Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom
Australia
New Zealand
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Mexico
Bahrain
Morocco
UAE
Oman
Tanzania
What does Trade Credit insurance cover?
Trade credit insurance policies indemnify a seller of goods or services against their buyers’ failure to pay, either through insolvency or protracted default. Policies are designed on a sales turnover basis.
Cover options include:
- Whole-turnover
- Selective accounts
- Single contract
- Domestic/export
- Political risk
- Special risks
Trading on credit is how the business world goes round. But if a payment is delayed or your debtor goes insolvent, it can leave a hole in your company finances. Trade credit insurance covers the shortfall – keeping your cashflow steady, while giving you the confidence and security to seize new opportunities for your business.
At Howden, we tailor trade credit insurance to your specific needs – helping protect your business from the risk of non-payment, while providing the peace of mind you need to grow.
Bespoke Trade Credit insurance can inject confidence and power new opportunities.
How does Trade Credit insurance work?
If the debt collector can’t collect all of the payment that you were due, we can help you submit an insurance claim. In this instance, the insurer could pay up to 90% of the insured debt and the collection expenses.
We will analyse your clients’ credit risks, and set a credit limit for each of them. You continue to trade with your clients as usual. If one of your client's defaults on a payment up to their agreed credit limit, notify us. We will work with the insurer to organise a debt collection and get you your money back.
Industries where credit insurance is particularly important
- Agriculture & Horticulture
- Construction
- Financial services
- Food & Drink
- Manufacturing
- Oil & Gas
- Paper & Printing
- Recruitment
- Retail
- Wholesalers
- Logistics/Distribution
- Textiles
- Pharmaceuticals
Trade Credit insurance: a strategic approach
There’s more to Trade credit insurance than just protracted defaults and insolvencies. Access to market insights can help you train your sales efforts on companies that have a good reputation for paying up.
We have an in-house team of credit analysts who can help you gain that all-important competitive advantage. Upon commencing your policy with us, you will have access to market and sector intelligence, insolvency statistics evaluation and customer financial analysis.
Tailoring for your client base
It’s normal for your business to offer clients different terms. Your Trade Credit insurance should be set up to account for that. For example, you could have deductibles (excess) for some clients, but not others.
Avoiding pitfalls
Supplier disputes can be an exclusion on many policies. However, the precise definition of what counts as dispute varies from insurer to insurer. We can help word policies to put you in the best possible position.
Find the real risk. Transfer it.
We'll analyse your client book and design bespoke cover for your real risks
Factors affecting Trade Credit insurance pricing
- Current credit management processes and losses
- Client base
- Contract frustration/repudiation
- Arbitration
- Currency inconvertibility and non-transfer
- Trade disruption
Howden can help you assess your risks around each client and deliver a cost-effective package bespoke to your needs.
While we strive to drive down premiums the emphasis is always on the quality of cover – there’s no point in buying a cheap cover only to realise you’re not covered when you come to claim, due to unforeseen policy exclusions.