The Answer in 60 Seconds
An employee injured at work in Singapore has two routes, and MOM states the rule in one line: "Employees injured at work can either claim under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) or common law, but not both." Under WICA the compensation "is based on a formula and has set limits" and the employee does not need to prove fault. At common law the employee must prove the employer was at fault, and there are "no limits on compensation amount". Section 63 of WICA 2019 sets when each route is closed.
WICA insurance, mandatory under section 24 and placed with an MOM-designated insurer, responds to the statutory route. Employers' liability insurance responds to the other one: the damages a court awards for negligence, the defence costs, and any settlement. The statutory limits for accidents from 1 November 2025, $269,000 for death and $346,000 x the percentage of permanent incapacity, with a further 25% at 100% incapacity (MOM), are the ceiling of the first route and irrelevant to the second. That is the gap the second policy exists for.
The Sourced Detail
The two routes, in MOM's own words
MOM's WICA versus common law page, last updated 29 May 2025, sets the two routes side by side.
| Question | WICA | Common law |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides the claim | Assistant Commissioners (Work Injury) at MOM, or the designated insurer | The State Courts or the High Court |
| Is a lawyer needed | No | Yes, at the employee's cost |
| How much | "Amount of compensation is based on a formula and has set limits" | "No limits on compensation amount, but you need to prove damages before the court" |
| What must be proved | That the injury or disease was due to work; "you don't need to prove fault or negligence on anyone's part" | "That your employer or a third party was at fault" |
| Both | "No. If you make a claim under WICA, you cannot make a claim for the same injury under common law" | "No. If you make a claim under common law to court, you cannot make a claim under WICA for the same injury" |
MOM gives the employee up to 1 year from the accident to decide which route to take. A WICA claim can be withdrawn at any time before the notice of assessment or notice of computation is issued; after service, within 14 days where there is no dispute or 28 days where there is. Once all parties accept the notice, the employer or insurer pays within 21 days, the case is resolved, and "you will no longer be able to claim under common law" (MOM).
What section 63 of the Act does
Section 63, "Limitation of right of action for damages", is the statutory election. Section 63(1) states that the Act "does not confer any right to compensation on an employee in respect of the employee's injury" where an action for damages against the employer has been instituted in any court, or damages have been recovered in court from the employer. Section 63(2) closes the court route in the other direction: no action for damages may be maintained against the employer where, among the listed events, a notice of computation or notice of assessment has taken effect as an order of compensation, or the employee "does not withdraw his or her claim in respect of compensation under this Act for that injury within 28 days after the date of service of the notice". Section 63(3) keeps the court open where the employee makes no objection to the notice, the Commissioner on review orders a lesser amount than the notice stated, and the employee within 28 days of that order notifies the Commissioner, the employer and the insurer in writing that the compensation is not accepted and has kept none of it.
The practical meaning for the employer: the WICA route can end within weeks of the notice, and MOM gives the employee up to 1 year from the accident to decide which route to take. The employer's exposure is not settled by the WICA policy until the election is.
Where the negligence comes from
A common-law claim needs a breach of duty. The Workplace Safety and Health Act 2006 states the employer's duty in section 12: to take, so far as is reasonably practicable, such measures as are necessary to ensure the safety and health of the employer's employees at work. A breach of the WSH Act is a regulatory offence; the same facts are what an employee pleads in a negligence action. The fine goes to the State and the damages go to the employee, and only the second is an insured event.
What WICA insurance pays, and where it stops
WICA insurance responds to the employer's liability under the Act: medical leave wages, medical expenses, and the lump sum for permanent incapacity or death, within MOM's limits for accidents from 1 November 2025: death up to $269,000, permanent incapacity up to $346,000 with a further 25% at 100% incapacity, medical expenses up to $53,000. The regime is set out in WICA: the complete guide for Singapore employers. It stops at the Act. A court's award for negligence is not a liability under the Act, and a WICA policy does not respond to it.
What employers' liability insurance is
Employers' liability insurance responds to the employer's legal liability to an employee for injury or disease arising from the employment, where that liability is established at common law rather than under the Act. It pays the damages a court awards or a settlement agreed, and the costs of defending the action. In the Singapore market it is written either as a section of the same policy that carries the WICA cover or as a separate policy; the policy schedule names a limit of indemnity, and the contract sets the basis on which it is stated. WICA designated panel cover vs common-law / employer's liability extension sets out how the two sections coordinate at a claim.
Two lines to read on the schedule: whether the WICA section is with an MOM-designated insurer, which the law requires, and whether the employers' liability section is present at all. The first without the second leaves the common-law route uninsured.
Public liability is not employers' liability
A public liability policy is written for third parties; injury to the insured's own employees is the domain of WICA and employers' liability, and the exclusion sits in the policy's own wording. The three sit beside each other in public liability insurance for Singapore SMEs: the complete guide.
Common Mistakes
- Reading the WICA limit as the employer's maximum exposure. MOM states that at common law there are "no limits on compensation amount".
- Assuming a WICA claim ends the matter on the day of the accident. Under section 63 and MOM's rules the employee has up to a year to elect, and a WICA claim can be withdrawn before the notice takes effect.
- Holding a WICA policy with no employers' liability section. The statutory route is insured; the court route is not.
- Treating the WSH Act fine as the cost of the incident. The fine is a regulatory penalty; the negligence action is a separate, uninsured exposure without employers' liability cover (WSH Act section 12).
- Assuming public liability covers a worker. A public liability policy is written for third parties; the employee exclusion sits in its own wording.
What This Means for Your Business
Read the policy schedule for two sections, not one. The WICA section must be with an MOM-designated insurer under section 24; the employers' liability section is the one that answers a court action. Note the limit of indemnity on the second and the basis on which it is stated.
Put MOM's one-year election window into the incident record: an accident is not closed for the business until the employee's route is closed under section 63. Where a subcontractor's worker is injured on your site, read which policy responds before the notice arrives.
Covarage holds the WICA and employers' liability sections, the designated-insurer details and the renewal date in one place, and introduces you to a licensed intermediary when the cover needs to be arranged or reviewed. The duty under the WSH Act is yours; the record is what we keep.
Questions to Ask Your Adviser
- Does our policy carry an employers' liability section in addition to the WICA section, and what is its limit of indemnity?
- Is the WICA section with an MOM-designated insurer on MOM's compulsory terms?
- If an employee withdraws a WICA claim and sues, which section responds and from what date?
- Does the employers' liability section respond to a subcontractor's worker injured on our site, or only to our own employees?
- What does the section exclude, and does it name a retroactive date or a claims-made trigger?
Related Information
- WICA: The Complete Guide to Work Injury Compensation for Singapore Employers
- WICA Designated Panel Cover vs Common-Law / Employer's Liability Extension: How the Two Coordinate
- How To Handle Simultaneous Claims WICA And Common Law
- WSH Act Penalty Doubling (1 June 2024): Why Workplace Safety Fines Now Drive WICI and EPL Pricing
- WSHA Section 48 Director Personal Liability: When Workplace Safety Failures Reach the Board
- Public Liability Insurance for Singapore SMEs: The Complete Guide
- A Worker Just Died on Site - What Do I Do Now?
Published 11 September 2026. Source verified 11 September 2026.
