Maid Insurance Comparison: FWD Maid Insurance vs MSIG MaidPlus vs TIQ ePROTECT maid

These three popular maid insurance plans fully fulfil MOM’s requirements, but which one suits your needs?

Maid insurance plans are a mandatory requirement for anyone seeking to employ a foreign domestic worker here in Singapore. As with other insurance plans, there are many different choices out there, with varying premiums and features.

To help you choose, we compare three popular maid insurance plans and discuss their benefits, sums assured and scope of coverage.

• What these maid insurance plans have in common
• Comparison #1: Maximum sums assured for hospitalisation and surgery, personal accident and third-party liability
• Comparison #2: Employer benefits
• Comparison #3: Premiums and add-ons
• Conclusion

FWD Maid Insurance vs MSIG MaidPlus vs TIQ ePROTECT maid

What these maid insurance plans have in common

#1: MOM-approved coverage for your domestic helper
All three insurance plans meet or exceed Ministry of Manpower (MOM) guidelines on medical coverage and security, including hospitalisation and healthcare benefits, coverage for COVID-19 treatment and recovery, as well as coverage for the mandatory security bond.

At a minimum, all three plans provide S$15,000 (or more) worth of coverage for hospital and surgical expenses, which exceeds MOM’s requirement of at least S$10,000 for the same. In addition, these plans also provide other benefits for healthcare, such as dental care and outpatient medical expenses.

And as for security bond, these three plans issue a Letter of Guarantee on your behalf, saving you from having to put up the S$5,000 bond in cash.

#2: Provides personal accident cover, repatriation and more
Another way the three plans are similar is that they all provide personal accident cover (though the sum assured varies), along with third-party party liability, which works together to provide protection should your maid suffer an accident while in your employ, or inadvertently cause or bring about injury to another party or damage to their property.

Also included are repatriation benefits that cover the costs of sending your maid’s remains back home, as well as a minor lump-sum benefit meant for funeral costs.

#3: Three tiers of coverage and benefits
Each of these plans are available in three tiers, with coverage and benefits (and premiums) that increase from tier to tier.

The highest tiers come with the largest sums assured and more perks, but may not automatically be the best fit. It is best to choose a plan and tier based on your individual circumstances and needs.

How these maid insurance plans differ

Comparison #1: Maximum sums assured for hospitalisation and surgery, personal accident and third-party liability

All three plans provide at least S$15,000 worth of cover each year for hospitalisation and surgery, which, as mentioned above, satisfies MOM’s COVID-19 requirement. However, both FWD and MSIG allow the option to choose a larger sum assured in this claim category, going up to S$25,000/year and S$50,000/year respectively.

Personal accident benefits are fixed at S$60,000 for both FWD and MSIG, while TIQ offers up to S$70,000 sum assured.

For maids expected to work in sensitive environments (say, around elderly persons in frail health), it might be worth spending a little more for higher third-party liability cover. In this category, FWD has the lowest cover of up to S$5,000. TIQ offers a slightly higher sum assured of up to S$10,000, while MSIG goes up to as high as S$20,000.

Comparison #2: Employer benefits

In the course of her employment, your maid may encounter situations that result in interruption or cessation of her service to you. Should this happen, your maid insurance plan comes with employer benefits that you can tap on.

Should your maid be hospitalised and become unable to work, you can claim for wage compensation. Both FWD and TIQ offer compensation of up to S$30/day for a max of 30 days – or S$900 in total. Meanwhile, MSIG offers S$30/day for 30, 45 or 60 days, depending on the plan’s tier.

You will likely also need to employ an alternative helper until your maid is well enough to work again. This is where alternative helper compensation comes in. Once again, FWD and TIQ offer a basic level of coverage, up to S$20/day for max 30 days. MSIG shines in this category, offering S$50/day for up to 60 days, allowing you to source temporary help from a wider pool.

In the event you need to terminate your maid, re-hire a new one, or cancel your maid insurance plan, there are benefits to be claimed as well.

FWD pays a re-hiring benefit of S$500, and offers a 100% refund if you cancel your plan within 3 months. There’s no compensation for termination though.

MSIG offers up to S$750 for re-hiring, and S$600 in case of termination due to being declared medically unfit to continue work. If you need to cancel your plan, do so within the first 180 days and you are entitled to a partial refund of the remaining contract.

Meanwhile, TIQ offers $350 for termination and re-hiring, and a partial refund if you cancel within the first 180 days of the contract.

Comparison #3: Premiums and add-ons

*Note: For new maid from The Philippines, 26-mth contract

Of the three, TIQ’s plan is the cheapest, going from S$263.40.

FWD is priced higher than MSIG plans, but MSIG has higher sums assured for most claims categories.

However, FWD offers some useful add-ons, such as outpatient medical cover, and benefits for the mandatory half-yearly health checkup, although having to pay for them tamps down the attractiveness.

Conclusion: Which one should you choose?

MSIG’s MaidPlus plan offers the highest sum assured across almost every category, while its premiums are competitively priced. This makes the plan number one in terms of value for money.

MSIG Maid Insurance Promotion: Enjoy 25% off when you apply now. Valid till 6 May 2024. T&Cs apply. Also receive the following below when you sign up:

• Xiaomi Humidifier 2 Lite EU ( worth S$41). Valid till 31 May 2024. T&Cs apply.

• Up to S$20 PayNow and Medical examination by Dr Anywhere (worth S$33). Valid till 30 April 2024.  T&Cs apply.

 

Premiums shown exclude COVID-19 cover. For applications including COVID-19 cover, prices start from S$331.70 (before discount).

In contrast, TIQ’s ePROTECT maid is faithful to their marketing claims of it being the most affordable maid insurance plan in town. Despite the low premiums, it manages to fulfil MOM’s requirements, and even offers the highest sum assured for personal accident claims among the three plans. Get this plan if you’re looking for a budget-friendly yet fully qualified plan.

As for FWD’s Maid Insurance, its premiums are relatively high when taking into account the low sums assured. However, there are useful add-ons that may potentially help you save money, such as the outpatient medical benefits, as well as the 6-monthly health check-up cover.

Protected up to specified limits by SDIC.

Note: This is only product information provided. You may wish to seek advice from a qualified adviser before buying the product. If you choose not to seek advice from a qualified adviser, you should consider whether the product is suitable for you. Buying an insurance product that are not suitable for you may impact your ability to finance your future healthcare needs.

If you decide that the policy is not suitable after purchasing the policy, you may terminate the policy in accordance with the free-look provision, if any, and the insurer may recover from you any expense incurred by the insurer in underwriting the policy.

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