The Answer in 60 Seconds Per the CaseTrust Accreditation for Spa and Wellness Businesses page, accredited spas must purchase prepayment protection insurance through CaseTrust's appointed broker, bolttech Insurance Brokers Pte Ltd (broker-core@bolttech.sg / 6535 1828). Consumers receive an insurance certificate listing their personal details and the protected sum. If the spa closes, bolttech contacts affected consumers to arrange payouts.

The Sourced Detail

Why the scheme exists

Per CASE: "CASE is concerned with the loss of consumer prepayment due to sudden business insolvency as it is generally challenging for consumers to recover their prepayments. To safeguard consumers from losing their prepayments in spa and wellness packages, CASE introduced prepayment protection in the CaseTrust spa and wellness accreditation scheme in 2011" (source).

That 2022 update is also where the historical scale becomes visible: as of 13 July 2022, the amount of consumer prepayments insured under the scheme stood at more than S$15.8 million, with cumulative protected prepayments since the scheme launch exceeding S$263 million. Between February 2017 and June 2022, 28 CaseTrust-accredited spas closed, with more than S$280,000 paid out to 512 affected consumers (average ~S$540 per consumer).

Who is the current broker — bolttech, not AVA

This is a frequently-confused fact. The 2022 CASE press release referenced AVA Insurance Brokers Pte Ltd as the appointed insurer at that time. As of source verification on 3 May 2026, the current case.org.sg pages name bolttech Insurance Brokers Pte Ltd as CaseTrust's appointed insurance broker.

Per the CaseTrust Spa and Wellness page: "Spa and wellness businesses accredited under the CaseTrust scheme are required to protect prepayments made by consumers via the purchase of prepayment protection insurance. Upon prepayment to a CaseTrust accredited spa and wellness business, consumers would be given an insurance certificate listing their personal details and the protected sum. If the company suddenly closes down, bolttech will contact the affected consumers to collect their insurance payouts. Contact bolttech, CaseTrust's appointed insurance broker, at [email] for more information."

For consumers with claims that pre-date the broker arrangement and that involved AVA, the 2022 CASE press release page lists the historical contact (claims_brokers@ava-ins.com / 6535 1828). New accreditations and new policies route through bolttech.

What triggers prepayment protection

Per CaseTrust's prepayment-protection explainer, a consumer's prepayment is protected when the consumer has paid the spa upfront for a package of services to be redeemed over time. The trigger event is typically the closure, winding up, liquidation or insolvency of the accredited spa business. NRIC details are collected at point of policy issuance, in line with PDPC guidelines.

What's covered, what's not

Covered: Un-utilised portion of the prepayment, in the event of insolvency / closure / winding up of the accredited business.

Not covered:

  • Disputes about service quality (these go to CASE mediation, not the prepayment bond)
  • Sessions already redeemed prior to closure
  • Prepayments to non-accredited spas
  • Prepayments where the spa did not collect NRIC details / did not issue an insurance certificate
  • Claims by consumers who cannot be contacted (per the 2022 press release, ~S$169,000 went unclaimed because affected consumers could not be reached)

Why CaseTrust accreditation is partially compulsory for spa operators

Per the CaseTrust spa page: "Spa operators who wish to attain the Police Regulatory Department's (PRD) Category 1 Massage Establishment (Cat 1 ME) Licence are required to attain CaseTrust accreditation." So the accreditation is a gate to a more liberal operating regime under the PLRD, not just a marketing badge. The application sequence: CaseTrust online → Provisional Cat 1 ME via PRD → CaseTrust accredited → Full Cat 1 ME licence.

What This Means for Your Business

If you run a spa or wellness business in Singapore that sells prepaid packages, two regulators care: the Police Licensing & Regulatory Department for the Massage Establishment licence, and CASE/CaseTrust for the prepayment protection scheme (gate to Cat 1 ME).

Companies typically need to consider operationally: every prepayment session must trigger a certificate issuance via bolttech's system; the operator must top up the bond limit before adding new prepayment certificates; insurance coverage is valid for a fixed period per the operator's policy terms — confirm with bolttech.

Companies typically also need to consider parallel covers that the bond does not address: WICA for therapists (statutory), Public Liability for premises (slip-and-fall, treatment-related claims), and Professional Indemnity for treatment-specific advice.

Questions to Ask Your Adviser

  1. "Our average package is S$1,200 over 12 sessions — at what point in the customer purchase process should the bond certificate be issued?"
  2. "If we sell a multi-year package, does the bond cover the full duration or only the first 12-month policy period?"
  3. "We have multiple outlets — does CaseTrust accreditation cover all outlets, or do we apply per outlet?"
  4. "We're transitioning from AVA-issued historical certificates to bolttech-issued new ones — how do we communicate this to existing customers?"
  5. "Beyond the prepayment bond, what PL/WICA structures do most spa operators carry, and at what limits?"

Related Information

Published 3 May 2026. Source verified 3 May 2026. COVA is an introducer under MAS Notice FAA-N02. We do not recommend insurance products. We provide factual information sourced from primary regulators and route you to a licensed IFA who can match a policy to your specific situation.