What you must buy before she starts
Before your helper can start, you must buy medical insurance with an annual claim limit of at least $60,000, personal accident insurance with a sum assured of at least $60,000 a year, and a $5,000 security bond — the bond is required for every helper except Malaysian helpers. Under the enhanced medical insurance rules, claims above $15,000 are co-paid 75% by the insurer and 25% by you. You cannot ask your helper to pay for the security bond, and you cannot deduct it from her salary.
You must buy medical insurance covering inpatient care and day surgery for the whole of your helper's stay, with an annual claim limit of at least $60,000. If the policy has sub-limits — separate caps for inpatient care, day surgery, or per medical condition — then each sub-limit must independently meet that minimum. This is the detail cheap policies fail on, so read the sub-limits rather than the headline number.
MOM enhanced the minimum medical insurance for all helpers, including confinement nannies, in two stages:
Figures on this page were checked against the Ministry of Manpower on 15 August 2026. MOM sets these rates and can change them. If you are reading this much later, confirm on mom.gov.sg or ask us and we will send you today's figure in writing.
Separate from medical insurance, and covering a different thing. It must have a sum assured of at least $60,000 a year, cover sudden and unforeseen incidents resulting in permanent disability or death, and carry no exclusion clauses beyond those permitted in the Employment of Foreign Manpower Regulations. The compensation is payable to your helper or her beneficiaries, not to you.
A $5,000 security bond is required for every helper except Malaysian helpers. It is a banker's or insurer's guarantee, not a cash deposit, so in practice you buy it as a bond and pay a premium rather than handing over $5,000. It binds you to the work permit conditions and is forfeited only if certain conditions are breached.
You cannot ask your helper to pay for the security bond, and you cannot recover it from her salary. If anyone suggests otherwise, that is not a grey area.
We arrange the medical insurance, personal accident insurance and security bond as part of the placement, and itemise each one in writing with the insurer named before you pay anything. We will also tell you where a cheaper policy is cheaper because of a sub-limit that will not meet MOM's minimum. See the full cost breakdown and how the hiring process runs.
Insurance and the bond are bought before she starts, not after. An agency that leaves them until arrival week is telling you something.
Questions
Two policies plus a bond. Medical insurance with an annual claim limit of at least $60,000, personal accident insurance with a sum assured of at least $60,000 a year, and a $5,000 security bond for every helper except Malaysian helpers. Verified against MOM on 15 August 2026.
At least $60,000 per year in annual claim limit, covering inpatient care and day surgery. If the plan has sub-limits, each sub-limit must independently meet $60,000. Claims above $15,000 are co-paid 75% by the insurer and 25% by the employer.
Usually not. It is a banker's or insurer's guarantee, so most employers buy it as a bond and pay a premium instead of the full $5,000. It is forfeited only if work permit conditions are breached.
No. You cannot require your helper to pay for the security bond and you cannot deduct it from her salary. The bond and the insurance are employer costs.
No. The $5,000 security bond is required for every helper except Malaysian helpers. The insurance requirements still apply.
Yes. The policies attach to the employment, so a helper transferring to you needs medical and personal accident cover under your employment of her, and a security bond unless she is Malaysian. See our guide to transfer helpers.
Talk to us
We will send you the medical, personal accident and bond costs in writing, with the insurer named and the sub-limits checked against MOM minimums.
