Income Insurance must balance rigour with greater empathy, compassion: NTUC chief Ng Chee Meng

SINGAPORE – Income Insurance must balance rigour and due process with greater empathy and compassion, said NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng on Oct 8, commenting on a recent judgment surrounding Income Insurance’s handling of a claim.

In the case in question, the district court had awarded more than $417,000 in damages to the family of Mr Ko Wah, who suffered severe brain injuries from a traffic accident in 2019 when he was 78, and

lambasted NTUC Income over its refusal to pay certain claims.

Deputy Registrar Kim Bum Soo had made it clear that his judgment, which was published on Oct 1, documents the insurer’s “wholly unreasonable behaviour” and “represents the court’s unmixed dissatisfaction with the manner in which NTUC Income has conducted itself”.

He said the insurer had failed to give a credible reason for its “callous and meritless” objection to paying for some of the medical expenses that were covered by payouts from MediShield Life.

He also found it inexplicable that NTUC Income – now known as Income Insurance after it changed its legal structure in 2022 – staunchly refused to pay for ambulance-related expenses totalling $1,992, despite having been willing to pay for Mr Ko’s hospital expenses.

In a Facebook post on Oct 8, Mr Ng said the judgment had been of deep concern to him and expressed sympathy to Mr Ko’s family for the grief and the emotional distress they have had to go through in the past year.

He said that while NTUC does not intervene in the day-to-day commercial decisions of its enterprises, it holds itself and those within the labour movement family to a high standard of fairness, integrity and compassion.

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

“I am heartened that Income has accepted the court’s judgment upon reflection, and recognised that they could have done better. While I appreciate that Income will have to exercise rigour and due process, but Income must balance such matters with greater empathy and compassion.

“I expect no less.”

He added: “To the Ko family, I wish you peace and healing as you navigate through this difficult time.”

Mr Ko was knocked down by a van at the basement carpark of an industrial building in Toh Guan Road East in June 2019, leaving him confined to a bed with mental disabilities.

In 2021, Mr Ko’s son Jonathan, in his capacity as the administrator of his father’s estate, sued the driver of the van, construction worker Samikannu Manickavasakar, and building contractor SJ Universe.

Mr Jonathan Ko, who was represented by Mr Tan Jee Ming, sought damages for his father’s pain and suffering, and loss of amenities, loss of earnings, medical expenses and other accident-related expenses.

NTUC Income took over conduct of the defence as the insurer would have had to foot the bill for any compensation the defendants were ordered to pay.

Mr Ko Wah died in October 2024 before closing arguments on the quantum of damages were submitted.

In his judgment, the deputy registrar rejected NTUC Income’s “remarkably thin” arguments in rejecting paying for some of the medical expenses that were covered by payouts from MediShield Life.

He ordered the insurer to pay $122,889.52 as compensation for medical expenses, regardless of whether they were paid by MediShield Life, covered by MediSave, or paid by cash, credit card or debit card.

He noted that on its face, the claim for medical expenses that had already been covered by Mr Ko’s MediShield Life policy looked like double recovery. However, an exception to the rule against double recovery applies when a plaintiff recovers money under an insurance policy for which he has paid the premiums.

He found that the insurance exception applies in this case because MediShield is effectively a nationalised insurance scheme.

Allowing the claim for ambulance-related expenses totalling $1,992, he said there was nothing unreasonable about calling for an ambulance to transport a man with disabilities for his hospital visits.

“It boggled the mind why NTUC Income would have taken such an unyielding stance over something so obviously necessary,” he said.

A total of $210,000 was awarded for pain and suffering and $8,000 for loss of amenities. Other sums awarded included $30,024.96 for loss of pre-trial earnings, which is the income Mr Ko Wah would have earned in 2019 and 2020 from his job as a security guard had it not been for the accident.

Court documents show that the driver was sentenced to a week in jail and banned from driving for 18 months in 2020 for causing grievous hurt by a negligent act.