Two separate mandatory insurance obligations apply to most Singapore employers with foreign workers on Work Permits: Foreign Worker Medical Insurance and Work Injury Compensation (WIC) insurance. They are not interchangeable, and having one does not reduce your obligation to hold the other.
The clearest way to understand each is to start with what triggers a claim.
What FWMI covers
Foreign Worker Medical Insurance responds when a Work Permit holder is hospitalised or requires day surgery, regardless of the reason. The cause does not have to be work-related. A worker who is admitted for appendicitis, a road accident, or a pre-existing condition triggers the same policy as one admitted for a workplace injury.
MOM requires all Work Permit holders to be covered under an FWMI policy with a minimum annual claim limit of $60,000. The full cost of the premium is the employer's obligation and cannot be deducted from the worker's salary.
What FWMI does not cover: medical leave wages while the worker is recovering, lump-sum compensation if the worker is permanently incapacitated, or death benefits. The policy covers the hospital bill. Nothing more.
What Work Injury Compensation covers
Work Injury Compensation only comes into play when the injury or disease is work-related. The trigger is narrower, but what it covers is considerably broader.
When a Work Permit or S-Pass holder is injured at work, your WIC insurance covers three things. First, medical expenses arising from the injury, up to $53,000 per accident or one year from the accident date, whichever is reached first. Second, medical leave wages for days the worker is on certified medical leave or light duty as a result of the injury. Third, lump-sum compensation if the injury results in permanent incapacity, with limits ranging from $116,000 to $346,000 depending on the degree of incapacity and the worker's earnings. For a fatality, the compensation range is $91,000 to $269,000.
These updated limits took effect from 1 November 2025, as announced by MOM in August 2024.
WIC insurance is mandatory for all employees doing manual work, and for all employees earning $2,600 or less a month. Work Permit holders in construction, manufacturing, marine, process, and services sectors are typically manual workers and will fall under this requirement.
What happens when a work injury leads to hospitalisation?
This is where employers most often get confused. If a foreign worker is injured at work and admitted to hospital, both policies are potentially in play, covering different things.
FWMI covers the hospitalisation bill. Under Stage 2 requirements from July 2025, the insurer pays the hospital directly when the claim is admitted.
Your WIC insurance covers the compensation liability: medical leave wages, and any lump-sum payout if the worker does not recover fully. The medical expenses component under WICA ($53,000 cap) and the FWMI coverage ($60,000 annual limit) are not double-counted. The worker does not receive duplicate payment for the same bill.
In practice, the FWMI claim and the WICA claim run through separate processes and separate insurers. Report the work injury to MOM within the required timeframe, notify both insurers, and keep documentation of the incident, the medical leave certificates, and the hospital bills.
Why you cannot substitute one for the other
An employer who holds FWMI but not WIC insurance is exposed to the full compensation liability if a worker is permanently injured or killed at work. No amount of FWMI coverage addresses that. Conversely, WIC insurance only responds to work-related causes. A worker hospitalised for a non-work illness with no FWMI in place leaves the employer facing the hospital bill directly, as well as a breach of MOM's mandatory insurance requirement.
Both obligations exist independently. Both require active management, particularly when policies are up for renewal.
TZY CO advises Singapore employers on Foreign Worker Medical Insurance and Work Injury Compensation placement and renewal. If you are unsure whether your current policies meet the requirements in force from mid and late 2025, we are glad to walk through them with you.
This article provides general information only. It is not insurance advice. Policy availability, terms, conditions, and exclusions vary by insurer and product, and cover is subject to the full policy wording. Please contact TZY CO for advice on your specific situation.