Au pair insurance: what must be covered, and who pays

The three policies that matter

Almost every insurance problem in a placement comes down to three covers: health, liability and car. Get these right in writing before arrival and the rest is detail.

• Health insurance — covers illness, accidents and hospital care in the host country
• Personal liability insurance — covers damage the au pair accidentally causes (a broken laptop, a flooded bathroom)
• Car insurance — the au pair must be a named driver on the family car if they will ever drive it

Health cover: usually the family's bill

In most European host countries, au pair health insurance is a condition of the visa itself. The application asks for proof of cover, and without it the visa is refused.

In Germany, the host family is expected to take out health, accident and liability insurance for the au pair and pay for it. In France, au pairs register with the state health system but families typically arrange top-up cover. In the UK, au pairs on the Youth Mobility Scheme pay the immigration health surcharge as part of their visa, which gives them NHS access.

The pattern to remember: whoever the rules name, the family should budget for insurance as a hosting cost, not assume the au pair arrives covered.

The car question every family forgets

If the au pair will do school runs or hobby transport, your existing car insurance almost certainly does not cover them automatically. Adding a young, foreign-licence driver changes the premium, and some insurers set a minimum age or require an international driving permit.

Call your insurer before the au pair arrives, not after the first trip. Ask three things: the cost of adding a named driver, any licence or age restrictions, and whether the excess changes. If the au pair will never drive, write that into the agreement instead — it removes a whole category of risk.

What travel insurance doesn't cover

A cheap travel policy feels like cover but usually is not. Travel insurance is designed for short trips: it often excludes stays over 90 days, working or volunteering abroad, and pre-existing conditions. A six- or twelve-month placement breaks all three assumptions.

Use travel insurance only for the journey itself — the flight and the first days. The placement needs a proper au pair or expat health policy from day one.

The pre-arrival checklist

Run through this together before the visa appointment:

• Confirm who pays for health insurance and get the policy documents before the visa application
• Check the policy covers the full placement length, not just the first months
• Add the au pair to the family car insurance, or agree in writing they will not drive
• Ask whether your home insurance includes personal liability for a household member — if not, a standalone liability policy is cheap
• Keep copies of every policy in the same folder as the au pair agreement