Today, businesses pay close attention to the well-being of their workers. They understand that happy employees contribute more toward the productivity and efficiency of the company. To keep the workers pleased and satisfied, organizations offer a slew of incentives, including better working environments, overtime pay, and a lot besides. However, employee benefits insurance in Singapore is the most vital perk that companies provide to their workers. Such a policy protects the employees against expenses arising out of injuries and related chores at their workplaces.
General Types of Insurance in Singapore
Getting insurance is one of the first challenges you’ll encounter as an adult. That seems simple until you find that there are numerous insurance types in Singapore, just like in any other country. If you purchase too much, you risk losing money; if you purchase too little, you risk being underinsured. Learn more about the five types of insurance in Singapore that you might require if you work or live in Singapore.
1. Healthcare coverage
Wherever you are, you should prioritize getting health insurance over all others. Health insurance guarantees you can receive the medical care you require without worrying about the expense since medical expenditures can be very expensive. The ideal time to purchase health insurance is when you are young and healthy. Put it off and eventually decide to obtain it after developing a health problem. You may have to pay higher premiums to get them covered or risk having your medical condition excluded entirely.
2. Life Insurance
Life insurance is the second most crucial sort of insurance, particularly if you have dependents. It effectively guards against income loss due to death, total and permanent disability, or terminal illness by offering a payout if these things happen. The family can utilize this money to get by while they adjust to the situation and look for alternative sources of income. The desired sum assured, the age at which you first buy the insurance, and the length of time you wish to pay premiums all to affect how much you’ll have to spend in premiums. This also implies that your life insurance premiums would be less expensive the earlier you buy them.
3. Personal Accident Insurance
Having personal accident insurance is a smart idea, especially if your job puts you at risk for accidents. In the event of an accident or developing an infectious disease, personal accident benefits cover accidental death, permanent disability, daily hospital income, and medical costs. This includes Protection from common infectious diseases, including chicken pox, dengue fever, and hand, foot, and mouth disease. Additionally, you can increase your coverage with optional benefits that pay for cancellations of planned staycations or tickets to events due to hospitalization and reimbursements for childcare costs if your child needs to be admitted to the hospital due to an illness or injury.
4. A Critical Illness Plan
Suppose you are diagnosed with a critical disease, such as serious cancer, a stroke with a persistent neurological handicap, or a heart attack of a certain severity. In that case, a critical illness plan will pay you a lump amount. In addition to your health insurance, a CI plan frees you from financial concerns so you can concentrate on getting the care and treatment you need. The one-time payout from your CI insurance can be used for anything, unlike your health insurance, which can only be used for hospitalization and some outpatient treatments like chemotherapy up to certain restrictions. It might be to pay for caregiving costs, treatment costs not covered by health insurance, travel expenditures for hospital visits, or your daily needs while on vacation.
5. Disability insurance
One in every two 65-year-old healthy Singaporeans is at risk of suffering a severe disability in their lifetime and may need long-term care, whether because of age-related illnesses, chronic illnesses already getting worse, or unexpected disabling events like strokes. This insurance provides monthly payouts intended to replace a portion of your lost income to assist you in managing income loss and cover caregiving expenses. It is a sort of long-term care insurance that gives you bare-bones financial support for however long you are chronically disabled or unable to conduct three or more Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), such as bathing, dressing, or feeding yourself.
Why buy employee benefits coverage?
Buying this vital policy is mandatory. Still, some businesses ignore this coverage and carry out their business operations. However, a single workplace injury can be devastating. If the worker sues your organization, you could face serious issues. No prudent entrepreneur would ever want that situation to come up. So, why not buy this useful insurance? Here are the appealing advantages of buying employee benefits coverage.
No statutory problems
If you run your venture without carrying the employee benefits policy, you could face statutory problems from time to time. This point holds when one of your employees sustains injuries. You may have to reimburse the worker for his pain and wounds. Still, government officials may revoke your business operating license for not complying with regulations. Even worse, you may have to pay hefty fines for non-compliance. Investing in this policy prevents such unwanted scenes and lets you run your business smoothly without any impedance.
Financial cover
Imagine a situation when your worker gets injured in due course of his duties. Even if government officials don’t take note of non-compliance with insurance requirements, you may find yourself in a financial dilemma. The situation could get more pressing if more than one employee sustains serious injuries. Your normal business functioning could take a nosedive. You’ve to adjust funds from your operations to reimburse the injured workers.
If the business is going through a bad phase, your survival could be in jeopardy. Buying employee benefits insurance in Singapore avoids such nightmarish episodes. The policy covers all expenses of your injured workers. So, you don’t have to worry about arranging funds, which gives peace of mind, especially during uncertain economic times.
Affordable premiums
Some business owners feel that investing in worker benefits insurance might be a costly proposition. So, they look for excuses and avoid the policy. However, their fears are baseless. Firstly, the coverage isn’t too costly. Many insurers offer cost-effective options. You may even seek a customized plan for your business. Plus, the perks you derive outshine the premium rates on all points. In the end, buying employee benefits coverage turns out to be an affordable affair.
Types of Insurance Companies Should Offer to Its Employees
The type of insurance coverage that employees receive from the company is one of the reasons why some professionals choose to work for certain businesses. Other than what is mentioned above, there are other insurance policies that are specially made for employees, some of which can be customized for industries and others which can be universal.
1. Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Workers’ compensation is insurance compensating injured workers for lost wages and medical expenses in return for the employee giving up the right to sue the employer for possible negligence. A collective responsibility system was developed to avoid the risk of employers going bankrupt because of large damage awards. Plans for compensation insurance vary according to jurisdictions. Provisions can be included for weekly payments instead of earnings, economic loss compensation, reimbursement for medical and similar expenses, and benefits for the families of employees who died while on the job.
2. Liability Protection
Third-party insurance, also called liability insurance, is a component of the general insurance system that safeguards the buyer from the liabilities imposed by lawsuits and other claims of a similar nature and defends the insured if the buyer is sued for claims that fall under the purview of the insurance policy. Although payment is often paid to someone experiencing loss who is not a part of the insurance contract rather than the insured, liability insurance is meant to offer special Protection against third-party insurance claims. Liability insurance policies generally do not cover willfully inflicted harm or contractual liability. The insurance provider must defend the insured in the event of a claim.
3. Dental Protection
Receive payment for your dental care. Typically, this involves a consultation, scaling and polishing, dental decay filling, and extraction. Moreover, a co-payment requirement, say 20%, might be necessary. Be sure to pay attention to the covered treatments and the annual cap.
4. Insurance for Mental Health
Given the growing attention being paid to mental wellness, some employer insurance plans may provide additional assistance for expenditures associated with mental health. This can take the form of payment for counseling services, mental health treatments, or specialized mental health programs.
5. Salary Insurance
Given that you must pay wages as an employer, you will require wage insurance coverage if you wish to keep some of your essential staff for you and your business. A type of proposed insurance known as wage insurance would offer workers compensation if they were required to accept a position with a lower salary due to some global economic constraints.
Closing thoughts
Employee benefits insurance in Singapore comes with a series of perks. Affordability, financial cover, and protection against statutory fines are the highlights of this useful coverage. This is why most businesses invest in this policy to harvest the diverse advantages. So, contact a reliable insurer to bag the best insurance and get relief from possible worries.