HomeTeamNS members to receive new perks including personal accident insurance coverage

HomeTeamNS members, volunteers and their families at the association's inaugural Family Day event at Universal Studios Singapore on June 23, 2018. ST PHOTO: JONATHAN CHOO

SINGAPORE - All 200,000 HomeTeamNS ordinary members will receive free personal accident insurance coverage of $30,000 from August.

This was among the slew of perks revealed on Saturday (June23) .

Under the first such benefit to be offered by a national service association, current and former national servicemen in the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) that are HomeTeamNS members will be covered by insurance provider AXA.

Coverage can be increased to between $100,000 and $150,000 with a top-up fee of less than $1 a month.

HomeTeamNS president Josephine Teo, who is Manpower Minister, announced the new benefits at Universal Studios Singapore, where some 5,000 HomeTeamNS members, volunteers and their families celebrated the association's inaugural Family Day event.

Besides the new insurance coverage, members will also get discounts on weekend movie tickets, exclusive movie previews and food promotions at Cathay Cineplexes.

All ordinary members aged 51 and above will also receive a free two-year extension under a new GenNext membership scheme aimed at keeping older members active.

This will include a $100 discount for a one year Fitness Works gym membership.

Speaking to The Straits Times on the sidelines of the event, Mrs Teo, who is Second Minister for Home Affairs, said that the upcoming Khatib-Yishun clubhouse, which will have its groundbreaking ceremony next month, will host new facilities.

It will include "something not yet seen in Singapore" though she declined to provide more details.

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam announced last year that three new HomeTeamNS clubhouses will be built over the next 10 to 15 years, with the first to open in Khatib-Yishun by 2020 and replace the existing Sembawang clubhouse.

It will serve more than 85,000 Home Team NSmen and their families living in the northern part of Singapore.

Another in Tengah Forest Town will replace the Bukit Batok clubhouse, while a new Bedok clubhouse will bring the total number of clubhouses to six. The Bedok clubhouse is expected to be completed within two years of the Khatib-Yishun clubhouse, said Mrs Teo.

With some 80 per cent of all eligible members subscribed to HomeTeamNS membership, clubhouses and benefits are a way to show that their contributions are valued, she said.

"Frankly speaking, would our NSmen not be able to get on without our clubhouses? The answer is 'no' - there are community clubs and public pools that they can go to. The significance of having a clubhouse is that it's a place they can come and connect with fellow NSmen," said Mrs Teo, who is took over HomeTeamNS presidency last November (2017), becoming the first woman to lead the non-profit group set up to recognise the contributions of SPF and SCDF NSmen.

SCDF NSman Sim Meng San, who was at Universal Studios with his family and friends for the event, said that he was thrilled with the new membership benefits.

"Insurance coverage for NSmen is limited, so it is a privilege for Home Team NSmen to have something additional," said the 41-year-old IT manager.

"NSmen have very strong bonds, and to be able to bring our families together at events like this and at the clubhouses is really meaningful for us," he said.

tiffanyt@sph.com.sg

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