The Answer in 60 Seconds

Under the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 (WICA), employers must procure insurance for WICA-covered employees from one of MOM's designated insurers, unless the employees fall in a class the WIC (Insurance) Regulations exclude, such as the staff of banks, retailers and hotel-keepers. WICA cannot be sourced on the open market. MOM maintains two separate designated-insurer panels: one for standard employer WICA (24 designated insurers in MOM's list accurate as at 23 September 2026), and a separate panel for platform operator WICA under the Platform Workers Act 2024 (6 designated insurers as of 26 December 2024). The panels exist because WICA cover is mandatory outside the excluded classes, and MOM requires designated insurers to process the claims insured under their policies and to meet the conditions it sets. Implications for procurement: an SME must source WICA from a designated insurer; the panel composition shapes the pricing competition and policy availability; and the platform-operator panel reflects the different commercial structure of platform work. Understanding the panel composition explains both the choice available and the pricing dynamics.

The Sourced Detail

The designated insurer panel framework is a distinctive feature of Singapore's WICA architecture. Understanding the framework helps SMEs both with procurement and with anticipating market dynamics.

The WICA mandate

The Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 requires employers to compensate employees for work injuries. It also requires them to insure, a duty that covers all manual workers regardless of salary and non-manual workers whose salary, not counting overtime, bonuses, the annual wage supplement, incentive payments and allowances, is S$2,600 a month or less, subject to the excluded classes.

The compensation is capped, and the limits - effective 1 November 2025 - are S$269,000 for death, S$346,000 for total permanent incapacity, and S$53,000 for medical expenses. (Confirm the prevailing limits before relying on them.)

Critically, WICA requires every employer, subject to the excluded classes, to insure its WICA liability with a designated insurer - the cover cannot be placed on the open market.

The designated insurer panel framework

MOM operates the designated-insurer panels to assure the market: because WICA cover is compulsory outside the excluded classes, MOM requires designated insurers to process the claims insured under their policies, within the claims-processing timelines and performance standards it sets. Only a licensed insurer under the Insurance Act 1966 can be designated, and MOM's requirements include registration with ACRA, accepting MOM's conditions for designated insurers, and no adverse records with the authorities.

The standard employer panel (24 insurers as at 23 September 2026)

The standard employer WICA panel has 24 designated insurers in MOM's list accurate as at 23 September 2026 - major international insurers (AIG, Allianz, Chubb, Liberty, Tokio Marine, Zurich, among others) alongside Singapore specialists.

MOM's conditions for designated insurers bar them from refusing WIC insurance based on employee characteristics, including occupation, and from denying some employers insurance while insuring others in the same industry or of the same type. An employer can approach different designated insurers for quotes.

The platform operator panel (6 insurers as of 26 December 2024)

For platform operator WICA under the Platform Workers Act 2024, MOM maintains a separate, smaller panel - 6 designated insurers as of 26 December 2024.

The separate panel reflects the different structure of platform work: under the Platform Workers Act 2024, the platform operator - not a traditional direct employer - must insure its WICA liability to its platform workers with a designated platform operator's insurer (WICA section 34O). The platforms within scope are the ride-hail and food-delivery operators (Grab, Gojek, Foodpanda, and similar). The Act's First Schedule lists two platform services: delivery service and ride-hail service.

The procurement implications

WICA must be procured from a designated insurer; a non-designated open-market insurer cannot write it. With 24 insurers on the standard panel, an SME has reasonable pricing competition, and insurers quote on factors such as the employer's business activities, accident record and workforce size. An SME can buy WICA directly from a designated insurer or through an insurance intermediary, such as an insurance broker registered with MAS under the Insurance Act 1966, for cover provided by a designated insurer.

Standard WICA vs Platform Operator WICA

Standard WICA assumes an employer-employee relationship, draws on the 24-insurer panel, and is priced on employee headcount and industry rate. Platform Operator WICA reflects a different commercial structure: the platform operator - not a traditional employer - procures cover for platform workers, drawing on the separate 6-insurer panel. An SME that both employs staff directly and engages platform workers may face both frameworks at once.

Industry WICA dynamics

Construction and manufacturing carry substantial WICA exposure - a high proportion of manual workers and greater injury frequency. Services and professional firms carry lower exposure, since more of their staff are non-manual workers, and those whose salary, not counting overtime, bonuses, the annual wage supplement, incentive payments and allowances, is more than S$2,600 a month fall outside the duty to insure (the employer must still compensate any employee who makes a valid claim).

Premium calculation

WICA premium is typically based on the total annual wages of WICA-covered employees, an industry-rate factor, and the employer's claim history. A poor loss ratio raises the rate at renewal, which is why incident prevention and accurate wage declaration matter to cost.

The Common-Law / Employer's Liability extension

WICA cover compensates injured employees on the no-fault WICA scale. It does not respond to a common-law negligence claim brought against the employer outside that scale. A Common-Law / Employer's Liability extension - commonly added to a WICA policy - covers that residual exposure, and is routinely appropriate for employers in higher-risk trades.

Platform operator considerations

A platform operator within scope of the Platform Workers Act 2024 must insure its WICA liability to its platform workers with an insurer on the 6-insurer panel (WICA section 34O). The operator's main compliance questions are whether the Act applies to its model and how its platform workers are classified, since classification determines who must be covered.

Market evolution

Panel composition is not fixed: designations are valid for 3 years, the Commissioner may cancel or suspend one, and the list changes over time (26 insurers as at 1 September 2025, 24 as at 23 September 2026), so the current panel should be confirmed against MOM's published list before procurement. The platform operator panel is comparatively new - established alongside the Platform Workers Act 2024 - and can be expected to evolve as that framework matures.

Comparison summary

ConsiderationStandard WICAPlatform Operator WICA
FrameworkWICA 2019WICA 2019, as amended by the Platform Workers Act 2024
CoverageEmployeesPlatform workers
Panel size24 insurers6 insurers
ProcurerEmployerPlatform operator
Compensation frameworkWICA limitsWICA limits (same benefits as employees, except light duties)
Commercial conventionsEstablishedEvolving

Stage-by-stage procurement

A new SME employer typically: identifies its industry (which insurers take into account when quoting); determines its WICA-covered employee headcount; engages a broker or intermediary with WICA expertise; solicits quotations from the designated panel; procures cover with an appropriate Common-Law extension; and coordinates the renewal date with its other policies.

A platform operator follows a parallel path: confirm Platform Workers Act scope; engage a broker with platform-economy expertise; solicit quotations from the 6-insurer panel; and procure cover at the appropriate operational scope. Both should keep incident reporting and compensation administration disciplined between renewals, since claim history feeds directly into pricing.

Common Mistakes / What Goes Wrong

  1. Procuring WICA from a non-designated insurer. The cover must come from a panel insurer; a non-designated policy does not discharge the WICA obligation.
  2. WICA scope inadequate for the workforce. Outside the excluded classes, the duty to insure covers manual workers regardless of salary and non-manual workers whose salary, not counting overtime, bonuses, the annual wage supplement, incentive payments and allowances, is S$2,600 a month or less; WICA itself covers employees whatever their salary, so misclassifying who needs cover can leave the employer's liability for those employees uninsured.
  3. No Common-Law / Employer's Liability extension. A negligence claim outside the WICA scale is then uninsured.
  4. No annual rate review. Panel composition and industry rates move; an unreviewed policy can drift above market.
  5. No industry-aware intermediary. A broker without trade-specific WICA experience is poorly placed to negotiate construction or manufacturing rates.
  6. Platform operator framework misunderstood. An operator within Platform Workers Act scope that treats itself as outside it misses a compliance obligation.
  7. No claim history management. A neglected loss ratio raises premiums at renewal.
  8. Weak incident reporting and compensation administration. Poor records slow claims and undermine the next renewal.
  9. No WSHA-coordinated approach. WICA insurance and workplace-safety duties under the Workplace Safety and Health Act are managed in isolation.
  10. Cross-border exposure ignored for hybrid Singapore-foreign operations.

What This Means for Your Business

For Singapore SMEs evaluating WICA procurement:

  1. WICA must come from a designated insurer - there is no open-market workaround.
  2. The standard 24-insurer panel gives reasonable pricing competition; an industry-aware intermediary helps you use it.
  3. Platform operators draw on a separate 6-insurer panel under the Platform Workers Act 2024.
  4. A Common-Law / Employer's Liability extension is routinely appropriate, covering negligence exposure beyond the WICA scale.
  5. Review the rate annually, since panel composition and industry rates change.
  6. Keep incident reporting and claims administration disciplined, because claim history drives the renewal premium.
  7. For hybrid or cross-border models, use a specialist intermediary.

The WICA panel framework sets conditions and claims-processing standards for a designated panel of insurers rather than leaving the cover to the open market. For SMEs, understanding the framework is what makes procurement an informed decision rather than a default.

Questions to Ask Your Adviser

  1. For my SME industry and headcount, which designated insurers are most appropriate?
  2. How does my Common-Law / Employer's Liability extension align with WICA cover?
  3. For my specific industry, what rate factors and considerations apply?
  4. For platform-economy operations (if applicable), what Platform Workers Act compliance applies?
  5. As I scale, what WICA evolution should I plan for?

Related Information

Published 5 May 2026. Source verified 5 May 2026.