Foreign workers in Singapore can now receive free insurance cover of up to SGD2,500 for accidental death and total permanent disability benefits, with a simple opt-in when sending money home. Priority2Protect, a collaboration between Pay2Home and Chubb Insurance, is a micro-insurance product tailored for this important and essential group of our workforce – low-wage earners, working in challenging environments, away from home, with limited access to financial services and low confidence with English.
For these foreign workers, Priority2Protect provides easy access to personal accident insurance that provides 24-hour protection during and outside of work and complements the basic mandatory medical cover that employers are required to purchase for them.
Underwritten by Chubb Insurance, Priority2Protect has two broad plan types available:
- A free 30-day plan with coverage for accidental death and total permanent disability. The free plan is available to all Pay2Home users when they make a remittance of at least SGD100.
- A paid monthly plan with higher sum assured for accidental death and total permanent disability as well as additional benefits such as hospital income, medical leave allowance and ambulance and mobility aids. The paid plan is available from SGD2 per month and premium payment can be made through various payment channels such as cash over the counter, NETSPAY, FAST bank transfer or Money Transfer Machine.
“Financial security is a top priority because they are often the sole breadwinner of their families,” says Pay2Home co-founder David Hulme. “Especially at this time, when the impact of the pandemic on hundreds of thousands of our foreign workers has heightened their awareness of the fragility of life.”
The reported trend for workplace safety in Singapore, showed there were 14 workplace deaths recorded in April 2020, up from 9 over the same period in 2019. Major injuries rose by 5.5% between 2018 and 2019, from 596 to 629; while minor injuries climbed 7.7% from 12,173 in 2018 to 13,111 in 2019.
Scott Simpson, Country President of Chubb in Singapore said: “In order to address the foreign workers’ protection gaps, we needed to first reduce the barriers to entry. Given the foreign workers’ familiarity and trust in Pay2Home, we hope that they are able to gain easy access to micro-insurance solutions that can support them through short periods of incapacity so they enjoy peace of mind before they return to work.
“Priority2Protect was also designed to eliminate the need for paperwork or medical underwriting, thus making the opt-in or application process fuss-free and convenient. For individuals who are looking for more comprehensive protection, they also have the option to increase their policy coverage and receive additional benefits with the paid plan.”
As Singapore’s only full omnichannel remittance operator, Hulme added: “Micro-insurance is a natural progression in providing value to our customers. We’re delighted that Chubb Insurance has chosen to take this journey with us.”
