Do you know there are 70,000 Filipino maids in Singapore? And we have not look at maids with other nationalities such as Indonesia, India or Myanmar. Regardless of the nationalities of the maids, one thing they have in common i.e. as an employer, you need to purchase a Maid Insurance during their stay in Singapore.
An average Maid Insurance can cost around $200 to $400 plus and the policy will usually cover 26 months. The Maid Insurance policies varies between insurance companies, do you know what you are paying or to look out for?
Please allow me to make a disclaimer before you move on. I try to make this post as simple to understand as possible. Therefore, the description here may not be what the actual definition in the policy contract so please check with your advisers or seek further advice before taking any action.
First, the Ministry of Manpower(MOM) requires the employer to have a minimum coverage of $15,000 per annum of hospital and surgical expenses for the maid. The pre- and post- hospitalisation expenses within 90 days of treatment are covered too. This is is safeguard her medical expenses if the maid is warded.
During her stay in hospital, the maid insurance allows you to claim against her wages and levy. Some companies allow you to claim against the extra money you have to pay to get a temporary replacement maid during your maid’s hospitalisation.
For minor incidents due to accidents, the maid policy allows you to claim for the medical expenses incurred when you seek out-patient treatments.
Next, it is common to have $40,000 of benefit if the maid dies or suffer from permanent disablement. There is also a repatriation expenses of $10,000 so that you can send the maid’s body back to her country if she dies in Singapore. It is common to have the re-hiring expenses covered too. Some insurance companies provide an extra lump sum to her legal representative in the event of her death.
If the maid’s belongings are lost or damaged in a fire or theft, it can be covered as well. As an employer, you can opt to purchase “Fidelity Guarantee” to indemnify yourself if your money or valuables are stolen by the maid.
It is very likely that you know you are require to place a $5,000 deposit to MOM and this amount will be forfeited if the maid runs away. Most employer will use a Guarantee bond (security bond) or Letter of Guarantee issued by insurance company instead of placing the real hard cash of $5,000 with MOM. It is widely misunderstood that the insurance company will pay the $5,000 when the maid runs away. The fact is that the insurer only act as a “guarantor”, they might pay for you FIRST and will counter claim the amount of $5,000 from the employer.
Good news is you can further reduce your risk such that you just need to pay the excess which is usually $250 instead of paying the full $5,o00 if the maid runs away by adding a wavier of counter indemnity cover.
The Maid Insurance covers the employer’s liability to Third Party if the maid cause accidental bodily injury or property damage due to her negligence. As a employer, you can indemnify your own risk when the maid claim against you for injury or diseases sustained while working for you. This is similar to the more common Workman injury and compensation insurance.
To summarise, the basic benefits of a maid insurance are
- Personal accident – Death & Permanent Disablement
- Medical expenses due to accidents
- Hospital & surgical expenses
- Wages and Levy Reimbursement
- Repatriation expenses
- Termination and Re-hiring expenses (due to death or permanent disablement of your existing maid)
- Third party Liability
- Maid’s personal belongings
Optional add-ons
- Guarantee bond
- Waiver of counter indemnity for Guarantee bond
- Fidelity Guarantee
- Dread disease for the maid
- Employer’s liability
….. The list goes on.
May I remind again that the description here may not be what the actual definition in the policy contract so please check with your advisers or seek further advice before taking any action.
My IFA@Sg 