Coface delivers faster claim payment times for its clients

Companies with Coface credit insurance now have even less time to wait for their claim to be paid. The UK division of Coface, a worldwide leader in credit insurance, reveals it had introduced an initiative during 2012 to streamline its processes and reduce the amount of documentation required from clients.

The success of this first phase of the programme – now in place for 2013 – means that all claims up to £5,000 in value are now paid, on average, within 5 days and that all claims, irrespective of value, are paid within 30 days, regardless of whether it concerns UK or overseas bad debt.

The second phase of the initiative will be rolled out during 2013 and promises to bring greater flexibility and control for its clients whilst improving response times further.

Andrew Share, Director of Information, Claims and Collections at Coface in the UK, said: “In the current economic climate, companies are under more pressure to offer trade credit to remain competitive and attract new customers. But if those customers fail or don’t meet their obligations to pay on time, the effect on cashflow can be crippling and sometimes fatal for the company concerned if they have no access to alternative finance from their bank. Since we made this commitment to minimise payment times for all clients operating in the UK and overseas, Coface has succeeded in helping more of our clients to get back to business as usual as quickly as possible.” 

For claims of up to £5,000 in value, Coface now requires only a notification form and a statement of account as proof of claim, enabling it to improve the turnaround time between claim and payment for this group.

Andrew Share added: “For SMEs in particular, where margins are tight, a single bad debt can make the difference between survival and failure, and the knock-on effects on the company’s own suppliers is often equally serious. Naturally, Coface’s first objective is to work with our SME clients to help them manage their credit risk and focus their efforts on their financially healthy customers. But we never forget that the real test of a credit insurance policy is if claims are processed efficiently and the client receives their payment in good time. That way, the impact of bad debt is reduced on them and potentially the whole supply chain.”