The newly formed National Instructors and Coaches Association (NICA) announced its partnerships with NTUC Income (Income) and local start-up GigaCover to offer an exclusive deal on Prolonged Medical Leave (PML) insurance for its members. The PML insurance product is intended to mitigate loss of income, particularly during long periods of illness, injury or hospitalisation. The purpose for NICA to do this is to provide greater income protection for its members.
Income will be introducing two PML insurance plans, offering a daily cash benefit to the insured, should he/she be hospitalised (at least six hours) or on hospitalisation/medical leave respectively. The insured is also covered for pre-existing medical conditions as long as he/she has had 12 months of continuous coverage under the plans. They also offer pay out on top of other insurance plans (e.g. Integrated Shield Plan) and apply the same premium rate regardless of occupation types.
GigaCover’s product, underwritten by Etiqa pays a daily cash benefit for up to 84 days for hospitalisation / hospital leave and up to 21 days for medical leave. For more information on the insurance products, please refer to Annex A.
While both insurance products are made available for all freelancers, the exclusive partnerships with Income and GigaCover meant that a subscribing NICA member gets to enjoy up to 50 percent discount off their first year’s premium when they purchase the insurance product. This announcement was made by NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Koh Poh Koon at NTUC U FSE Freelancers Fair held today at Marina Bay Sands.
Prolonged Medical Insurance to Mitigate Loss of Income
Sharing the importance of protecting a freelance coach or instructor with a PML insurance, NTUC Assistant Director-General and Director of the Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit, Mr Ang Hin Kee said, “A common concern amongst the freelance coaches and instructors whom we spoke with, is that their nature of work leaves them susceptible to physical injuries or illnesses, which could easily put them out of work and out of income for a while. This was also identified by the Tripartite Workgroup (TWG) on Self-Employed Persons as one of the key challenges, and they have made recommendations to make available an insurance product that provides a daily income for prolonged illness or injury for freelancers and the self-employed. Some of them have tried searching for affordable insurance product to protect themselves financially but it was almost impossible to find a suitable one. Thus, we started working with NTUC Income and Gigacover to provide suitable options for our members.”
Brando Tan, a band director expresses his views, “If we are injured during work or are affected by unfortunate outbreaks like SARS or H1N1, this could mean being out of action for some time and having zero income during that period of time. I am hopeful that such insurance products will help greatly in mitigating some of the income loss.”
Mr Pui Phusangmook, General Manager for General Insurance and Group Business at Income, said, “Income recognises self-employed persons (SEPs) to be a group of people who are currently underserved by insurance in Singapore. We are seeing a growing protection gap amongst SEPs as the gig economy is thriving. Insuring freelancers as an association, such as NICA, allows for collective risk-pooling and results in more affordable premiums for the insured. We are glad to partner NTUC to make insurance accessible to NICA members. This aligns to Income’s social remit to make insurance accessible and affordable to people in Singapore, including the unserved and underserved segments of our society.”
CX Chua, co-founder of GigaCover, states, “Having been self-employed before, we know first hand the importance of PML income protection insurance. We are very glad to have the opportunity to support the members of NICA, as part of our mission to better support freelancers in Singapore. We are also heartened that NTUC is embracing technology and willing to work with local tech start-ups like GigaCover.”
Going Forward
In recent years, the innovation drive and expansion of the gig platforms have made it easier for more individuals to become freelancers and offer their services directly to buyers. Thus, it is important that NTUC deepens its reach and enhances its services to the freelancers, to take care of those who choose freelancing as their full-time job.
NICA will look after the interests of freelancers who teach sports, enrichment and wellness in schools and communities. This covers Sport Singapore, People’s Association and CCA (Co-Curricular Activity) coaches and instructors in the fields of sports, music, fitness, dance and wellness, etc.
Members of NICA will also enjoy the full suite of NTUC benefits including insurance coverage against death and total and permanent disability (TPD), a $250 UTAP training support per calendar year, access to profession-relevant master-classes and courses, exclusive deals and discounts with merchant partners, and others.
NTUC and NICA will also work closely with industry stakeholders like Sport Singapore, Ministry of Education, People’s Association and other freelance community groups to advance the interest of its members.
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