Free insurance for lower-income families with young children

www.todayonline.com        by Ng Jing Yng         05:55 AM Apr 10, 2010

SINGAPORE - Lower-income families with young children will get free insurance cover under a scheme that has been set up just for them by NTUC Income.

This insurance scheme called the Income Family Micro-Insurance Scheme (IFMIS) will pay out $5,000 in the event that the main breadwinner of the family dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled. No waiting period is needed for the payout and the scheme also covers pre-existing illnesses.

About 18,000 children from some 13,000 families will benefit from this initiative, which was announced at the NTUC Income Summit Club Gala Dinner on Friday.

NTUC Income chief executive Tan Suee Chieh said the company is launching the scheme as part of its commitment to help the community and also to mark its 40th anniversary this year.

The IFMIS is expected to cost the company up to $500,000 over the next three years.

No application is required to join the scheme, as the insurance cover is automatically extended to active recipients under the ComCare GROW schemes.

The latter are administered by the five Community Development Councils (CDCs) and come under the purview of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

Guest-of-honour Dr Vivian Balakrisnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), applauded NTUC Income, saying "it has continued to demonstrate how a social enterprise can deliver good business results and at the same time, bring about positive social outcomes".

The scheme "is a fine example of NTUC Income innovatively translating its business results to benefits for needy and disadvantaged families", he added.

The current year will also see NTUC Income contributing close to $3 million towards charity, community projects and other NTUC-related projects.