In this article, we are going to talk about the requirement when buying a foreign maid insurance policy. Also, we are going to discuss the necessary coverage, what does maid insurance over and how much is the cost of the policy.
What is a maid, and why are they kept?
Maids are people who are kept in a household to help clean the house clean. Not only are they only there for a cleaning, but the maids can stay there with the employer also. This is only possible when the maid is from another country and is written in the guidelines of MOM.
Maids are also called domestic helpers and also domestic workers. Those maids who come from another country are called Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW). Maids are kept for only one reason that is to look after the cleanliness of the house. Also, if the maid can cook food, then they are given the responsibility to cook food and bring groceries.
Maids are a good thing to hire for those people who are working, and in Singapore, all the people are working. There are around 250,000 employed maids in Singapore who are working every day. Also, the maids are to be kept in a household with maid insurance in their name.
The insurance policy is mandatory, as it is stated by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Those people found not buying a maid insurance for their maid will be revoked of the services of the maid. Also, there are extra charges which have to be paid by the employer to the MOM.
The foreign maid insurance and maid insurance are the same, so there is no need for any confusion. This policy is not that much-discussed in the market like car and home insurance policy. So the Singapore government is trying different things to make maid insurance known among people.
What is required coverage in FDW’s policy?
The MOM has set some things in their rules and regulation, which everyone has to follow. They have also mentioned the things for which coverage has to be taken in the policy. The insurance policy must contain medicine expense, accident expense, and security bond.
These are the things that shall be there to use the services of the maid in Singapore. Here are some of the requirements that should be there in the policy you have taken.
- You should have medical insurance with a $15,000 coverage for hospitalization charges per year.
- You should include personal accident insurance, which should be $60,000.
- You will have to take a security bond of $5000 for those workers who are not from Malaysia.
The above is the mandatory requirement that will be check properly at the time of allotment of a maid. The maid insurance is available for 14 months or even 26 months.
Most of the employer hire maids for two years, and they take a 26-month policy. This policy saves 30% of the expense made in a year by the employer or the maid. That is why maid insurance is necessary to have to avoid any kind of urgent expenses.
What does maid insurance Singapore cover?
There are different insurance agencies in the market, and all of them have different rates and offers. Most of the company only provide insurance for health and administrative expenses. Below given is a list of things that are included in the maid insurance policy.
- Medical expense for hospitalization and surgery
Maid insurance policies are required to cover the hospitalization and surgery expenses. This is because of the rules which are set by MOM for everyone to follow to get maid services. In this policy, the maid is insured against the wad charges and the surgery charges that take place. You can also apply to take the Hl assurance early critical illness insurance.
- Personal accident cover
This is another thing which should be included as you never know when someone might have an accident. You will have to take at least $60,000 of accident coverage of the maid. This will pay for the treatment that the maid is taking after the accident.
- Alternate domestic helper
This means that the policy will give you $20 if your maid is in hospital and unable to work. These charges are to be used to find an alternate domestic worker if you want at your home. After the maid has recovered, the alternate maid has to leave when the first maid can work.
- Wage compensation
If your maid or your helper is unable to work and is hospitalized due to an illness. Then her salary will be paid from the wage compensation cover to her family in their home country.
- Repatriation expense
These are the expenses that occur when the maid has to go back to her home due to some reason. It can either be due to an emergency at home, or she is disabled, or her term is over.
- Third-party liability expense
These are the expenses that occur when the items or something is broken by the maid. These expenses only cover those charges which occur unintentionally by the maid.
- Maids belongings
If your maids’ phone is broken while working at your home, then this cover will pay the amount needed to fix it. These are the things that help the maid to stay connected with their family back at home.
- Replacement maid
If the maid has to go back to their home after the term expiry. Then this cover will finance you till you find a replacement maid and till you take a new policy.
What are the final tips before taking the policy?
Here is a list of tips you can follow before you take an insurance policy for your maid.
- You will have to check if your maid has any preexisting health conditions or not.
- You will have to check if the policy gives cover for dengue or malaria as well.
- You have to pay attention to the outpatient benefit that a maid receives.