WICA Insurance: Check Every Employee Is Actually Covered

Singapore employers must buy work injury compensation (WIC) insurance for every employee doing manual work, whatever their pay, and for every non-manual employee earning S$2,600 a month or less, local or foreign. The Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) WIC insurance page says failing to insure is an offence with a fine of up to S$10,000, up to 12 months' jail, or both. Having a policy is not the same as being covered: on 13 October 2026 MOM said the policy of EatGreen, the company that operates Sumo Salad, covered only two employees and not the others it was required to insure, and issued the company a stern warning.

The fix can take an afternoon: match your policy schedule to your payroll, line by line. This guide explains who must be insured, what the October case shows, what an uninsured injury can cost using MOM's current limits, and what to do in the first days after an accident.

Who must be covered by WICA insurance?

Two different rules sit side by side, and confusing them is the usual mistake. MOM's page on who is covered says the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) covers any employee under a contract of service or apprenticeship, "regardless of salary, age or citizenship", except independent contractors and the self-employed, domestic workers and uniformed personnel. Insurance, however, is compulsory only for manual workers and for non-manual workers at S$2,600 or less.

For the rest, such as an office manager on S$4,000, insurance is your choice. But MOM is explicit: if those employees make a valid claim, you must compensate them whether or not they are insured. That alone is a reason to consider insuring everyone.

The salary test leaves out overtime, bonuses, the AWS, productivity incentives and allowances. An admin assistant on S$2,400 plus a S$300 allowance is tested at S$2,400, below the line, so insurance is compulsory. Foreign employees must be insured on the same basis as locals.

What does the October 2026 case show?

The case began with allegations that a former worker had cheated and made a fraudulent work injury claim. After investigation the Police took no further action and MOM found no evidence of fraud, so the claim will be processed by the designated insurer, which had already reimbursed the employer in June 2025 for medical costs and medical leave wages up to then.

The lesson for other employers came in MOM's review of the insurance itself: the policy covered the worker who claimed, but "only covered two employees and did not provide coverage for the remaining employees required under WICA". MOM's insurance page warns against exactly this: review the occupations and number of employees listed on your policy, and "do not under-declare the number of employees to your insurer", because all your claims may be affected by a wrong declaration.

MOM also reminded both sides that the WICA framework lets employers and employees raise objections before a claim is settled. MOM's guidance for employers who doubt a claim is to write to the designated insurer or MOM with their reasons and evidence.

What can an uninsured injury cost? (illustrative)

A fictional café employs eight people, but its policy lists four. A kitchen assistant who is not on the policy slips and is badly hurt. MOM's page on types of compensation sets the employer's exposure:

1. Medical leave wages. Full average monthly earnings (AME) for up to 60 days of hospitalisation leave and up to 14 days of outpatient medical leave or light duty, then two-thirds of AME, for up to a year from the accident. AME is based on the 12 months before the accident and generally includes overtime and bonuses.
2. Medical expenses. Up to S$53,000 for an accident from 1 November 2025, or one year of treatment, whichever comes first.
3. Permanent incapacity. AME × an age multiplying factor × the percentage of permanent incapacity, within limits of S$116,000 to S$346,000 times that percentage for accidents from 1 November 2025. At 10% incapacity, the lump sum falls between S$11,600 and S$34,600.
4. The offence itself. Up to S$10,000 in fines, up to 12 months' jail, or both, for not insuring a worker who had to be insured.

So if one uninsured worker's medical bills reach the cap and a 10% incapacity is assessed, the café faces S$64,600 to S$87,600 before medical leave wages or fines, money an insurer would otherwise have paid. A death claim, for accidents from 1 November 2025, ranges from S$91,000 to S$269,000.

What must an employer do after a workplace accident?

MOM's page for employers during a claim sets the clock:

• Report. For a non-fatal accident where the employee is hospitalised or given any medical leave or light duty, report online within 10 days of being notified. For a death, notify MOM as soon as possible and report within 10 days of the accident.
• Pay medical leave wages by the next payday after receiving the original medical certificates, and pay medical bills directly; if the employee has paid, reimburse within 14 days of receiving the original bills.
• Pay first, claim later. If you are waiting for the insurer, you must still pay and seek reimbursement.
• Tell the insurer as soon as possible, and send and pay for the medical report form when it arrives.
• Foreign workers. You cannot send a worker home against their wishes while a WICA claim is outstanding, and you must still provide adequate food and accommodation.

Employees can claim up to one year from the accident even after leaving your employment, so keep records after someone resigns. Heat-related illness can also be a WICA claim; our guide to the heat stress rules from 1 December 2026 covers the new requirements for outdoor workers.

Checklist: an afternoon WICA audit

1. Export your payroll and mark each person manual or non-manual, with basic monthly salary.
2. Flag everyone who must be insured: all manual workers, and non-manual staff at S$2,600 or less.
3. Compare the flagged list, by occupation and headcount, with your policy schedule.
4. Decide whether to insure everyone else, knowing a valid claim must be paid either way.
5. Confirm the insurer is designated, and diary the renewal so information reaches it at least 21 days before the policy starts.
6. Tell the insurer about new hires, changed roles and new outlets so the schedule stays accurate; MOM says the information on your policy must be correct or you may not be fully covered.
7. Do not rely on a main contractor's project policy; MOM says employers must buy their own WIC policies.
8. Write a one-page injury procedure: who reports to MOM within 10 days, who pays medical leave wages and bills, who calls the insurer.

Our guide to writing an SOP employees use helps turn step 8 into a page staff will follow. Since phantom-worker cases also turn on accurate records, see our note on checks against work pass fraud. More employer routines are under operations.

Common questions