Employees & Employee Benefits:

1. Group Personal Accident

The Group Personal Accident or GPA policy can be used to cover all employees against Death, Total Permanent Disablement, Temporary Total Disablement, Temporary Partial Disablement as well as Accidental Medical Reimbursement.

Payment of a claim will be made as per the “continental scale” or schedule.

2. Group Hospital & Surgical 

Many companies use Employee Benefits such as a group medical scheme as a “perk” to keep and retain employees. It is possible to tailor make a scheme that best suits your company’s needs without blowing your budget.

What it offers:

A good Group Hospital and Surgical Scheme is one that is affordable and yet offers a flexible and comprehensive cover. Coverage is usually 24 hour’s world wide (provided certain conditions are met). Claims can either be arranged on a “cashless” (no money down provided treatment is sought at participating hospitals which are on the Insurer’s panel & provided the claimant does not go overboard on the stipulated limits set on his particular scheme) basis or by way of reimbursement (ie pay first and claim later).

Reimbursement of medical expenses will usually fall within the following categories:

• Hospital room and board 
•  Intensive care  fees
• In house doctor's visitation fees
•  Surgical fees and post-operative care
• Post surgical treatment
• Emergency Outpatient treatment
• Medicines 
• Ambulance fees

In addition, other benefits such as Government Hospitalization Cash Allowance where daily allowance is paid out to the insured for choosing to stay in Malaysian government hospital instead of a private one can be payable.

From our experience, the cost of medical treatment has escalated thanks to abuse by some parties and also due to the increase in the costs of medicines etc. As such, some group medical programmes can escalate on a yearly basis. One consideration an Insurer makes as to the renewal premium would be the claims experience during the year.

As GHS or EB can be quite confusing and complex, please do not hesitate to contact us for enquiries.

3. Fidelity Guarantee

This insurance provides coverage in respect of all direct pecuniary/monetary loss as the Insured shall sustain by all acts of fraud or dishonesty committed by any employee insured and discovered within the insurance period or within six months thereafter or within six months after the termination of employment of the insured employee.

Coverage is generally sought for employees who are likely to cause pecuniary loss because of their constant exposure to cash, stocks or other assets.

Examples of Infidelity: Theft, Misappropriation of funds, false conversion of money or stock or forgery.

What it offers:

• Blanket basis -- An adequate limit to cover all employees.
•  Collective basis -- An adequate limit to cover selected employees or occupations
•  Individual basis -- An adequate limit to cover selected employees individually

4. Foreign Workers Compensation Scheme (FWCS)

Under Section  26(2) of the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1996, originally WCA of 1952, it is mandatory for every employer to insure all the foreign workers employed by him under an approved insurance scheme in respect of any liability he may incur under the Workmen's Compensation Act 1952.

Any employer who fails to insure the foreign workers under the approved insurance scheme shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding RM20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.

What it offers:

It is important to note that this insurance covers foreign workers on a 24 hr basis, even outside of working hours.

FWCS provides coverage for accidents to the foreign workers with the following benefits:

1. Benefits as provided under the Workmen's Compensation Act 1952 -

•       Accidental Death due to employment injury. (Benefit increased to RM25,000 maximum under FWCS) - Workmen's Compensation up to RM18,000. Personal Accident for Death & Permanent Disablement up to RM7,000.
•       Permanent Total Disablement
•       Permanent Partial Disablement - as per PermanentDisablement Table under First Schedule of the Act
•       Temporary Total Disablement
•       Temporary Partial Disablement
•       Hospitalization and Medical Expenses
•       Occupational Diseases as in the Second Schedule of the Act

2. REPATRIATION EXPENSES to send back the foreign workers to their country of    origin up to an amount of RM4, 800 in the event of Death or Permanent Total Disablement

3. PERSONAL ACCIDENT outside working hours for Death and Permanent Disablement up to RM23, 000.

Under this scheme of insurance, all foreign workers will be provided with an identification card.

5. WORKMANS COMPENSATION INSURANCE

Under the Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance and at Common Law, an employer must purchase this insurance to cover all their workers falling within the definition of "workman" in the Workmen's Compensation Act 1952 against personal injury by accident or disease arising out of and in the course of their employment with them. The law lays down scales of compensation which an employer is legally obliged to pay workmen who have sustained injuries/diseases in the course of employment.

In addition, this policy also indemnifies employers being sued by their workers for negligence.

Note:   

•      A "Workman" is defined as any person who has, either before or after the commencement of this Act, entered into or works under a contract of service or of apprenticeship with the employer, whether by way of manual labour or otherwise, whether the contract is expressed or implied or is oral or in writing, whether the remuneration is calculated by time or by work done and whether by the day, week, month or any longer period.
  
  
•       It is mandatory under Section 26(2) of the Workmen's Compensation Act 1952 that employers must insure all their foreign workers under the approved insurance scheme known as "Foreign Workers Compensation Scheme".

A workman has the option of either seeking relief or compensation under the Ordinance or under Common Law.  The worker cannot, however elect to claim under both.

Definition of a “Workman”:

 Any person whose entered into or works under a contract of service or apprenticeship with an employer whether by way of manual labor or otherwise. 

The following persons are exempted from this definition:

 Non manual workers whose monthly pay exceeds RM2,000, casual workers, domestic servants, Armed and police forces and any member of the employer's family who lives with him / her

6. Keyman Insurance              

A company usually purchases a life insurance policy on the key employee(s), pays the premiums and is the beneficiary of the policy. If the person(s) unexpectedly dies, the company receives the insurance payoff. The reason this coverage is important is because the death of a key person in a small company often causes the immediate death of that company. The purpose of key man insurance is to help the company survive the blow of losing the person who makes the business work. The company can use the insurance proceeds for expenses until it can find a replacement person, or, if necessary, pay off debts, distribute money to investors, pay severance to employees and close the business down in an orderly manner. In a tragic situation, key man insurance gives the company some options other than immediate bankruptcy.

How much key man insurance do you need? That depends on your business, but in general you should get as much as you can afford. We recommend term insurance although many agents will push whole or variable life, which have much higher premiums but are unnecessary for a key man policy. Buy a policy that fits into your budget and will address your short-term cash needs in case of tragedy.