Domestic Helper Insurance 2027: Legal Rules, Costs & What to Buy

Every employer of a domestic helper in Hong Kong must, by law, hold employees' compensation insurance under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282), and not having it carries a maximum fine of HK$100,000 and two years' imprisonment. The Standard Employment Contract (ID 407) separately requires you to give your helper free medical treatment, covering medical consultation, hospital stays and emergency dental treatment, whether or not the illness is work related. Basic employees' compensation cover does not pay for that, so most employers buy a combined helper insurance plan. Published premiums for these plans run from about HK$380 to HK$900 a year for one helper, and two-year policies are cheaper per year.

This guide covers what the law requires, what a typical plan pays for, current prices, how to compare policies and how claims work. If you are still budgeting for a helper, start with our domestic helper salary guide, which has a short insurance section; this article goes much deeper.

Is Domestic Helper Insurance Compulsory in Hong Kong?

Yes, one part of it is. Employees' compensation (EC) insurance is compulsory for every employee in Hong Kong, and that includes live-in foreign domestic helpers and part-time local helpers. The Labour Department's guidance on Cap. 282 says no employer shall employ any employee "unless there is in force a policy of insurance", regardless of contract length or working hours.

The penalty is real. According to the Labour Department's Practical Guide for Employment of Foreign Domestic Helpers, failing to insure is an offence punishable by a maximum fine of HK$100,000 and imprisonment for two years. The Labour Department's insurance leaflet adds that employers convicted of helper-related labour offences are normally barred from employing a foreign domestic helper for a period.

The legal minimum cover is set by the Ordinance: for employers with up to 200 employees, the policy must cover at least HK$100 million per event. Mainstream helper plans meet this: both the MSIG and Zurich brochures state HK$100,000,000 per event for employer's liability.

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What Does the Standard Employment Contract Require?

The contract asks for more than the law on insurance does. Under the Standard Employment Contract (ID 407), the employer must provide free medical treatment to a helper who falls ill or is injured during employment, whether or not it was caused by work. The Labour Department's Practical Guide spells out the scope: medical consultation, maintenance in hospital and emergency dental treatment.

There is one exception. The duty does not apply while the helper has left Hong Kong of her own accord for personal purposes, such as home leave.

Here is the catch most new employers miss. The Immigration Department's notes on the contract terms say the employer's liability to provide free medical treatment is normally not covered by the policy required under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance. A basic EC policy pays for work injuries. It does not pay when your helper gets dengue fever, needs her appendix out or cracks a tooth on her day off.

That is why both the Labour Department and the Immigration Department advise you to take out a comprehensive policy with full medical and hospitalisation cover. The Practical Guide says employers are "strongly advised" to do so. You can read the full guide on the Labour Department's foreign domestic helper portal.

EC insurance vs comprehensive helper insurance

Source: Labour Department, Immigration Department and insurer product pages, 2026.

What Does Domestic Helper Insurance Cover?

A typical Hong Kong helper plan bundles six or seven separate covers into one policy. The limits below come from the MSIG iHelper brochure (January 2026 edition) and Zurich's Helpersafe product page, which both publish full benefit schedules.

• Employees' compensation: your legal liability for work injuries and occupational diseases, HK$100 million per event on both plans.
• Hospitalisation and surgery: room and board plus surgeon's fees for any illness or injury. MSIG's Standard plan pays HK$25,000 a year at HK$350 a day; Zurich's Helpersafe pays up to HK$80,000 a year.
• Outpatient: GP and specialist visits. MSIG pays HK$3,000 to HK$4,000 a year depending on tier; Zurich gives 20 network visits a year plus a HK$3,000 non-network limit.
• Dental: emergency dental only, typically two thirds of the bill up to HK$1,500 (MSIG) or HK$2,000 (Zurich). Scaling, crowns and root canals are excluded on Zurich's plan.
• Personal accident: a lump sum if your helper dies or is disabled in an accident, including on rest days. HK$100,000 on both plans.
• Repatriation: the cost of sending your helper (or her remains) home after serious illness or death. HK$20,000 on MSIG, HK$10,000 on Zurich.
• Fidelity guarantee: losses from theft or fraud by your helper, usually HK$10,000.
• Replacement helper: agency and visa costs to hire a replacement in specified events. HK$5,000 to HK$10,000.
• Third-party liability: if your helper accidentally injures someone or damages property. HK$150,000 (MSIG) or HK$100,000 (Zurich).

Many plans also pay a service interruption or temporary helper allowance while your helper is in hospital. Zurich pays HK$200 a day for up to 30 days, and MSIG pays HK$250 to HK$300 a day depending on tier.

What is usually excluded?

Read the exclusions before you buy. Zurich's Helpersafe page lists pre-existing conditions, pregnancy and childbirth, mental or psychiatric conditions, self-injury and injuries under the influence of alcohol or drugs among its general exclusions.

Pregnancy is the one that catches employers out. Your obligations to a pregnant helper don't go away, and the Labour Department's insurance leaflet notes that some products offer extra protection when a helper is pregnant or on maternity leave. If that matters to you, ask the insurer directly.

Heart disease and cancer are usually optional add-ons. MSIG's brochure prices them at HK$120 to HK$250 a year on top of the base premium, with a 90-day waiting period.

How Much Does Helper Insurance Cost in Hong Kong?

Expect to pay between roughly HK$380 and HK$900 a year for one helper, based on the published prices we checked in October 2026. Two-year policies, which line up with the two-year helper contract, work out cheaper per year.

Source: MSIG iHelper brochure (January 2026) and MoneyHero comparison page, October 2026. Prices exclude the insurance levy and change often.

Comparison sites frequently show promotional discounts. MoneyHero's page listed MSIG's Enhanced plan at about 45 per cent off and Allied World's MaidGuard Plan 3 at 30 per cent off in the first year, while Kwiksure advertised helper plans "from HK$585". Zurich and Generali don't publish premiums on their product pages, so you need a quote.

My view: the cheapest Essential tier is rarely worth it. On MSIG's prices, moving from Essential to Standard costs HK$340 more over two years and adds HK$3,000 a year of outpatient cover, which is where most helper claims happen.

How to Compare Helper Insurance Plans

Price is the least useful number on a quote. Use this checklist to compare two or three plans side by side.

Source: Insurance Authority, Labour Department and insurer brochures, 2026.

Check the policyholder name first

The Insurance Authority's consumer guidance makes a point that many households get wrong: the policyholder must be the employer named in the employment contract, otherwise the policy is invalid. If your spouse signed the ID 407 as employer, your spouse must be the policyholder, even if the premium comes out of your account.

Watch the waiting period

Medical benefits usually start after a waiting period. MSIG's brochure sets 14 days for clinical, hospital, surgery and dental claims, and 90 days for the heart disease and cancer add-on. During that window you still owe free medical treatment under the contract, so buy the policy before your helper arrives, not on her first day.

Read the replacement helper wording

Replacement helper cover sounds generous but triggers are tight. Zurich's Helpersafe pays only if the helper resigns within the first three months (not on renewal contracts), disappears without notice, commits a dishonest act, injures children or elders, or is repatriated as medically unfit. A helper who simply gives one month's notice in month eight won't trigger it.

What Happens When You Make a Claim?

It depends on which part of the policy you claim under.

Work injury claims (employees' compensation)

If your helper is injured at work, for example falling off a step stool or burning herself cooking, it is an employees' compensation case. The Labour Department's guidance on Cap. 282 says you must notify the Commissioner for Labour of any work accident using Form 2, within 14 days for injuries and 7 days for fatal cases. Tell your insurer at the same time.

During sick leave for a work injury, the helper is paid four-fifths of the difference between her earnings at the time of the accident and her earnings during the incapacity, according to the Labour Department. Your EC insurer reimburses this, along with medical expenses within the statutory daily limits. For the wider rules on compensation, see our guide to work injury compensation in Hong Kong.

Medical claims (illness and non-work injuries)

Most claims are simple outpatient ones. With a network clinic, your helper shows her medical card and pays nothing or a small co-payment. Outside the network, you pay the doctor, keep the receipt and the doctor's note, and claim back within the policy limit.

For hospital stays, call the insurer before admission if you can, and confirm how the daily room and board limit applies to the ward you choose. A plan paying HK$300 a day goes much further in a public hospital than in a private one.

Keep copies of every medical record your helper gives you. The Labour Department's insurance leaflet advises employers to do exactly this, and it will save you an argument with the insurer later.

How Does Sick Leave Interact With Insurance?

Sickness allowance is your cost, not the insurer's, unless the plan has a service interruption benefit. According to the Labour Department's Practical Guide, a helper is entitled to sickness allowance if she has enough paid sickness days, takes at least 4 consecutive days of sick leave and has an appropriate medical certificate.

Paid sickness days build up at 2 days per completed month in the first year and 4 days per month after that, capped at 120 days. The daily rate is four-fifths of her average daily wages.

You also cannot dismiss a helper during paid sick leave except for serious misconduct. The Practical Guide puts the maximum fine at HK$100,000, plus notice pay, 7 days' wages as compensation and the sickness allowance due. For rest days, statutory holidays and annual leave, see our domestic helper holidays guide.

Common Mistakes With Helper Insurance

1. Not renewing with the contract. Your two-year policy ends, the helper's contract is renewed, and nobody buys a new policy. You are then uninsured and breaking the law. Diary the policy end date alongside the contract renewal date.
2. Buying EC only. It satisfies the Ordinance but leaves you paying every non-work medical bill under the contract.
3. Underinsuring hospital costs. A HK$25,000 annual hospital limit at HK$350 a day disappears fast in a private hospital. Pick a higher tier if your helper is older or you'd want her treated privately.
4. Wrong policyholder. The policy must be in the name of the employer on the ID 407.
5. Buying after arrival. Waiting periods mean the first two weeks are on you.
6. Forgetting to switch helpers. If your helper leaves and a new one starts, tell the insurer and update the insured person. The Insurance Authority notes this is usually possible during the policy term.
7. Assuming fidelity cover pays for everything. Limits are usually HK$10,000, and some plans cap unauthorised phone calls at HK$3,000.

FAQs: Domestic Helper Insurance

Is domestic helper insurance mandatory in Hong Kong?

Employees' compensation insurance is mandatory for every helper under Cap. 282. Not having it carries a maximum fine of HK$100,000 and two years' imprisonment. Medical insurance is not legally required, but the contract requires you to provide free medical treatment, so most employers buy it.

How much is helper insurance per year?

Published prices in October 2026 ranged from HK$380 a year for MSIG's Essential plan to about HK$894 for Allied World's MaidGuard Plan 3 before discounts. Two-year policies cost less per year, for example HK$1,028 for two years on MSIG's Standard plan.

Does employees' compensation insurance cover my helper's medical bills?

Only for work injuries and occupational diseases. The Immigration Department says your duty to give free medical treatment is normally not covered by an EC policy. You need medical cover in a combined plan for illness and off-duty injuries.

Who should be named as the policyholder?

The employer named on the ID 407 Standard Employment Contract. The Insurance Authority warns that if the names don't match, the policy can be invalid.

Does helper insurance cover pregnancy?

Usually not. Zurich's Helpersafe, for example, excludes pregnancy, childbirth and related care. Some products offer extra protection for pregnant helpers or helpers on maternity leave, so ask before buying.

Can I transfer my helper insurance to a new helper?

Usually yes. You notify the insurer and change the insured helper during the policy term, typically when one contract ends and a new helper starts.

Do I need insurance for a part-time helper?

Yes. The Labour Department states that an employer must take out employees' compensation insurance for a part-time local domestic helper too. Some insurers sell EC-only plans for part-time and postnatal helpers.

Is there a waiting period on helper insurance?

Usually for medical benefits, not for employees' compensation. MSIG sets 14 days for clinical, hospital and dental claims and 90 days for its heart disease and cancer add-ons.

Who pays for my helper's sick leave?

You do, according to the Labour Department's Practical Guide, at four-fifths of her average daily wage once she qualifies. Some plans pay a daily service interruption benefit while she is hospitalised, which offsets part of the cost.

Should I buy a one-year or two-year policy?

Two years, in most cases. It matches the two-year contract and costs less per year, but make sure you can transfer it to a new helper if the contract ends early.

Key Takeaways

• Employees' compensation insurance is compulsory for every domestic helper, with a minimum of HK$100 million cover per event for small employers.
• Not insuring carries a maximum fine of HK$100,000 and two years' imprisonment.
• The ID 407 contract requires free medical treatment covering consultation, hospital stays and emergency dental, which EC insurance alone does not pay for.
• Published helper plan premiums ran from HK$380 to about HK$900 a year in October 2026.
• MSIG's two-year prices were HK$688, HK$1,028 and HK$1,350 for its three tiers.
• Medical benefits typically have a 14-day waiting period, so buy before your helper starts.
• Work accidents must be reported to the Commissioner for Labour within 14 days, or 7 days for a fatal case.

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