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Insurance in China — health, travel, and digital-nomad cover, what is mandatory, and how to choose a plan.

AI-drafted, editorially reviewed. Confirm specifics with the official authority.

China's social insurance is usually called "five insurances and one fund" (五险一金): pension, medical, unemployment, work-injury and maternity insurance, plus the Housing Provident Fund — note that the last is a savings fund rather than an insurance. It is administered through MOHRSS and local bureaus, and foreigners in formal employment generally participate. Motor third-party liability insurance (jiaoqiang) is compulsory for vehicles, and commercial insurers are regulated by the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

China's social insurance — often called "five insurances and one fund" (五险一金) — comprises pension, medical, unemployment, work-injury and maternity insurance plus the Housing Provident Fund, administered through MOHRSS and local bureaus; foreigners in formal employment generally participate. Commercial insurers (life, property, motor, etc.) are regulated by the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA); motor third-party liability (jiaoqiang) is compulsory.

  • "Five insurances and one fund": pension, medical, unemployment, work-injury and maternity insurance plus the Housing Provident Fund.
  • Administered through MOHRSS and local bureaus; foreigners in formal employment generally participate.
  • Motor third-party liability insurance (jiaoqiang) is compulsory for vehicles.
  • Commercial insurers are regulated by the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA).

  1. 1

    Learn the "five plus one" structure

    The five insurances are pension, medical, unemployment, work-injury and maternity. Counting them makes your payslip readable and tells you what each deduction is buying.

  2. 2

    Treat the Housing Provident Fund separately

    The "one fund" is the Housing Provident Fund, which is a savings scheme rather than an insurance. Lumping it in with the five obscures what it actually is and what you can use it for.

  3. 3

    Confirm participation if formally employed

    Foreigners in formal employment generally participate. Confirm what is actually being deducted and registered for you rather than assuming it follows automatically from a contract.

  4. 4

    Check with your local bureau

    Administration runs through MOHRSS and local bureaus. Because the local layer handles implementation, city-level answers can differ from the national description.

  5. 5

    Get jiaoqiang for any vehicle

    Motor third-party liability insurance, jiaoqiang, is compulsory for vehicles. Commercial insurers offering it are regulated by the NFRA, so buy from a regulated provider.

  • Five insurance components identified on payslip
  • Housing Provident Fund understood as savings, not insurance
  • Participation confirmed if in formal employment
  • Local bureau identified for implementation questions
  • City-level rules checked against the national description
  • Jiaoqiang in place for any vehicle
  • Commercial insurer confirmed as NFRA-regulated

Frequently asked questions

What does "five insurances and one fund" mean?

Pension, medical, unemployment, work-injury and maternity insurance, plus the Housing Provident Fund. The fund is worth separating out mentally, because it is a savings scheme rather than an insurance like the other five.

Do foreigners pay Chinese social insurance?

Foreigners in formal employment generally participate. Rather than assuming it follows automatically from your contract, check what is actually being deducted and registered — and confirm the detail with your local bureau, since implementation sits at that level.

Is car insurance compulsory in China?

Motor third-party liability insurance, jiaoqiang, is compulsory for vehicles. Buy it from a commercial insurer regulated by the National Financial Regulatory Administration rather than an unregulated intermediary.

How to choose cover

Which cover you need is decided by your residence status and how long you are staying, not by price. Most people end up in one of three situations — and the wrong one is usually chosen by buying travel cover for what is actually a residence, or paying twice for cover the statutory scheme already provides.

Statutory or employer cover — if you live and work here

Once you register as a resident or start a local job, enrolment is usually mandatory and often automatic through payroll. This is the cheapest and broadest cover available to you, so check whether you qualify before buying anything private — see what is mandatory in this country above.

Private or top-up cover — to fill what the statutory scheme leaves out

Dental, vision, prescriptions, private rooms and shorter waiting times commonly sit outside the statutory scheme, and employers often provide a top-up policy. Read what your statutory cover excludes first — buying a full private policy when you only need a top-up is the most expensive mistake here.

International, travel or nomad cover — for short stays and the gap before enrolment

This is the right product in three cases: you are staying too briefly to become a resident, your visa requires proof of cover before arrival, or the statutory scheme has a waiting period after you arrive. It is a bridge, not a substitute — once you are enrolled locally, most people drop it.

Check before you pay

  • Does it satisfy the visa or residence requirement? If a permit asks for proof of cover, the policy must meet that authority's stated minimum — not merely exist.
  • Where does it cover you? Check whether your home country and any country you transit are included — many international policies exclude your country of citizenship or limit it to a few weeks a year.
  • How are pre-existing conditions handled? This is the most common claim refusal — look for the definition, the look-back period and whether a declaration is required.
  • Outpatient or hospital-only? Cheap policies often cover hospitalisation but not GP visits, tests or prescriptions — which is most of what you will actually use.
  • Direct billing or reimbursement? If the insurer does not pay the hospital directly, you need the cash up front and the paperwork afterwards.
  • Is the insurer licensed to operate here? The country's financial regulator — listed in the official authorities below — publishes the register. An unlicensed policy can be unenforceable locally.
  • What happens at renewal? Check age limits, whether premiums rise after a claim, and whether cover ends the day your visa status changes.

International providers people commonly use

Richbay is not an insurer or a broker and does not assess your circumstances. These are widely used international providers, listed for the third case above — check eligibility, the terms in the list above, and whether the provider is licensed where you are going.

  • SafetyWing

    Subscription travel-medical cover aimed at remote workers and long trips; monthly rolling rather than a fixed trip length.

  • Genki

    Monthly international health cover for nomads and expatriates, with a longer-term plan for people who stay abroad indefinitely.

  • Cigna Global

    Full international private medical insurance — modular, aimed at people relocating rather than travelling, and generally priced accordingly.

General information, not insurance advice. Cover, eligibility and legal requirements differ by country, visa type and personal circumstances — confirm with the authority and the insurer before relying on any of this.

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