SPA and wellness companies here are banding together to get insured, in the wake of a spate of salon closures in the last six months.
The tentative plan is for 10 to 12 beauty and wellness companies to get insured together.
If any of them folds, the rest will be able to come forward and absorb the balance of the packages that the defunct business owes its clients, with part of the cost covered by insurance.
The Spa and Wellness Association Singapore has been working with an "appropriate insurance body and other appropriate organisations" to design such an insurance policy, its board member, Dr Sundardas Annamalay, told my paper.
Getting insured will protect both consumers and businesses, he said.
When spas Wellness Village and Simply Spa closed down last year, followed by salon Wax in the City two weeks ago, three companies - Atos Wellness Group, Rustic Nirvana and Subtle Senses - stepped in to bail them out.
They offered to provide the services owed to the defunct spas' clients, but are not getting any payment or reimbursement.
The insurance scheme is part of a "comprehensive programme" to protect consumers and legitimate star players, Dr Sundardas said.
The association approached the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) about the programme last October, when "there was already some rumbling" about beauty salons and spas going bust and leaving customers with expensive packages stranded, he said.
Together, they aim to come up with guidelines to protect beauty and wellness companies and their consumers, and to help the public identify credible companies, he said.
For example, they hope to draw up a list that informs the public which spas are insured and which are not.
An insured spa might charge more for its services, but "no matter what happens, you're covered...if not, you're taking a chance", Dr Sundardas said.
When contacted, Case declined to give details about the programme, but said that it hopes "to announce the outcome of the discussion in the next few weeks".
Mr Mark Anthony, the group operations manager of two spas, Spa Elements and Spa Infinity, said that the insurance scheme is a "good idea, which will give consumers confidence in spas".
He said: "This plan will protect the industry from further errant players. The public will know who they can trust, who are serious about their businesses and won't just disappear."
He added that he is "interested in the proposal and will definitely sit down and take a closer look" at it.
Ms Annricas Koh, owner of beauty salon Nails Bar, which has two outlets here, said that she would join the insurance scheme as long as the premium that she has to pay is "reasonable".
"Such a set-up is good for small companies, which may wish to help take in former customers of companies that have closed down, but are unable to do it for free.
"The insurance will take care of part of the cost and make it easier for companies to shoulder the load," she said.
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CASE should also be careful that this does not leads to a price cartel among spa operators.
At the end of the day pay as you go is still the best, that is if you really need the spa to feel good at all.