An employer of migrant workers in Singapore faces three separate requirements: medical insurance for Work Permit and S Pass holders, a $5,000 security bond for each non-Malaysian Work Permit holder, and work injury compensation (WIC) insurance for employees covered by the compulsory rules. The exam tests which requirement applies to which worker, the current MOM figures and dates, and which cover answers which event: a non-work illness, a work accident, or a breach of work pass conditions.
5 sections·~4 min read
✓Checked against the SCI ComGI syllabus chapter 9; MOM pages on medical insurance (Work Permit and S Pass), security bond and security bond conditions, WIC insurance, who is covered under WICA, types of compensation, WICA versus common law; MOM press releases of 31 Mar 2023 and 2 Aug 2024; all checked 13 Sep 2026. Unofficial prep, not endorsed by MAS or SCI.
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Must-know for the exam
✓Medical insurance (as at 13 Sep 2026): compulsory for Work Permit holders (including migrant domestic workers) and S Pass holders. Minimum annual claim limit $60,000 for inpatient care and day surgery, since 1 Jul 2023. No exemptions.
✓Co-payment: the insurer pays the first $15,000 in full; above $15,000 the split is 75% insurer, 25% employer. Employers may buy riders that cover the 25%.
✓Stage 2 (policies starting on or after 1 Jul 2025): standardised allowable exclusions, premiums in two age bands (50 and below; above 50), direct payment by insurers to hospitals once a claim is admissible.
✓The premium cannot be passed to the worker. A worker co-payment on medical costs is allowed only if it is at most 10% of fixed monthly salary, for at most 6 months per 2 years of employment, written into the contract with consent, and never for domestic workers.
✓Cover must run for the full period of the pass. Each sub-limit must meet the minimum. Overseas policies are accepted if valid in Singapore, meet the minimum and are paid by the employer.
✓Security bond: $5,000 per non-Malaysian Work Permit holder. Banker's guarantee or insurance guarantee in MOM's template, with MOM as beneficiary. Must be in effect when the worker arrives, or entry is refused.
✓Bond forfeiture grounds include breach of work pass or bond conditions, late salary, failure to repatriate, the worker going missing, and CMP-sector workers skipping the Onboard programme. Discharge is usually one week after the worker leaves, if there was no breach.
✓WIC insurance: compulsory for all manual employees regardless of salary and for non-manual employees earning $2,600 or less a month (excluding overtime, bonus, AWS, productivity incentives and allowances), local and foreign. Designated insurers on MOM's compulsory terms since 1 Jan 2021.
✓WICA limits for accidents from 1 Nov 2025: medical expenses up to $53,000 or 1 year from the accident, whichever is first; permanent incapacity $116,000 to $346,000 (scaled by % PI), plus 25% for 100% PI; death $91,000 to $269,000.
✓WICA does not cover domestic workers, independent contractors or the self-employed. The worker has up to 1 year to choose WICA or common law, and cannot claim both.
Three requirements, three different risks
•Keep the three covers apart. Medical insurance pays hospital bills for conditions that need not be work-related. WIC insurance funds the employer's statutory liability for work injuries. The security bond is a guarantee to MOM that the employer and worker will keep the work pass and bond conditions.
•Non-Malaysian Work Permit holder doing manual work: medical insurance + $5,000 security bond + WIC insurance.
•Malaysian Work Permit holder doing manual work: medical insurance + WIC insurance (no bond).
•Non-manual S Pass holder earning above $2,600: medical insurance compulsory; WIC insurance optional, but the employer is still liable under WICA.
•Migrant domestic worker: medical insurance at the same $60,000 minimum; personal accident insurance applies to domestic workers, and WICA does not. Domestic worker insurance is examined in the PGI module.
•Trap: the 'non-Malaysian' condition belongs to the security bond only. Medical insurance and WIC insurance apply whatever the nationality.
•Takeaway: illness goes to medical insurance, work injury goes to WIC, breach of conditions goes to the bond.
Medical insurance: limits and co-payment
•Since 1 Jul 2023 the compulsory plan must provide at least $60,000 a year for inpatient care and day surgery (MOM, Work Permit and S Pass medical insurance pages). The old limit was $15,000; MOM raised it because more than 5% of bills exceeded $15,000, while more than 99% fall within $60,000.
•Worked example. Admissible bill $35,000, no rider. Insurer pays the first $15,000. On the remaining $20,000 the insurer pays 75% ($15,000) and the employer 25% ($5,000). Insurer total $30,000; employer $5,000.
•Worked example. Admissible bill $60,000. Insurer: $15,000 + 75% of $45,000 = $48,750. Employer: $11,250. A buyback rider can cover the employer's share.
•Trap: applying 25% to the whole bill. The co-payment applies only to the amount above $15,000.
•Trap: confusing $60,000 (medical insurance limit) with $53,000 (WICA medical expenses cap from 1 Nov 2025).
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