Go-Jek Partners with Gigacover to provide income protection
26 February 2019
Go-Jek Singapore has announced a new initiative to protect driver’s earnings when they are sick and unable to work.
They have struck an exclusive partnership with Gigacover, a Singapore-based insurance technology company, to offer the plan. Gojek said the new insurance scheme was designed in close consultation with the National Private Hire Vehicles Association of Singapore (NPHVA).
What is the Income Protection Plan
What is the Income Protection PlanUnder the proposed insurance plan, all eligible Gojek drivers will be covered under a standard earnings protection coverage of S$80 a day, for up to 21 days of medical leave and up to 84 days of hospitalization leave.
In order to qualify for the income protection plan, Go-Jek drivers will have to pay a single, subsidized monthly rate to Gigacover, depending on their age.
Go-Jek will offer and pay the quarterly premium for their Top Active Drivers. They did not reveal what the monthly premiums would cost, or how many top active drivers will be eligible for free coverage each quarter.
Based on Gigacover’s records, accidents involving private-hire drivers have resulted in drivers being hospitalized for as long as 70 days.
When will it come into effect?
The earnings protection scheme will only come into effect from April 1, 2019, More details will be announced.
Gigacover is a cheap and flexible income protector for Private-Hire Drivers
As the Chinese saying goes 手停口停 it means the moment your hand stops working, your mouth also stops moving.
It is a harsh reality for private-hire drivers in Singapore. When they fall sick and cannot drive for a living, they are unable to feed the mouths at home. To make things worse, they incur hefty car rental costs even though they are not driving.
Your financial adviser will tell you that there is an income protection plan that is available but you get a shock when you see the premium. As such, many self-employed people are not covered due to the high costs.
Affordable Freelancer Income Protection from a few dollars a week
How does Income Protection work
Driving private-hire in Singapore can be hazardous. Besides keeping your eyes out for reckless drivers and passengers on the road, drivers also need to be aware of abusive riders, just ask the poor driver who was punched by the rider for refusing to pick up the rider with kids below 1.35m.
When you are hospitalized or sick, you can claim for loss of income for the period that you are not able to work.
Important – Some exclusions apply such as hospitalization or medical leave caused by pre-existing conditions, pregnancy, wisdom tooth extraction and mental/nervous disorder.
Why are these conditions excluded? So that people do not anyhow claim and as a result premium increases for everyone else due to high claim amounts.
The 3 Levels of Daily Cash Benefit
There are 3 tiers of benefits to choose from. Get reimbursed between $50 to $200 per day when you file a claim for hospitalization or medical leave. Premium starts as low as $2.26/week (after NCD) for the Basic Plan and up to $7.93 (after NCD) for the premium plan.
What is NCD
Earn your No Claim Discount (NCD) and save more on your premium when you do not make any claims. Save up to 50% on your premium when you remain claim free after 3 months.
Who is the insurer?
The insurer for the income protection plan is Etiqa Insurance Pte Ltd, a fully regulated and authorized insurer regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Etiqa Insurance is a part of Maybank Group.
Etiqa Insurance is also the most common fire insurance insurer for HDB flats.
Are you eligible to Buy?
There are 3 basic criteria to fulfill to purchase the income protection plan.
- Insured have to be a Singaporean Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident
- Insured have to be a Self-Employed Person (SEP)
- Insured have to be at least 18 years of age and not more than 61 years old when policy commences
Promotion for all new user
Use referral code FIRSTLANE by clicking this link to enjoy $15 of free insurance immediately. $15 is sufficient to get most people 2 to 4 weeks of free insurance coverage.
Be responsible for your own life!
For more information, read up the FAQ on the income protection page.
