Income Insurance car accident case of 'deep concern', insurer must have more compassion: Ng Chee Meng

Labour chief and NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng has chimed in on a recent court case involving Income Insurance.

The insurer had been ordered to pay around S$417,000 in damages after denying insurance claims from the children of an elderly man.

The man, Ko Wah, had become bedridden in a 2019 car accident, and later died in 2024.

But when his children tried to raise claims for their late father, including for his pain and suffering while bedridden, Income denied them and refused to explain why.

"Deep concern"

In an Oct. 8 Facebook post, Ng said that the judgment has been of "deep concern" to him.

He said that NTUC does not intervene in the "day-to-day commercial decisions of [its] enterprises", but it holds itself to a high standard of fairness and compassion.

"These values are the foundation of our work and our promise to the people we serve," he said.

Income Insurance, originally NTUC Income, was corporatised in 2022 and renamed.

However, NTUC Enterprise remains its majority shareholder, and the insurer has retained its social mission.

More compassion

Ng added that he was "heartened that Income has accepted the court's judgment upon reflection".

He also acknowledged that Income "could have done better".

While he appreciates that Income must exercise rigour and due process, he said he expects the entity to balance such matters with "greater empathy and compassion".

He expressed his sympathies to the family of the late Ko for their "grief and emotional distress" in the past year.

"To the Ko family, I wish you peace and healing as you navigate through this difficult time," he said.

Almost sold to Allianz

In 2024, German insurance company Allianz expressed interest in buying a majority stake in the former cooperative.

When members of the public raised concerns about the sale, the insurer explained that Income's social enterprise model could not cope with an increasingly competitive environment.

It had even lost contracts to competitors for this reason.

But the deal was later called off after the government assessed that it "would not be in the public interest" for it to proceed as it was.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said then that the government still remains open to a strong partner for Income, in a deal with different "structure and terms".

Top image from Google Maps and Ng Chee Meng/Facebook