Today, NTUC Income (Income) and Grab’s insurance arm, GrabInsure, unveiled what is said to be “Southeast Asia’s first micro-insurance plan”.
Called Critical Illness: Pay Per Trip (CIPPT), the plan is designed to help Grab drivers better protect themselves against critical illnesses.
What’s interesting about it is that drivers under the CIPPT plan will be able to pay between S$0.10 and S$0.50 in premium for a fixed sum assured, and then accumulate the corresponding insurance coverage with each trip completed.
To get started, drivers can subscribe to the plan via their Grab driver app and have the CIPPT premiums automatically deducted from their in-app cash wallet with each completed trip.
Said Yee Wee Tang, Country Head of Grab Singapore: “Together with NTUC Income, we want to ensure that our driver-partners have easy access to an insurance plan that is affordable, convenient to apply and cater to their need for flexible cash flows. With this, our driver-partners can enjoy better peace of mind and be better protected.”
Calling the new plan “ground-breaking”, Peter Tay, Income’s Chief Digital Officer added: “The option to stack insurance coverage by paying premiums at micro-quantum is an innovative way to offer Grab driver-partners critical illness protection without incurring a substantial outlay from their monthly income.”
“This approach resonates with people who prefer to have flexible cash flows to see to other financial commitments but yet at the same time, want to benefit from insurance protection.”
What Should Drivers Know About CIPPT?
For those confused about how CIPPT differs from a typical insurance plan, Grab explained that unlike plans in the market that “call for a commitment to a fixed premium amount over a set period”, this plan uses “cash flows to maintain the plan”.
For example, if drivers choose the “S$0.10 per trip” option, they will be able to accumulate insurance coverage of a Sum Assured of up to S$200,000 for 360 days, in the event that the insured is diagnosed with a critical illness covered under the plan.
There is also no minimum trip requirement per day, and drivers will stay protected by the accumulated coverage across the 360 days on a rolling basis, “even if they choose to take a break”.
To sign up, drivers need to choose from three premium rates (S$0.10, S$0.30 and S$0.50 per trip), and the premium deducted will then convert to the corresponding amount of coverage earned per trip.
With every ride the driver completes, Grab will then deduct the chosen premium rate via the in-app cash wallet, payable to Income.
The new plan will be rolled out to all Grab drivers progressively from today.
