Do we often say “Maggi mee” when we mean instant noodles, or “Ping Pong” when in fact we mean table tennis? What about saying “Pampers” when we mean diapers?
These are some brands that were so successfully marketed that their products or services became synonymous with their names.
However, there is one organisation that attained successful brand recognition status, but not necessarily to its benefit.
And that is NTUC.
To many Singaporeans, “NTUC” refers to the over 200 FairPrice supermarkets around the island.
I dare say that a good number of NTUC union members do not even know that their membership goes beyond grocery discounts at FairPrice.
NTUC did not even begin its journey as a supermarket and FairPrice was not even NTUC’s first social enterprise.
The first was NTUC Income.
The Labour Movement established NTUC Income in 1970.
Its inception came soon after NTUC’s Modernisation Seminar in 1969, where NTUC decided to form co-operatives to benefit union members.
Income began life as a people-centric enterprise, owned and run by the unions to provide accessible and affordable insurance for the masses.
In the 1960s, only those who earned high incomes could afford life insurance.
Many low-wage workers were unable to afford basic insurance, leaving families in dire financial straits should breadwinners be struck with illness or injury.
How Income managed to get these workers insured was through schemes for unions to buy insurance for their members.
Through this, it managed to keep premiums low because they were co-paid by both the union and the workers.
Today, with many Singaporeans able to afford basic insurance plans from various commercial insurers, Income has evolved into a composite insurer.
Outside of providing life insurance, it now also offers non-life insurance coverage such as travel, property, and motor vehicle insurance.
And the social enterprise is no slouch in the insurance arena either.
In 2018, it was ranked the fourth largest insurer in Singapore, with Great Eastern, AIA and Prudential taking the first to third positions respectively.
In 2015, Income became the largest motor vehicle insurer in Singapore, insuring approximately one out of four vehicles in the island state.
Differentiating itself from the other insurers, Income developed some of the country’s first insurance initiatives, never provided before by other insurers.
Income launched the Income Family Micro-Insurance and Savings Scheme (IFMISS) in 2010. The initiative is a free insurance scheme developed to support children and youths from low-income families in times of crisis.
That would not be the only micro-insurance that NTUC Income develops.
In 2019, together with GrabInsure, Income unveiled Southeast Asia’s first micro-insurance plan to protect Grab driver-partners against critical illnesses better.
Called the Critical Illness: Pay Per Trip (CIPPT), the plan offers a flexible pay-per-trip micro premium of $0.10 to $0.50, along with an accumulative coverage proposition.
In another first, Income became the first insurer in Singapore to provide insurance coverage specially designed for children with autism in 2013.
Called SpecialCare (Autism), the plan provides coverage for medical expenses from accidents and infectious diseases.
In December 2014, it extended its SpecialCare insurance to cover children with down syndrome as well.
Finally, wanting to empower youths-in-need through education, Income established its community development and involvement arm called OrangeAid in 2010.
Under this initiative, Income commits 1 per cent of its annual insurance operating profits to fund its programmes for helping marginalised youths in Singapore.
Income has come a long way from an affordable insurance provider for the lower-income group.
While they are not necessarily the cheapest insurer, they do offer competitive insurance protection for workers of all walks of life.
In this aspect, perhaps yes, they are similar to their sister social enterprise FairPrice, acting more like a moderator for the industry.
As Income currently serves over two million customers in Singapore, I believe it will continue to evolve to provide specially tailored coverage for other overlooked segments.
Happy 50th Birthday NTUC Income.
