Insurance and cover

Insurance for a Domestic Helper: PERKESO and What Else

A foreign domestic worker is covered under PERKESO’s Act 4 — the Employment Injury Scheme, plus the Invalidity Scheme since 1 July 2024. What that covers, and what a household may want to arrange beyond it, are worth separating.

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The short answer

The baseline cover for a foreign domestic worker is PERKESO’s Act 4, which the employer arranges: the Employment Injury Scheme, and, per PERKESO’s own guidance, the Invalidity Scheme too since 1 July 2024. That is specific cover for work-related injury and invalidity, not a general health plan — and it doesn’t include Act 800’s Employment Insurance System. Some households arrange additional medical cover beyond it; whether to, and what it covers, is a separate decision. Keep the mandatory PERKESO cover and any optional medical cover clearly distinct.

At a glance

Baseline: PERKESO Act 4: Injury + InvalidityEmployment Injury Scheme cover since 1 June 2021, plus the Invalidity Scheme since 1 July 2024, for a foreign domestic worker, arranged by the employer.
Scope: Work injury and invalidity, not general healthAct 4 cover is specific, not a general medical plan, and doesn’t include Act 800’s Employment Insurance System.
Beyond it: A separate choiceAdditional medical cover is an optional decision, not part of Act 4.

What Act 4 cover is — and is not

PERKESO’s Act 4 provides Employment Injury Scheme cover for a foreign domestic worker since 1 June 2021, and, per PERKESO’s own guidance, the Invalidity Scheme too since 1 July 2024 — the employer arranges both. It is important to read this as specific cover, not a comprehensive health plan, so expectations match what it does.

The insurance guide sets out the detail; this read is about not mistaking mandatory PERKESO cover for general medical cover, which are different things.

Decide on anything beyond it separately

Some households choose to arrange additional medical cover beyond PERKESO’s Act 4. Whether that is worthwhile depends on the household and the arrangement, and what any such cover includes should be read carefully rather than assumed.

Keeping the two clearly separate — the mandatory PERKESO cover and any optional medical cover — avoids the assumption that one automatically includes the other.

Official and primary sources

Questions this page answers

What insurance is mandatory for a foreign domestic worker?

PERKESO’s Act 4 — the Employment Injury Scheme, plus the Invalidity Scheme since 1 July 2024 — arranged by the employer, is the baseline cover.

Does the injury scheme cover general health?

No. Act 4 is specific cover for work-related injury and invalidity, not a comprehensive medical plan.

Should I arrange more cover?

That is a separate, optional decision; read what any additional cover includes rather than assuming it.

DomesticHelper editorial teamReviewed 22 September 2026Sourced from Malaysian government registriesIndependent of the hiring agenciesEditorial standards