WICA insurance or work injury compensation insurance is considered to be an essential component for all employees working in any organisation. It ensures safety of workers in case of on site injury, illness or any medical condition. In the Singapore market, such kinds of insurance are legally applicable for employees and also ensure workplace safety for all employees.
The Design of the Work Injury Compensation Insurance
The design or pattern of the WICA is such that it provides protection to all workers in case of any emergency illness or disease.
The support is in the form of financial assistance in times of need. Even within the financial coverage, WICA covers:
- Loss of wage owing to recovery process
- Medical expenditure cover
- Compensation in case of permanent incapacity
- Death at workplace due to accidents
Benefit of WICA to Employees
The biggest advantage of WICA insurance in Singapore is that it doesn’t ask for any documentation from any worker to become eligible for this compensation. The process is streamlined and without any fault. So employees do not have to prove any injury or negligence to become eligible for the insurance.
This way there is a difference between WICA and traditional methods of insurance, in which one had to wait for a long time and even a lot of documentation was needed. That was not just time consuming, that was also emotionally disturbed and time consuming. Due to the efficient system of WICA, the employees are able to get quick and timely responses when needed.
Benefits of WICA to Employers
From an employer’s perspective as well, WICA insurance offers flexibility and image building. Companies are able to manage their risks and finances effectively in case of any crisis. The process is cost friendly as well. Companies need not invest their entire budget on providing this coverage to their employees, rather they can make use of insurance companies for the needful.
Key Component of WICA
Keeping in view the scope of WICA insurance, following are the key areas covered under WICA:
Lost Wages
In the case of the recovery period, if an employee is unable to carry out their duty, then the insurance company calculates the percentage of their wage to pay them. This way the monthly income of the employee is not disturbed.
Medical Coverage
In the category of medical coverage, all medical expenses are covered, i.e., hospital fee, consultation fee, laboratory tests, medication, diagnostics, & physiotherapy, etc. This means, employees are not under pressure to bear the costs of their medical expenses. Rather insurance makes sure their burden is shared.
Death or Incapacity
Sometimes, owing to some injury at work, the employee becomes incapacitated to work. This way the insurance company pays some lumpsum amount to the worker. The amount paid is used by the dependent or worker for living peacefully.
It is legally mandatory for all employers to purchase WICA insurance for all their employees irrespective of the nature of their jobs and salary range. In case of violation, employers are also liable to heavy fines and penalties from the government. Also employers may burden their own finances in case of non compliance to purchase the policy.
