What You Need to Know About Mandatory Employee Insurance

Are you an employer in Singapore? If so, it's important to know that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) requires certain mandatory employee insurance, such as work injury compensation (WIC) insurance. According to the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA), employees can file a claim if they are injured in a work accident or contract a disease due to their job. Here's what you need to know about WIC insurance: 

Important Updates on WIC Insurance 

1. Change in Salary Threshold  

As a business owner, you are mandated to purchase WIC Insurance for certain employees. From 1st April 2021 onwards, all non-manual employees earning up to $2,600 per month would require WIC insurance. 

 

Before 1 Apr 2020 

From 1 Apr 2020 

From 1 Apr 2021 

Salary threshold for non-manual employees 

$1,600 

$2,100 

$2,600 

2. Increase in Payout Limits for Policy Benefits 

Next, the payout limits for Death, Total Permanent Incapacity, and Medical Expenses have also increased. 

 Limits Previous Limits NewLimits (after 1 Jan 2020) 
Death Min $69,000 $76,000 
Max $204,000 $225,000 
Total(100%)PermanentIncapacity Min $88,000 $97,000 
Max $262,000 $289,000 
MedicalExpenses  Upto$36,000
or1yearfromdateofaccident 
Upto$45,000
or1yearfromdateofaccident

 

3. Extension of Coverage for Employees on Light Duty 

Also, employees on light duties due to work injuries will now also be compensated for their income loss based on their Average Monthly Earnings

4. Discontinuation of Project WIC Policies 

As of 1 September 2020, Project WIC policies are no longer WICA-approved and only annual WIC policies will be available. 

5. WIC Policies must be confirmed/renewed on Time 

To ensure employers maintain adequate WIC insurance coverage at all times, MOM checks on whether firms have WIC insurance coverage as required under WICA 2019. 

To avoid an infringement, employers need to confirm insurance contracts and provide the required information to the insurer at least 21 days before policy commencement.  

Required information: 

UEN (For group policies that covers multiple UENs, kindly provide the information for each UEN separately) 

Nature of business 

Aggregated headcount of employees 

Aggregated annual wages 

Occupation of employees 

6. Fines and Penalties 

Finally, it is important to know that fines and penalties will be imposed by MOM for employer breaches of legislative requirements: 

Offences 

Fines/Penalties 

(first offence) 

Fines/Penalties 

(subsequent offences) 

Failure by employers to maintain compulsory WIC Insurance S$10,000 fine and/or 12 months’ jail S$20,000 fine and/or 12 months’ jail 
Illegal deduction of salary by employers to defray insurance costs S$5,000 fine and/or 6 months’ jail S$10,000 fine and/or 6 months’ jail 

 

In addition to WIC insurance, employers must also provide Foreign Worker Medical Insurance (FWMI) coverage of at least $60,000 per year for each work permit and S-Pass holder. This should cover inpatient care and day surgery, including hospital expenses for conditions that may not be work-related. It's important to note that WICA and FWMI are not substitutes for each other and having one does not exempt you from needing the other. If you're unsure whether you fulfill MOM requirements for your employees, consider seeking advice from an expert. 

You may be asking; will there be any overlaps if I purchase both WICA and FWMI? While there are situations whereby both types of policies could cover, they are not substitutes for each other and having one doesn’t exempt you from needing the other. Each of them cater to different needs. 

Unsure whether you fulfill MOM requirements for your employees? 

Get advice on Mandatory Employee Insurance from our friendly experts today. 

Contact us for policy quotation,
comparison and unbiased advice now!