Domestic Helper Insurance Covers Medical Expenses
Hong Kong has a hectic pace of life and lots of people are busy at work. Therefore, they hire foreign domestic helpers to take care of their homes, kids, and elderly.
However, many employers are not clear about their responsibilities when hiring foreign domestic helpers. For example, is the employer responsible for the medical expenses when your domestic helper gets sick? How does the insurance protect yourself and your domestic helper?
Hong Kong Law Requires Employers to Provide Insurance for the Domestic Helpers
According to the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, all employers must purchase insurance to bear their employees' legal liabilities for work-related injuries. For foreign domestic helpers, it is stipulated in the Law of Hong Kong that they can also enjoy the same benefits and protection as local employees. Therefore, to be a responsible employer, it is necessary to purchase insurance for foreign domestic helpers.
Difference between Domestic Helper Insurance and Employees' Compensation Insurance
What is the difference between domestic helper insurance and employees' compensation insurance? Employers must provide free medical care to foreign domestic helpers for any reason. However, it is not compulsory for local workers. For example, clinical expenses, hospitalization expenses, etc. Therefore, purchasing basic labor insurance may not be enough to cover all the legal responsibilities that the employers need to comply with. If foreign domestic helpers encounter accidents or illnesses during their employment, the employer needs to bear the medical expenses, which may cause a huge family expenditure. Therefore, purchasing comprehensive domestic helper insurance can further protect both parties.
Does Domestic Helper Insurance Cover Medical Expenses?
When foreign domestic helpers work in Hong Kong, sometimes they may get sick and go to the hospital or clinic for medical treatment. Most employers are concerned about whether domestic helper insurance could provide any medical subsidies or full medical expenses coverage.
Basic domestic helper insurance only fulfills employers’ liability requirements for work-related injuries and death in Hong Kong. Employers can also purchase additional insurance plans based on their needs and budget to provide more comprehensive protection for foreign domestic helpers.
Let’s take AIG Domestic Worker Protector Insurance as an example. The Extra Care Plan provides hospitalization and surgical expenses protection to deal with the expenses of foreign domestic helpers’ illnesses or accidents. Respectively, the Super Care Plan also provides outpatient protection.
If foreign domestic helpers need to visit a doctor, they are not required to visit a selected/panel clinic and present their medical card. They can visit any qualified medical practitioner and obtain the original receipt or certified medical report stating diagnosis and the date of the injury/sickness. After that, the employer can claim the medical expenses by providing the original required document.
AIG Domestic Worker Protector Insurance Gives You a More Flexible and Comprehensive Protection
AIG provides 3 tailor-made domestic worker insurance plans to suit the needs of different employers. Basic Plan covers the basics of employees’ compensation, and Extra Care Plan and Super Care Plan provide more coverage, including personal accidents, hospitalization and surgery expenses and personal effects, etc. Employers can also top up Cancer & Heart Disease Medical Benefit for the domestic helper to provide more comprehensive protection.
Would you like to know more about AIG Domestic Worker Protector Insurance? Click here and learn more.
