FDW insurance in Singapore is not one product but three things MOM forces you to buy before your helper starts work: medical insurance with a claim limit of at least S$60,000 a year, personal accident cover of at least S$60,000, and a S$5,000 security bond. Most employers buy all three as a single bundle from one insurer, which is why people lump it together as maid insurance. The minimums were raised in July 2023 and the rules tightened again in July 2025, so anything you read before then quotes the wrong numbers. This guide breaks down what each part covers, the 2026 premiums you should expect, and where the cheaper deals hide.
Hiring a foreign domestic worker means clearing three separate insurance hurdles before the Work Permit is issued. Skip any one and MOM will not let the helper start. The good news is that almost every insurer sells them as one package, so you fill in a single form and pay a single premium.
Medical insurance is the part that has changed most. Since 1 July 2023 the annual claim limit must be at least S$60,000, up from the old S$15,000 floor, and it has to cover inpatient hospitalisation and day surgery, including admissions linked to pre-existing conditions unless they were undeclared. Personal accident insurance is the second pillar: a minimum sum assured of S$60,000 that pays a lump sum to your helper or her beneficiaries if a sudden accident causes permanent disability or death.
The security bond is not insurance for your helper. It is a S$5,000 guarantee to MOM that you will meet your obligations as an employer, such as paying salary on time and sending the helper home when the permit ends. If you breach those conditions, or the helper goes missing, MOM can forfeit the bond.
Malaysian helpers are exempt, so you skip the bond entirely if you hire from Malaysia. For everyone else, the bond is usually bundled into the same package as the medical and personal accident cover at little or no extra premium, and the insurer carries the risk instead of you posting S$5,000 in cash. The bond is normally discharged about a week after the helper leaves Singapore, provided the permit was cancelled and no conditions were breached. One insurer markets the fact that it will not bill you even if MOM forfeits the bond, which is worth checking line by line in the policy wording.
A quirk that surprises many first-time employers is the mandatory co-payment introduced under the July 2023 changes. The insurer fully covers the first S$15,000 of a hospital bill. Above that, you as the employer pay 25% and the insurer pays 75%, up to the policy's annual limit.
So a S$40,000 hospitalisation does not cost you nothing. The insurer covers the first S$15,000 in full, then splits the remaining S$25,000 at 75/25, leaving you roughly S$6,250 out of pocket. You cannot pass any insurance cost on to your helper. If that exposure worries you, the top-tier plans from several insurers reduce or remove the co-payment, and a couple now offer a 0% co-payment option for an extra premium.
| Portion of bill | Insurer pays | Employer pays |
|---|---|---|
| First S$15,000 | S$15,000 (100%) | S$0 |
| Next S$25,000 | S$18,750 (75%) | S$6,250 (25%) |
| Total S$40,000 | S$33,750 | S$6,250 |
The second wave of MOM reforms took effect on 1 July 2025 and shifted the burden off employers when a real bill lands. The headline change is mandatory direct billing: for an admissible claim, the insurer settles directly with the public hospital through a Letter of Guarantee, so you no longer front five-figure sums and chase a reimbursement afterwards.
Two other Stage 2 rules matter for shopping around. Exclusion clauses are now standardised across insurers, which makes the small print far more comparable than it used to be. And premiums are age-banded, with a higher rate once a helper turns 50, because older helpers statistically cost more to insure. If your helper is in her fifties, expect to pay noticeably more than the headline figures the comparison sites advertise.
Premiums depend on the plan tier, the helper's age, and whether you buy a 14-month or 26-month term. The 26-month policies cover a two-year contract plus the two extra months MOM requires to protect a helper who overstays after the permit expires, and they usually work out cheaper on a per-year basis than renewing a 14-month plan twice.
As a rough guide for a helper under 50, a basic 14-month plan runs from around S$280, and a basic 26-month plan from roughly S$400, before GST. Enhanced plans with higher ceilings, outpatient riders or a reduced co-payment cost more. The figures below are taken from insurers' own pages and a major comparison site as of June 2026, before GST and before any promotional discount; verify the live quote for your helper's exact age and start date.
Sign-up promotions move these numbers a lot. As of June 2026, comparison aggregators were advertising up to 30% off plus PayNow or Grab voucher cashback worth over S$100 on selected plans, and Income was running a flash sale of up to 30% off direct. Treat the gross premium as the ceiling and the post-promo price as what you actually pay. Before you commit, it is worth slotting the annual figure into your household budget alongside the levy and salary.
| Insurer / plan | Hospital & surgical | Personal accident / liability | Indicative premium (26-month) | Promo seen (Jun 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSIG MaidPlus, Standard | S$60,000 | S$5,000 third-party liability | From ~S$410 (30% off ~S$585) | Up to S$115 PayNow / S$125 Grab |
| Great Eastern Maid Protect, Silver | S$60,000 | S$50,000 third-party liability | From ~S$417 (20% off with code, ~S$521) | Up to S$110 PayNow / S$120 Grab |
| Income Domestic Helper, Standard | S$60,000/yr | S$60,000 accidental death/disability | Quote-based, up to 30% flash sale | Includes S$5,000 bond + LOG |
| FWD Maid Insurance, Exclusive | S$60,000 (raisable to S$120,000) | Per plan | Quote-based | 0% co-payment on top tier |
Every premium above is quoted before GST, which sits at 9% in 2026. Add that to the figure you see on the comparison page, since the goods and services tax applies to insurance premiums. A S$410 plan becomes about S$447 after GST, before any voucher cashback is netted off.
Because MOM standardised the floor at S$60,000 and made direct billing mandatory, the cheapest compliant plan from a reputable insurer genuinely meets the legal minimum. The premium gap between insurers on a basic plan is often smaller than the gap created by a single promotion, so compare the post-discount net price, not the sticker.
Pay up for an enhanced plan only if the extras solve a real problem. A higher hospital ceiling matters if your helper has a known condition that could blow past S$60,000. A reduced or 0% co-payment is worth it if a large bill would strain your cash flow, since the standard plan can still leave you owing thousands. Outpatient and dental riders are nice but rarely the deciding factor.
FDW medical cover is narrow by design and is not a substitute for the broader hospitalisation cover Singaporeans rely on. If you want to understand how local health plans are structured, our explainer on medical insurance for foreigners and the comparison of Integrated Shield versus MediShield Life show the difference between basic and enhanced tiers.
Yes. MOM requires medical insurance with a claim limit of at least S$60,000 a year and personal accident cover of at least S$60,000 before the Work Permit is issued, plus a S$5,000 security bond for non-Malaysian helpers. The cover must run for the entire permit with no gap on renewal.
No. MOM explicitly bars employers from passing on the cost of the mandatory medical and personal accident insurance to the helper. You also cannot deduct the premium or the security bond from her salary. The full cost sits with you as the employer.
Under MOM rules, the insurer fully covers the first S$15,000 of a hospital bill. For amounts above S$15,000 you pay 25% and the insurer pays 75%, up to the policy limit. A S$40,000 bill leaves you owing roughly S$6,250 unless you bought a plan with a reduced or 0% co-payment.
A 26-month plan covers a two-year contract plus the two extra months MOM requires in case the helper overstays, and it usually works out cheaper per year than renewing a 14-month plan. If you are unsure how long the helper will stay, the 14-month plan limits your upfront outlay.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.