Trade Credit Insurance vs. Risk of Self Insuring

Self insuring is the concept that a business sets aside cash to cover losses incurred due to the default of outstanding receivables. In today’s volatile and uncertain economic climate, there is very good reason to not self insure and every reason to protect your company with trade credit insurance. The primary reason one should not self insure is due to loss of leverage. ‘Leverage’ is the concept of getting an exponential return on your resources through the services of a third party as in the case when you take out a trade credit insurance policy. In a self insurance situation, you are tying up the entire amount of the receivable in question for the entire term of the contract. In other words, your cash is already earmarked to cover your loss in the event of a customer default. On the other hand, with trade credit insurance, you use a fraction of the total value of that contract to protect you against default, allowing you to maintain a cash buffer for miscellaneous expenses. Companies who do not maintain enough leverage in their day to day operations are companies who are not in a position to take advantage of unexpected opportunities. They are also far more exposed to financial disaster. Companies who self insure instead of using trade credit insurance can find themselves in a position where a big loss freezes their ability to expand (or even to operate as normal). That’s the beauty of using trade credit insurance – the cost is just another expense and you never have to fully absorb a loss to your bottom line. In today’s business world, we are seeing a great deal of financial turmoil. The problem for a company who sells goods or services business-to-business without trade credit insurance is the exposure to every financial interruption faced by each and every client. While your company may sell software at the OEM level, your client may provide that software along with service to a mortgage lender who is going bankrupt. Your only way of knowing this is to maintain a large staff to examine the details of a client’s finances, as well as investigate the day to day operations and details of how your clients make their money. Trade credit insurance provides the leverage for a company to use a fixed amount of money to defend against a much greater potential loss. Along with this, it allows a company to stick to its core business instead of delving into the expensive process of learning and monitoring each intimate financial detail of every individual client. Have a question or comment about trade credit insurance? Feel free to contact us using the form to the right or call Trade Risk Strategies 1-888-644-4422. Copyright © 2010 | All Rights Reserved

Trade Credit Insurance vs. Exim Bank Restrictions

Companies seeking to mitigate their risk on foreign receivables sometimes find themselves having difficulty in differentiating trade credit insurance from the services offered by Exim bank. On the surface, there appears to be little difference in the function of Exim bank compared to private firms offering trade credit insurance. Exim bank was established as the Federal Government’s way of trying to help businesses offset risk and actively encourage exports of American goods.

Some services offered by Exim bank parallel those offered by trade credit insurance firms. However, the major difference in the two is the simple fact that the Exim bank is a part of the US Government, and anything attached to the federal government means regulation. The drawbacks of using the services of Exim bank are many. In addition to the high expense typically associated with an Exim bank policy, as a part of the US Government, Exim bank has numerous regulatory hurdles that must be overcome, while trade credit insurance is a simple contract between two private companies allowing for the most flexibility. Additionally, Exim bank has on more than one occasion received negative press indicating that it discriminates politically by offering its services to those special interests that powerful political groups favor while leaving those without such connections to fend for themselves.

Any company trying to decide between the services of the Exim bank and acquiring a trade credit insurance policy privately would do well to consider the political ties of the Exim bank. A company wishing to control its risk without being forced through extra regulatory hoops or being required to do business with only those parties favored politically would do well to keep in mind that a private trade credit insurance policy allows a company greater flexibility to do business as they are usually accustomed. Using Exim bank can mean the possibility of navigating a political swamp causing frustration for policyholders.

Have a question or comment about trade credit insurance? Feel free to contact us using the form to the right or call 1-888-644-4422.

Copyright © 2010 | All Rights Reserved

Advertisers

Credit Insurance: Impact of Bad Debt Loss

What does it really cost your company when your customers fail to pay you? The truth can be shocking. Let’s examine multiple scenarios and the impact on sales due to loss without credit insurance.

LOSS AMOUNT & MARGIN	SALES REQUIRED TO BREAK EVEN
$50,000 loss @ 4% margin	$1,250,000
$100,000 loss @ 4% margin	$2,500,000
$500,000 loss @ 4% margin	$12,500,000
$1,000,000 loss @ 4% margin	$25,000,000

LOSS AMOUNT & MARGIN	SALES REQUIRED TO BREAK EVEN
$50,000 loss @ 8% margin	$625,000
$100,000 loss @ 8% margin	$1,250,000
$500,000 loss @ 8% margin	$6,250,000
$1,000,000 loss @ 8% margin	$12,500,000

LOSS AMOUNT & MARGIN	SALES REQUIRED TO BREAK EVEN
$50,000 loss @ 15% margin	$333,000
$100,000 loss @ 15% margin	$666,000
$500,000 loss @ 15% margin	$3,333,000
$1,000,000 loss @ 15% margin	$6,666,000

These charts illustrate the break even point, in other words, how much additional sales would be necessary in order to break even on a given loss. The impact for many companies to replace these sales can be severe depending on the size of the loss relative to the size of the company. Keep in mind these scenarios assume only one loss at a time – if there are multiple losses within the same year, the effect can be devastating. Simply plug in your own margins and determine the impact unexpected losses can have on your sales, operational costs & cash reserves.

Credit insurance can help prevent these realities from negatively impacting a business. Premiums are easily justified when looking at the excessive costs of not insuring.  These charts illustrate the point that credit insurance makes sense for companies who put themselves at risk selling on open credit terms to their customers.

Have a question or comment about trade credit insurance? Feel free to contact us using the form to the right or contact us directly at 1-888-644-4422.

Copyright © 2010 | All Rights Reserved

Advertisers