Mandatory under Singapore law · Singapore

Foreign Worker Medical Insurance

MOM-required medical insurance for every Work Permit and S Pass holder, with a minimum annual coverage of S$60,000 for inpatient care and day surgery. Most employers also bundle WICA.

Get foreign worker insurance quotes

The MOM rule

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) requires every Singapore employer to provide medical insurance for each Work Permit and S Pass holder employed in Singapore. The current minimum is S$60,000 [src] per worker per year for inpatient care and day surgery. The minimum applies whether the medical condition is work-related or not, and whether it pre-existed the employment or arose during it.

The S$60,000 [src] floor was raised from the previous S$15,000 [src] minimum in two stages. The policy must be active for the entire duration the worker is in Singapore on the work pass — including periods of medical leave or pre-repatriation.

What is covered

The MOM-mandated coverage scope is:

  • Inpatient hospitalisation expenses in a Singapore hospital.
  • Day surgery and same-day procedures.
  • Pre-existing conditions, whether disclosed at inception or discovered later.
  • Conditions unrelated to the employment.
  • Medical conditions arising overseas if the worker is hospitalised outside Singapore during the policy term.

The first S$15,000 of any claim must be borne by the insurer; the employer can be made responsible for amounts above S$15,000, depending on the policy structure and whether the condition is work-related. Many insurers offer a single policy that pays the full S$60,000 with no employer co-pay layer, which is the cleanest construction.

What is excluded from the MOM cover

The mandated cover is inpatient and day-surgery only. The following are not part of the statutory minimum and are typically excluded from a basic foreign-worker medical policy:

  • GP outpatient consultations and prescriptions.
  • Specialist outpatient consultations.
  • Dental and optical care.
  • Maternity (Work Permit holders may not become pregnant under EFMA conditions of work).
  • Cosmetic surgery.
  • Wilful self-injury and substance abuse.

Many employers add an outpatient plan to keep workers at the polyclinic or GP rather than the hospital — both for the worker's welfare and to reduce inpatient claims.

Premium ranges and how rating works

Foreign worker medical premiums are rated against:

  • Trade classification (construction and marine attract higher rates than office work).
  • Worker age band — older workers attract higher inpatient claim frequency.
  • Claims history of the employer's portfolio.
  • Whether outpatient and pre / post-hospitalisation are added.
  • Whether the policy includes a co-pay or full first-dollar cover.

Indicative annual per-worker premium for MOM-minimum inpatient cover sits in the low hundreds of dollars for office-class workers, and higher for construction and marine trades. Adding outpatient cover roughly doubles the premium for most employer profiles.

Pairing with WICA

Foreign worker medical and WICA are different schemes covering different things. For every Work Permit and S Pass holder who is a manual worker (or who earns S$2,600 or less per month), employers must hold both:

  • WICA for work-related injury or occupational disease — pays statutory medical, wage and lump-sum benefits regardless of fault.
  • Foreign worker medical for any cause — pays inpatient hospital bills whether the condition is work-related or not, including pre-existing conditions.

Most insurers will bundle the two on a single account with aligned renewal dates, which simplifies administration and avoids gaps when a worker transitions between roles. See our WICA insurance page for the work-injury side.

Verified policy facts

Facts extracted verbatim from each insurer's policy document. We show the source URL, SHA-256 fingerprint of the PDF we read, and the document type (policy wording / proposal form / brochure). Where a fact is left blank in the source — for example, schedule-level limits in a master wording — we mark it “blank in source” rather than infer.

Etiqa Insurance Singapore logo

Etiqa Insurance Singapore

Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd.

Policy wording✓ Verified
Product summary

This policy sets out the terms of a legal contract between You and Us. In return for having accepted Your premiums, We shall pay the benefits as set out in the schedule of benefits within the period of insurance as a result of non-work related sickness and accident within Singapore only. The policy covers foreign workers holding a valid work permit, S pass or special pass (including foreign domestic workers) aged 65 and below, and provides hospital and surgical benefits at Singapore Government Restructured Hospitals only, including daily room and board, ICU, other hospital services, surgical benefits, in-hospital consultation, pre- and post-hospitalisation treatment, COVID-19 cover, and a special grant of S$3,000 on death during or after treatment. This hospital and surgical plan meets the Ministry of Manpower's minimum requirements for S Pass and Work Permit holders.

Territorial scope
within Singapore only
Cover trigger
losses-occurring
Statutory anchor
MOM EFMA; Insurance Act 1966; WICA 2019
Premium basis
Full year premium per worker; new workers covered only upon written declaration; additional premium payable on full year premium basis
Deductible
Co-insurance of 25% for amount after the first $15,000 (borne by Insured Person)

Limits

  • Aggregate:S$60,000 per year for each Insured Person OR as per Sum Insured stated in the Policy Schedule
Sub-limits
  • Co-Insurance:Co-insurance of 25% for amount after the first $15,000
  • Surgical Benefits:As charged. Subject to a maximum sum of $60,000 per year for each Insured Person OR as per Sum Insured stated in the Policy Schedule (Applicable to Items 1 to 7)
  • Other Hospital Services:As charged. Subject to a maximum sum of $60,000 per year for each Insured Person OR as per Sum Insured stated in the Policy Schedule (Applicable to Items 1 to 7)
  • In-Hospital Consultation:As charged. Subject to a maximum sum of $60,000 per year for each Insured Person OR as per Sum Insured stated in the Policy Schedule (Applicable to Items 1 to 7)
  • Intensive Care Unit (ICU) per day:As charged. Subject to a maximum sum of $60,000 per year for each Insured Person OR as per Sum Insured stated in the Policy Schedule (Applicable to Items 1 to 7)
  • Daily Room & Board (6-Bedded, SGRH only):As charged. Subject to a maximum sum of $60,000 per year for each Insured Person OR as per Sum Insured stated in the Policy Schedule (Applicable to Items 1 to 7)
  • Post-Hospitalisation Treatment (within 90 days following discharge):As charged. Subject to a maximum sum of $60,000 per year for each Insured Person OR as per Sum Insured stated in the Policy Schedule (Applicable to Items 1 to 7)
  • Special Grant – Due to injury or sickness during or after treatment for such sickness at hospital or in day surgery ward:S$3,000
  • Pre-Hospitalisation Specialist Consultation Diagnostic X-Ray and Lab Test (within 90 days prior to hospitalisation or day surgery):As charged. Subject to a maximum sum of $60,000 per year for each Insured Person OR as per Sum Insured stated in the Policy Schedule (Applicable to Items 1 to 7)
Extensions (1)
  • COVID-19 Insurance — This Policy is extended to cover the Insured Person if diagnosed with COVID-19. We will only pay the hospital and surgical expenses incurred for the Insured Person's COVID-19 treatment, up to the limit shown in the schedule under this Section. The Insured Person must stay in a restructured hospital or community care facilities as directed by Singapore's Ministry of Health. Any treatment in a private hospital, medical centre or clinic is not covered.
Exclusions (29)
  • Ambulance fees
  • Cosmetic surgery for self-beautification
  • Dental treatment or service for the insured foreign employee that is not necessitated by any accident
  • Any vaccination
  • Any contraceptive operation or procedure for the insured foreign employee, including any related complication from that operation or procedure
  • Any operation or procedure for or in respect of — i. Any assisted conception for the insured foreign employee including any related complication from that operation or procedure; or ii. Any treatment of infertility or sub-fertility suffered by the insured foreign employee, including any related complication from that operation or procedure
  • Sex re-assignment surgery for the insured foreign employee, including any related complication from that surgery.
  • Related-outpatient expenses incurred after the 7th calendar day from being certified to be medically fit for discharge from an inpatient treatment and assessed to have a feasible discharge option by a medical practitioner.
  • Optional items such as television, telephone, special requested meals and other items which are not necessary for the treatment of any medical condition or injury suffered by the insured foreign employee.
  • Any screening or test that is unrelated to any in-patient care or day surgery.
  • Treatment of a preventive nature.
  • Treatment for or in respect of any medical condition or injury suffered by the insured foreign employee arising from any malicious, unlawful or wilful act of — the employer of the insured foreign employee; or where the insured foreign employee is a domestic worker – any family member of the employer.
  • Treatment for or in respect of any medical condition or injury suffered by the insured foreign employee arising from any criminal act of the insured foreign employee.
  • Treatment for or in respect of pregnancy of the insured foreign employee, or childbirth (including any delivery procedure such as caesarean delivery) or abortion undergone by the insured foreign employee, including any related complication from that treatment.
  • Treatment for or in respect of any medical condition or injury suffered by the insured foreign employee arising from the insured foreign employee's voluntary participation in any hazardous sport, including any winter sport (such as skiing or snowboarding), underwater activity (such as snorkelling or scuba diving), aerial activity (such as taking a helicopter tour or para-gliding) or motor sport (such as motorcycle racing or motor car racing).
  • Treatment for or in respect of any medical condition or injury suffered by the insured foreign employee arising directly or indirectly from any nuclear fallout.
  • Treatment for or in respect of any medical condition or injury of the insured foreign employee arising from any war, war-like situation, civil war, mutiny, rebellion, revolution or act of terrorism.
  • Treatment for or in respect of any sexually transmitted disease, AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) or ARC (AIDS Related Complex) suffered by the insured foreign employee.
  • Treatment for or in respect of any medical condition or injury suffered by the insured foreign employee arising from the insured foreign employee's addiction to a controlled drug.
  • The second or subsequent occasion of the treatment described in each of the following sub-paragraphs: i. Treatment for or in respect of any medical condition or injury suffered by the insured foreign employee arising from the insured foreign employee's addiction to alcohol, or to a drug that is not a controlled drug. ii. Treatment for or in respect of any medical condition or injury suffered by the insured foreign employee arising from the insured foreign employee's voluntary participation in any strike, riot or civil commotion, whether or not arising from the same strike, riot or civil commotion. iii. Treatment for or in respect of any medical condition or injury suffered by the insured foreign employee arising from — a. Any attempted suicide by the insured foreign employee, whether or not arising from the same attempted suicide; or b. Any self-inflicted injury by the insured foreign employee, or any attempt by the insured foreign employee to cause self-inflicted injury, whether or not arising from the same self-inflicted injury or attempted self-inflicted injury. iv. Treatment for or in respect of any psychiatric or nervous or mental disorder suffered by the insured foreign employee.
  • Treatment within the first 12 months of employment with the same employer, for or in respect of any pre-existing medical condition that is known to the employer or the foreign employee before the commencement of the insurance cover for that foreign employee.
  • Treatment for or in respect of any birth defect, congenital abnormality or hereditary condition suffered by the insured foreign employee, including any related complication from that treatment.
  • Treatment received by the insured foreign employee outside Singapore
  • Private nursing fees
  • Purchase of medical equipment
  • Medical repatriation
  • Outpatient rehabilitation such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, unless recommended by a medical practitioner during the insured foreign employee's day surgery or hospitalisation period
  • Traditional, complementary or alternative medicine
  • Treatment for which the insured foreign employee received reimbursement under any insurance relating to work injury compensation required under the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 or other forms of insurance coverage
Defined terms (24)
Accident
Any injury resulting solely and directly from unexpected, external, violent and visible source and does not include sickness or any naturally occurring medical condition or degenerative process.
Active Service
shall mean for an employee to be: (a) employed by the policyholder on a full-time permanent basis; (b) actively working on a day which is one of the policyholder's scheduled work days; (c) performing in the customary manner all the regular duties of his/her employment with the policyholder on a full-time basis that day, either at one of the policyholder's business establishments or at a location that the policyholder's business requires him/her to be present. An employee will be considered in Active Service on a day that is not one of the policyholder's scheduled workdays only if he/she was performing in the customary manner all the regular duties of his/her employment on the preceding scheduled workday.
Annual Limit
the maximum aggregate amount of benefits payable under this policy in respect of any one Insured Person per policy year.
Co-insurance
the percentage out of an eligible claim which has to be borne by the Insured Person before the relevant benefits are payable.
Country of Residence
mean the Republic of Singapore unless otherwise stated in the policy.
Day Surgery
Surgery that is scheduled and performed and is carried out by a Surgeon but not on an inpatient basis.
Effective Date
the policy commencement date or date of Insured Person's first enrolment into the policy, whichever is later.
Employee
a person employed on a full-time basis by the policyholder.
Endorsement
Any written statement or notice issued and signed by Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd. (Company Reg. No. 201331905K) to confirm and record changes to the terms and conditions of the policy.
Hospital
a registered institution licensed as a hospital by the Ministry of Health, for the care and treatment of persons who are injured or ill and which: (a) provides organised facilities for diagnosis, treatment and major surgery; (b) provides 24-hour nursing services by registered or graduate nurses and under the supervision of one or more Physicians at all times; (c) is not primarily a clinic, a mental hospital, a place for alcoholics or drug addicts, a nursing, rest or convalescent home or a home for the aged or primarily for rehabilitation, or similar establishment. This Policy covers treatment at Singapore Government Restructured Hospitals (SGRH) only.
Hospitalisation
confinement for reason of Illness or Injury to a hospital bed or ward for a continuous period of at least 6 hours for purposes of treatment or surgery and for which the hospital levies a room and board charge.
Illness or Sickness
any sudden and unexpected pathological deviation from the normal healthy state, marked by interruption, cessation or disorder of body functions, systems or organs as confirmed by a physician.
Injury
bodily injury caused solely and directly by an Accident.
Inpatient
a patient admitted into a hospital for treatment, for which the hospital levies a daily room and board charge.
Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
a section within a hospital which is designated as an intensive care unit by the hospital and which is maintained on a 24-hour basis solely for treatment of patients in critical condition and is equipped to provide special nursing and medical services not available elsewhere in the hospital.
Period of Insurance
the period of cover shown in the policy schedule for which the appropriate premium has been paid.
Physician or General Practitioner
a qualified medical or dental person with a degree in western medicine who is legally authorised to provide medical, dental or surgical services in the geographical area of his/her practice and practicing within the scope of his/her license and training but excludes the Insured Person or a member of the Insured Person's immediate family.
Policy Year
a period of 1 year, commencing from the policy commencement date for the first policy year and from the respective renewal dates for subsequent policy years.
Pre-existing Illness
disabilities that the Insured and/or Insured Person(s) has reasonable knowledge of. The Insured and/or Insured Person(s) may be considered to have reasonable knowledge of a pre-existing condition where the condition is one for which: (a) the Insured Person had received or is receiving treatment; or (b) medical advice, diagnosis, care or treatment has been recommended; or (c) clear and distinct symptoms are or were evident; or (d) its existence would have been apparent to a reasonable person in the circumstances.
Prohibited Person
a person or entity who is, or who is related to a person or entity: (i) Subject to laws, regulations or sanctions administered by any inter-government, government, regulatory or law enforcement authorities of any country, which will prohibit or restrict us from providing insurance or carrying out any transaction under this policy; or (ii) Who is involved in any terrorist or illegal activities or placed on sanction listing or issued with freezing order.
Reasonable and Customary Charges
charges and fees for medical care and treatment shall be considered reasonable and customary to the extent that it does not exceed the general level of charges or fees being made by others of similar medical standing in the locality where the charge is incurred when giving like or comparable treatment, services or supplies to individuals of the same gender and of comparable age for a similar illness or injury at Singapore Government Restructured Hospitals.
Specialist
a medical or dental physician with a degree in western medicine registered and licensed as such in the geographical area of his/her practice and who is classified by the appropriate health authorities as a person with superior and special expertise in specified fields of medicine or dentistry and is practicing within the scope of his/her license and training but excludes the Insured Person or a member of the Insured Person's immediate family.
Surgeon
a Specialist who is qualified to perform Surgery.
Surgery
any invasive surgical intervention.

Frequently asked questions

Is foreign worker medical insurance compulsory in Singapore?

Yes. The Ministry of Manpower requires employers to provide medical insurance for every Work Permit and S Pass holder, with annual coverage of at least S$60,000 per worker for inpatient care and day surgery (including pre-existing conditions and conditions unrelated to employment). The minimum was raised from S$15,000 to S$60,000 in two stages between 2022 and 2023.

Does foreign worker medical insurance cover outpatient GP visits?

The MOM-mandated cover is inpatient and day-surgery only. Outpatient GP visits, specialist consultations and prescriptions are not part of the statutory minimum. Many employers buy a separate outpatient plan, or upgrade the worker plan to include outpatient cover, to keep workers productive and at home rather than admitted.

What is the difference between foreign worker medical insurance and WICA?

Foreign worker medical insurance is medical cover — it pays the hospital bill regardless of whether the illness or injury is work-related. WICA is a no-fault workers' compensation scheme that pays medical expenses, lost wages and lump-sum compensation only for work-related injury or occupational disease. Employers of foreign manual workers and lower-earning non-manual workers must hold both: foreign worker medical (any cause) and WICA (work-caused).

Who pays the foreign worker medical insurance premium?

The employer pays the premium. The Employment of Foreign Manpower Act prohibits employers from recovering the cost of the worker's medical insurance from the worker's salary or kickback arrangements. The premium is a non-recoverable business cost.

Can I buy a single policy covering all my foreign workers?

Yes. Group foreign-worker medical policies are the norm in Singapore — one master policy with the worker headcount declared at inception and adjusted at renewal. Construction, manufacturing, marine and conservancy employers with high headcount typically pay per-capita premiums from the low hundreds of dollars per worker per year, with mid-term additions and deletions handled by short premium adjustments.