accident cover starting from S$60,000, hospitalisation and surgical protection that meets MOM’s enhanced requirements, repatriation benefits and wage or levy reimbursement.
Etiqa’s current product material also includes an option to waive or reduce co-insurance under the hospitalisation benefit.
Repatriation cover can reach S$10,000, while temporary-help benefits can provide a daily payout when an eligible hospitalisation leaves your household without your helper.
Etiqa also supports digital maid-insurance claims through its online services.
Editor’s Verdict
Tiq is the option we would shortlist if your priority is a simple online purchase and servicing experience.
Its biggest advantage is not one extraordinary headline benefit.
Instead, the attraction is that the product covers the expected MOM requirements, offers the usual useful extras and is designed around direct digital purchase.
Do compare the different tiers carefully rather than choosing solely based on whatever promotional discount is showing at checkout.
Our pick for: Best Digital-First Domestic Helper Insurance
How We Chose the Best Domestic Helper Insurance in Singapore
We did not rank these policies simply by promotional price.
That would be misleading.
Since July 2025, premiums are age-differentiated between helpers aged 50 and below and those above 50, and final prices can also change based on policy length, plan tier, add-ons and promotions.
Instead, we compared:
- annual hospitalisation and surgical limits;
- employer co-payment for large medical claims;
- personal accident protection;
- accidental outpatient medical benefits;
- repatriation expenses;
- temporary domestic-help benefits;
- wage and levy compensation;
- replacement-helper expenses;
- security-bond protection;
- liability benefits;
- pre-existing condition provisions;
- claims processes;
- and whether current product information was publicly available and verifiable.
We also prioritised policies that give employers a meaningful reason to choose them beyond merely satisfying MOM’s minimum requirements.
Fact-checked: 12 November 2026.
Insurance terms, premiums and promotions can change. Read the latest policy wording and product summary before buying.
What Is the S$5,000 Domestic Helper Security Bond?
Most employers of non-Malaysian migrant domestic workers must provide a S$5,000 security bond to the Singapore Government.
It is not an insurance payout for your helper.
It is a guarantee that you and your helper will comply with Work Permit conditions.
You cannot require your helper to pay for the bond.
Malaysian helpers are exempt from this particular security-bond requirement.
Most helper-insurance packages arrange the guarantee as part of the policy rather than requiring you to place S$5,000 in cash with MOM.
What Is Security Bond Protector or Waiver of Counter Indemnity?
This is different from the bond itself.
The insurer provides the S$5,000 guarantee to MOM, but under normal circumstances you may still be liable to reimburse the insurer if MOM calls on the bond.
Some policies therefore sell an optional bond protector or waiver of counter indemnity.
Depending on the insurer and circumstances, this can reduce your financial liability to around S$250 where the bond is forfeited for a reason that was not caused by your own fault or negligence.
Income and DBS/Chubb are among the insurers that publish this type of optional protection.
Read the exclusions carefully. It is not a blanket guarantee that you can never lose the bond.
What Does the 25% Co-Payment on Domestic Helper Insurance Mean?
For MOM-compliant medical insurance, the first S$15,000 of an eligible claim is covered without the employer co-payment.
For the eligible portion above S$15,000, the standard structure requires the insurer to cover 75% and the employer to bear 25%, subject to the policy’s overall limit.
This is why co-payment protection deserves more attention than it sometimes receives.
For example, DBS/Chubb’s Premier plan reduces the co-payment to 10%, while FWD offers a tier with a 0% employer co-payment.
When comparing policies, look at both:
How high is the hospitalisation limit?
and
How much of a large eligible bill could I still have to pay myself?
They answer different questions.
Is S$60,000 of Medical Insurance Enough?
S$60,000 is the minimum required by MOM, not a declaration that every possible hospitalisation will cost less than S$60,000.
That is why higher-tier products exist.
MSIG, for example, currently offers hospitalisation and surgical limits up to S$120,000, while AIG offers selected tiers with limits above the statutory minimum.
Whether you need the additional coverage comes down to your appetite for risk and the premium difference.
We would not automatically choose the largest number.
But neither would we treat S$60,000 as inherently comprehensive simply because it meets MOM requirements.
Does Domestic Helper Insurance Cover GP Visits?
Not necessarily.
The mandatory medical insurance requirement primarily concerns inpatient care and day surgery.
Routine outpatient treatment is therefore one of the areas where policies differ.
Some plans provide outpatient reimbursement for accidental injuries, while selected higher tiers may include broader outpatient benefits.
For ordinary GP visits for illnesses such as flu, do not assume they are covered simply because you bought domestic helper medical insurance.
MSIG, for example, explicitly states that its MaidPlus hospitalisation benefit does not cover an ordinary flu consultation unless the treatment falls within the policy’s relevant benefits.
Does Domestic Helper Insurance Cover Pre-Existing Conditions?
Sometimes, but it is not an MOM requirement.
Income is one notable example: it states that eligible pre-existing medical conditions are covered under its hospital and surgical benefit where the helper has been employed in Singapore for more than 12 consecutive months.
If your helper already has a diagnosed condition, this is one area where we would read the policy wording particularly carefully before changing insurers.
Does Domestic Helper Insurance Cover Repatriation?
Many enhanced policies do. Repatriation cover helps with the cost of returning your helper — or, in some circumstances, her remains — to her home country following qualifying serious disability or death.
Limits differ. MSIG currently provides up to S$20,000 under MaidPlus, while AIG and several other products provide up to S$10,000.
This is one of those benefits you hope never to use, but it is still worth comparing.
Does Domestic Helper Insurance Cover Temporary Help?
Some plans do. This usually pays a daily amount or reimburses specified costs if your helper is hospitalised and you need temporary domestic assistance.
MSIG’s MaidPlus, for example, pays S$50 a day for up to 30, 45 or 60 days depending on plan. AIG also includes part-time helper expenses on its plans.
This benefit may be especially relevant for households where the helper provides substantial childcare or eldercare.
Do I Have to Pay for My Helper’s Insurance?
Yes.
MOM states that employers must purchase the required medical and personal accident insurance and cannot pass the cost on to the helper.
The same applies to the security bond: you cannot require your helper to pay for it.
When Should I Buy Domestic Helper Insurance?
For a new helper, you need the required security bond and insurance in place before she arrives in Singapore.
MOM advises that insurers or banks can take up to three working days to send security-bond details to the ministry. The bond also needs to be effective when your helper enters Singapore.
For renewals, MOM generally sends the Work Permit renewal notice around eight weeks before expiry.
Before completing the renewal, you need to extend the existing insurance or purchase a new package covering the next Work Permit period.
Do not leave this until the final day.
Is 14-Month or 26-Month Maid Insurance Better?
Many insurers structure helper insurance around approximately 14- or 26-month periods because insurance needs to extend beyond the nominal Work Permit period.
For a helper you expect to employ for another full two-year term, a 26-month plan often reduces the hassle of renewing again sooner and may work out cheaper on a monthly basis.
But compare actual premiums rather than assuming longer is automatically cheaper.
What Should I Compare Before Buying Domestic Helper Insurance?
Start with the medical coverage.
Then look beyond it.
We would compare these five things first:
1. Hospitalisation limit
S$60,000 is the statutory minimum. Higher tiers can offer more.
2. Your co-payment
A S$60,000 plan with 0% co-payment can expose you differently from a higher-limit policy with a 25% co-payment.
3. Pre-existing conditions
Particularly important for a long-serving helper.
4. Repatriation and replacement costs
These can become significant when employment ends unexpectedly because of serious illness or disability.
5. Household disruption benefits
Temporary domestic help and wage or levy compensation may be particularly useful if you rely heavily on your helper for young children or elderly family members.
Price comes after those.
A S$50 saving at purchase is not particularly impressive if the policy leaves you with thousands of dollars more exposure during a major claim.
Which Domestic Helper Insurance Is Best for a New Helper?
For a healthy new helper with no known medical issues, we would first compare MSIG MaidPlus, FWD Maid Insurance and AIG Domestic Helper Insurance.
MSIG stands out for its higher medical limits.
FWD is particularly interesting if reducing the employer’s hospital co-payment is the priority.
AIG has broader household and liability-related protection.
For a straightforward online experience, Tiq by Etiqa is another sensible option.
Which Domestic Helper Insurance Is Best for a Renewal?
Income is particularly worth considering for renewals because of its published treatment of eligible pre-existing conditions for helpers who have worked in Singapore for more than 12 consecutive months.
That does not automatically make it the best renewal policy for everyone.
But it gives existing employers a concrete reason to compare Income rather than simply renewing whichever policy they already have.
Which Domestic Helper Insurance Has the Highest Medical Coverage?
Among the policies compared in this guide, MSIG MaidPlus Premier currently stands out with up to S$120,000 per year for hospitalisation and surgical expenses.
AIG also offers enhanced tiers above the S$60,000 statutory minimum, including plans with S$100,000 hospitalisation and surgical benefits.
Coverage limits are only one part of the policy, however.
Co-payments, exclusions and sub-limits also matter.
Our Verdict: Which Is the Best Domestic Helper Insurance in Singapore?
MSIG MaidPlus is our overall pick for 2026.
Its strongest advantage is straightforward: the upper tiers provide meaningfully more medical protection than the statutory minimum, reaching S$120,000 per year, alongside useful temporary-help and repatriation benefits.
But there are situations where we would choose something else.
For a long-serving helper with an eligible pre-existing condition, we would look very closely at Income.
If our biggest concern were the 25% employer share of a large medical bill, FWD’s 0% co-payment option would be particularly attractive.
For broad household and liability protection, AIG is one of the stronger packages.
And if convenience matters more than maximising every benefit, DBS/Chubb or Tiq by Etiqa offer relatively straightforward routes to getting the required coverage in place.
The important point is not to treat helper insurance as a box to tick for MOM. All compliant plans meet a minimum, so the best plan is the one that leaves you comfortable with what happens after the medical bill goes beyond that minimum.
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