Maid Insurance is more important than you may realize

Domestic Helpers, or maids, are a unique aspect of life in Hong Kong. If you’re an expatriate arrive from Europe, North America, or Australia/New Zealand, then there is a very high probability that you have never had a domestic servant in your home before. However, in Hong Kong domestic servants are actually very common, with most middle-class families employing at least one helper.

If you have hired, or are considering hiring a domestic helper in Hong Kong then it is important to understand that you will be acting as an “employer” under Hong Kong law. This is a critical term, as “employers” are obligated to compensate workers in respect of accidents or injuries they may receive in the routine course of their employment.

In Hong Kong this is achieved through Employee’s Compensation Insurance.

How are EC Insurance and Maid Insurance Related?

Under Hong Kong law any employer is legally obligated to hold Employee’s Compensation Insurance. It does not matter if the employees are fulltime, part time, contract workers, tenured professionals, office workers, domestic helpers, or even interns.

Any person or entity paying another individual to perform any task must hold Employees Compensation Insurance. This includes individuals who have elected to privately hire domestic servants including maids and drivers.

As such, all Maid Insurance in Hong Kong will start with EC coverage at its core. This is the primary function of the product. Without a simplified personal option for Employee’s Compensation coverage, employers of domestic helpers would need to obtain a commercial employee’s compensation insurance which is normally far more complicated. Maid Insurance, or Domestic Helper’s Insurance, is a streamlined and simplified version of the Employee’s Compensation insurance held by companies, but often incorporates additional options to cover you (as an employer) from a range of risks associated with hiring a domestic helper in Hong Kong.

How does Maid Insurance EC Coverage work?

As stated above, employee’s compensation insurance protects and employer’s liability towards their workers should a worker experience an accident or injury in the routine course of employment. This type of coverage normally provides up to HK$ 100,000,000 in coverage for any single claim event, giving employer’s comprehensive security that they are not going to be held financially responsible for any workplace accidents.

In the case of domestic helpers, it is actually critical to realize that people experience more accidents and injuries at Home than they do anywhere else. Living inside your house or apartment is actually a fairly dangerous activity – your home is the most common location for an accident to happen. The danger of your home also applies to people working in it.

Assume, for example, that your helper is dusting a high shelf in your home. They are using a step stool to reach a difficult spot, when they slip and fall breaking their collar bone. Or perhaps the domestic helper is cleaning your bathroom floor and slips on a wet spot, hitting their head against the porcelain toilet.

Neither of these two situations are beyond the realm of possibility. In both of these circumstances the domestic helper has been performing the routine duties of their employment, and the accidents would have been entirely expected due to the nature of their work. As an employer, you are liable for providing compensation to your helper.

Without EC insurance coverage, your financial liability towards your helper is going to be high – if not crippling. Consequently, the Hong Kong government has mandated that employers cover their risk with Employee’s Compensation Insurance.

You have additional obligations with domestic helpers

Employee’s Compensation coverage is just one aspect of hiring a domestic helper. However, another area of risk which often goes overlooked is the fact that, as the employer of a maid, you are also responsible for offering your helper free medical treatment, and emergency dental treatment even if the injury or sickness did not occur at work.

This is part of the Labour Department’s standard contract guidelines for hiring a foreign domestic helper in Hong Kong, and is a big reason why many maid insurance products will also offer comprehensive health insurance options. While you are under no obligation to take out a more comprehensive maid insurance policy than the minimum EC insurance coverage required under law, you are obligated to cover your helper’s healthcare costs as and when they arise.

Although Hong Kong has an extremely effective and low-cost public healthcare system, electing to send your helper to a government clinic could take a much longer time than utilizing a doctor’s direct billing network through a domestic helper insurance policy.

Depending on the level of burden and responsibility you feel as an employer you are also able to include a range of additional extended benefits to further reduce your personal and financial risk towards your domestic helper. Additional coverage options and benefits available under many Hong Kong domestic helper insurance products include:

• Personal Accident Insurance
• Repatriation Expenses
• Loss of Service Allowances
• Dental Insurance
• Replacement Helper Expenses
• Fidelity Insurance
• Loan Protection Coverage

Domestic helper insurance products are robust and flexible; they are designed to protect you and your family against many of the risks associated with having a stranger come into your home to live and work. Even if you are not mandated by law to obtain many of these coverage benefits, there is often more sense in obtaining Domestic Helper insurance that is as comprehensive as possible.

Domestic Helper Insurance can make your life easier

Just like initially hiring a domestic helper can simplify your life, properly insuring your helper can really mean that there is no stress or risk in hiring that person.

While you are legally obligated to have Employee’s Compensation insurance it is up to you to choose any additional protections. Opting to have a more comprehensive policy will incur a higher premium; for instance, choosing a plan which includes medical over the standard EC protection will be more expensive. However, failing to possess (in this case) medical insurance for your helper will be far more expensive should they get sick or require medical treatment than the higher premium would have been.

Maid insurance is an oddity of Hong Kong, simply because domestic helpers are so rare in other parts of the world. With all the options available to you, coupled with the fact that this is a legally required form of insurance, it can be difficult to know which products and benefits are right for you and the helper you are hiring.

The expert Hong Kong Insurance brokers at CCW Global are happy to help advise you on the many maid insurance options available locally. With unbiased input on which plans offer what benefits for your needs, and how you may benefit from specific coverage options, we can help you to make an informed decision on your Hong Kong maid insurance coverage today.

For more information, or to receive a free quote, please complete the short form at the top of this page. Alternatively, you may Contact Us to arrange a free consultation with an expert broker today.