Domestic Helper Insurance in Hong Kong: Law vs Optional Cover

Direct answer: In Hong Kong, the only domestic helper insurance the law forces you to buy is employees' compensation insurance, which covers injuries and deaths at work and carries a penalty of up to HK$100,000 and two years in prison if you skip it. Separately, the Standard Employment Contract (ID 407) makes you pay for your helper's medical treatment, including hospital stays and emergency dental care, even when the illness has nothing to do with work. A compensation policy does not normally pay for that, so most families add a medical and hospitalisation plan or buy a package that includes both.

This guide is for Hong Kong employers who are buying helper insurance for the first time or renewing a policy. It separates three things that insurers' product pages tend to blur together: what the law requires, what the contract requires, and what plans offer on top. It does not rank insurers or quote premiums. Prices and plan wording change by insurer and by year, so you need to collect current quotes yourself.

The three layers of cover

A foreign domestic helper's financial protection in Hong Kong comes from three different places.

1. The Employees' Compensation Ordinance. This is the law. It covers injuries and deaths that arise out of and in the course of the helper's work, and it requires you to hold insurance for your liability.
2. The Standard Employment Contract (ID 407). This is the contract the Immigration Department accepts for a helper recruited from abroad. Clause 9 makes you responsible for free medical treatment, whatever the cause.
3. The optional plan. This is what an insurer adds: medical and hospitalisation benefits, and sometimes extras such as repatriation or cover for your own losses.

Only the first is an insurance requirement. The second is a payment obligation that you can meet from your own pocket or through insurance. The third is your choice. Most of the confusion in this market comes from treating all three as "the insurance".

What the law requires

Section 40 of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance says no employer may employ any employee unless a policy is in force covering the employer's liability for injuries at work, under the Ordinance and at common law. The Labour Department's concise guide says this applies whatever the length of the contract or working hours, full-time or part-time. Its leaflet for domestic helper employers says it covers full-time and part-time domestic helpers. Read the Labour Department's Concise Guide to the Employees' Compensation Ordinance.

The main points for a household:

• Minimum cover. The policy must cover at least HK$100 million per event for an employer with up to 200 employees. A household with one helper falls in that group.
• Penalty. An employer who fails to take out the policy can be prosecuted and, on conviction, fined up to HK$100,000 and jailed for two years.
• Cost. You pay the full premium. You may not deduct any of it from your helper's wages.
• Access. If your helper asks in writing, you must let her inspect the policy and related documents.
• Reporting. The Labour Department tells helpers who suspect their employer has no policy to report it.

Those points come from the Labour Department's leaflet for employers of domestic helpers and the concise guide. The ordinance and the Labour Department's figures are current as of the April 2026 edition of the guide. If you need a legal opinion on your own liability, the guide itself tells employers to seek professional legal advice.

What the compensation policy pays for

The policy is there to cover what you owe under the ordinance if your helper is hurt at work. The Labour Department's employer page says the compensation includes periodical payments, medical expenses and a lump sum if the helper dies or suffers permanent total or partial incapacity from a work injury. See the Labour Department's Employer Corner.

In more detail, from the concise guide:

• Sick leave pay for a work injury. During temporary incapacity you pay periodical payments of four-fifths of the difference between her monthly earnings at the time of the accident and her earnings during incapacity. They are due on the normal pay day.
• Medical expenses. Under section 10A you pay medical expenses for treatment by a registered doctor, Chinese medicine practitioner or dentist, unless you have already given adequate free treatment. The ordinance sets daily maximums that the April 2026 guide lists as HK$300 for a hospital inpatient day, HK$500 for a day of treatment outside hospital, and HK$700 for a day with both.
• Lump sums. Compensation for death or permanent incapacity is set by formula, so ask your insurer how it works rather than relying on a figure from an old article.

The guide also lists cases where you are not liable. They include an injury that causes no permanent incapacity and does not stop her earning full wages at her normal work, a deliberate self-injury, and an accident directly caused by drug addiction or by being under the influence of alcohol where it does not result in death or serious permanent incapacity.

The ordinance treats some travel as part of the job, such as travelling to or from work in transport arranged by the employer. For a live-in helper this rarely matters, but it is one of the points the guide explains.

What the contract requires, regardless of insurance

Clause 9(a) of the Standard Employment Contract is where most families get caught out. The Labour Department's employer page states the rule: if a helper is ill or suffers personal injury during employment, regardless of whether it arises out of employment, you must provide free medical treatment, including medical consultation, maintenance in hospital and emergency dental treatment. The helper must accept treatment by any registered medical practitioner you provide.

Three details matter.

It covers non-work illness. A helper who gets pneumonia, needs an appendectomy or breaks a leg on her rest day is your responsibility just as much as one who is hurt lifting a pot. The Labour Department's practical guide says you must provide free treatment "whether or not it is attributable to his/her employment". Read the Practical Guide for Employment of Foreign Domestic Helpers.

It has no cap. A Hong Kong Government reply to the Legislative Council states that the standard contract does not set a specified amount for the free medical treatment. Your exposure is the actual bill. See the Government's reply on free medical treatment.

It has one exception. You are not responsible for treatment during a period when the helper has left Hong Kong of her own volition for personal purposes, such as home leave. If she is injured at work, the ordinance rules above still apply.

Now the gap. The Immigration Department's explanatory note to Clause 9 says your liability to provide free medical treatment for illness or injury not attributable to the job is normally not covered by an employees' compensation policy. It advises employers to take out insurance covering their liability and potential medical and other expenses under the ordinance, the Employment Ordinance, the common law and the clause. Read the Immigration Department's terms of employment. The Labour Department's practical guide goes further and says you are "strongly advised" to take out an insurance policy with full medical and hospitalisation coverage.

So the compulsory policy protects you against work injuries. It does not, in the normal case, protect you against an ordinary hospital stay. Whether to insure that risk is your decision, but the cost of not insuring it is yours alone.

Sickness allowance is a separate cost

Insurance for medical bills is also not the same as paying your helper while she is off sick. Under the Employment Ordinance, the Labour Department's practical guide says she earns 2 paid sickness days for each completed month in her first 12 months and 4 for each month after that, up to 120 days at any one time. You owe sickness allowance of four-fifths of her average daily wages when the sick leave is at least 4 consecutive days and is backed by a medical certificate.

A work injury is handled differently. For that, the ordinance's periodical payments apply instead, at the same four-fifths rate calculated on the earnings difference. Your insurer's compensation policy normally responds to the work-injury payments. The sickness allowance for ordinary illness is a wage-type cost that a medical plan may not pick up, so check the policy wording.

You also cannot dismiss a helper who is on paid sick leave, except for serious misconduct. The practical guide says doing so can lead to prosecution with a fine of up to HK$100,000, plus payment in lieu of notice, a further 7 days' wages and her sickness allowance. It also lists dismissing an injured helper before the compensation agreement or assessment certificate as unlawful. If you later end the contract, see the long service payment guide for what you owe.

What plans typically add

Insurers sell packages for helper employers that combine the compulsory policy with other benefits. The names differ by insurer, and none of the items below is required by law. Treat the list as a set of questions to ask, not a standard menu.

• Medical and hospitalisation. Pays or reimburses treatment costs for illness and injury unrelated to work. This is the cover that matches your Clause 9 obligation. Limits, co-payments and exclusions vary widely.
• Outpatient and dental. Some plans pay for clinic visits and emergency dental treatment. Check whether dental is included, since the contract names emergency dental treatment.
• Repatriation or medical evacuation. Pays to return a helper to her home country on medical grounds. This is separate from your contract duty to pay her return passage when the contract ends.
• Loyalty bonus. Insurers use this term for different benefits. Ask for the definition in the policy and what triggers a payment.
• Employer's liability. Usually cover for your legal liability if your helper causes injury or damage to someone else. Ask what is excluded.
• Fidelity or dishonesty. Usually reimburses your loss if the helper steals from you. Ask for the loss limit and what proof the claim needs.

Do not assume that a larger package is a better one. A plan that lists eight benefits with low limits can leave you more exposed than a simpler one with a high hospital limit.

Required versus optional

How to compare plans

Ask every insurer or broker for the policy wording, not only the product page. Then check these points.

1. Limits. What is the maximum per illness, per year and per hospital day? Because your contract duty has no cap, a low limit leaves the gap with you.
2. Exclusions. Look for pregnancy, mental health, dental, chronic conditions, and treatment for injuries from certain activities. Whatever the plan excludes, you pay.
3. Waiting periods. Some plans do not cover certain conditions until a period has passed from the start date. A helper who needs treatment in the first weeks may fall into it.
4. Pre-existing conditions. Ask how the insurer defines them and whether the helper has to declare anything. Plans often exclude conditions that began before the policy did.
5. Employees' compensation terms. Confirm the policy meets the legal minimum and names the right declared earnings and duties. The Labour Department tells employers to give the insurer a detailed declaration of annual earnings and job duties, and to tell the insurer when employee numbers change.
6. Claims process. Is it cashless at hospital or reimbursement after you pay? What documents are needed, and how soon must you file? Keep receipts and medical certificates in one folder.
7. Who handles the claim. The Labour Department says to notify the insurer itself, not only the broker, after a work injury.
8. Policy period and renewal. Know the expiry date and renew before it, so you are never without cover.
9. Overseas travel. Check whether cover applies during home leave. The contract duty on you stops when she leaves for personal reasons, but an injury sustained working outside Hong Kong falls under the ordinance.

If a quote looks cheap, look at the limits and exclusions before the premium.

When to buy and when to renew

Before the helper starts. Section 40 says you may not employ anyone without a policy in force, so the compulsory policy needs to start no later than her first working day. Buy the medical plan at the same time. A plan bought after she arrives can leave her uninsured for the days you wait, and some medical plans apply waiting periods from the start date.

At each renewal. The ID 407 contract normally runs for two years, but insurance policies are often written for shorter periods. Put the policy expiry date in your calendar. When you renew the contract, check the new salary against what you declared to the insurer, since the Labour Department tells employers to declare earnings accurately. The Labour Department also notes that on contract renewal you cover the fees for notarising the new contract and the Immigration Department's charges. For the renewal steps, read the contract renewal guide. For pay and contract terms, read the salary, contract and rights guide.

When the helper is Filipino. The practical guide lists "mandatory insurance" among the Philippine pre-departure costs you may need to reimburse. That is a requirement of the helper's own deployment process and does not replace your Hong Kong employees' compensation policy. Ask the helper or her agency what the receipt covers, and keep it with your reimbursement record.

What to do after an injury

If your helper is injured at work, follow this order. The deadlines come from the Labour Department's concise guide and practical guide.

1. Get her treated. Take her to a registered doctor. Keep the medical certificate and receipts.
2. Note the facts. Write down when, where and how it happened while it is fresh.
3. Notify the insurer. Do it as soon as possible, in writing or on the insurer's form, and tell the insurer itself, not only your broker.
4. Notify the Commissioner for Labour. File Form 2 within 14 days of the accident. If the injury causes no more than 3 days of incapacity, use Form 2B, also within 14 days. If she dies, the deadline is 7 days. If you do not know about the accident until later, the period runs from when you find out. Failing to notify without reasonable excuse can bring a fine of up to HK$50,000.
5. Pay on time. Pay her periodical payments on normal pay days. Pay medical expenses within 21 days of her written request with receipts.
6. Wait for the assessment. For other cases, the Labour Department issues a Certificate of Compensation Assessment (Form 5). Pay the amount within 21 days of the date of issue.
7. Keep every record and send the insurer what it needs to reimburse you.

Late notice is a problem for the helper too. The guide says an employee should tell the employer about a work injury as soon as possible and that failing to give prompt notice may jeopardise or delay the claim. Say plainly to your helper that she should tell you the same day.

Insurance checklist for a Hong Kong employer

Use this before you pay a premium.

• An employees' compensation policy is in force from the helper's first working day, for at least HK$100 million per event.
• You, not your helper, are paying the premium. Nothing is deducted from wages.
• You know where the policy is and can show it to her if she asks in writing.
• The insurer has her correct duties and annual earnings.
• You have a plan, or a budget, for medical bills that the compulsory policy will not pay, because Clause 9 has no cap.
• You have read the exclusions, waiting periods and pre-existing condition terms in the policy wording.
• You know the claims process and the insurer's reporting deadline.
• You know the notice deadlines for Form 2 and Form 2B and have the insurer's claim contact saved.
• The renewal date is in your calendar, and you will recheck cover when the contract renews.
• You have agreed with your helper which doctor she will see when she is ill. The Labour Department advises agreeing this in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is domestic helper insurance compulsory in Hong Kong?

Employees' compensation insurance is compulsory. The Employees' Compensation Ordinance bars you from employing a full-time or part-time domestic helper without a valid policy covering work injuries, with cover of at least HK$100 million per event. The maximum penalty is a HK$100,000 fine and two years in prison. Medical insurance is not compulsory, but the contract still makes you pay for treatment.

Do I have to pay my helper's medical bills if she is sick and it has nothing to do with work?

Yes. The Standard Employment Contract (ID 407) requires you to provide free medical treatment whether or not the illness or injury is related to work. It covers medical consultation, maintenance in hospital and emergency dental treatment. The contract sets no dollar cap. The exception is a period when the helper has left Hong Kong of her own volition for personal purposes, such as home leave.

Does employees' compensation insurance cover a helper's ordinary illness?

Not normally. The Immigration Department's contract notes say the employer's liability to give free treatment for illness or injury not attributable to the job is normally not covered by an employees' compensation policy. A separate medical and hospitalisation plan, or a package that includes one, fills that gap.

How long do I have to report a helper's work injury?

You must notify the Commissioner for Labour within 14 days of the accident using Form 2, or Form 2B if the injury causes no more than 3 days of incapacity. For a death, the deadline is 7 days. Tell your insurer as soon as possible, in the format the insurer requires. Failing to notify the Labour Department without reasonable excuse can bring a fine of up to HK$50,000.

Can I take the insurance premium out of my helper's wages?

No. The Labour Department says an employer must bear the full cost of employees' compensation insurance and may not deduct it from the helper's earnings. If your helper asks in writing, you must let her inspect the policy and related documents.

A practical next step for families

Start with the one policy you cannot skip, then decide how much of the contract's medical risk you want to carry yourself. Before you sign anything, read the Hong Kong family guides for the rest of the hiring steps, check the statutory holidays and annual leave your helper is owed, and see the Hong Kong route for how Helpers connects families with helpers. Helpers is a marketplace and does not sell insurance or give legal advice, so take quotes from licensed insurers and check the policy wording yourself. When your household brief is ready, create a family account.