Risk Dip & Chips - and some good advice from ICBA Australia and New Zealand

By Kirk Cheesman, originally included in the "NCI Minute" e-newsletter

Remember the famous incident on the TV show Seinfeld, where George Costanza double dips his chip? Could the Australian "economic chip" be about to plunge into the financial salsa again? Could the global "economic chip" soon follow?

In April 2008, ICBA Australia and New Zealand's claims statistics showed the economy dipped heavily for the first time and insolvency/credit insurance claims increased to their peak in December 2009.

However, it is interesting to note that on an annual basis, a blip occurs around the April to June period. In 2009, 2010 and now in 2011 we experienced an increase in credit insurance claims numbers. Coincidence or not?

Our statistics also show the building industry is the area most likely to be affected by the Christmas slow down and poor weather. Steel, plumbing, electrical wholesale, building and hardware were the most affected.

Planning ahead is the key to avoiding the effects of a possible double dip, so what can businesses do to ensure they minimise their risk leading up to the next period?

• Be more vigilant in your collection processes.

• Do not succumb to requests to extend payment periods due to normal "holiday" excuses.

• Ring debtors ahead of time to ensure you are first in line to receive your payments and avoid the ability for debtors to dispute invoices.

• Activate collection activity without delay when payment time periods are missed.

 
(Kirk Cheesman is Managing Director of ICBA Australia and New Zealand, National Credit Insurance (Brokers) Pty Ltd.)

Credit insurance claim busters – the dreaded trade dispute is increasingly being used as an excuse not to pay

by Mark Attley

In his recent blog post, my ICBA colleague, Rob Downey talks about the claims process in a credit insurance policy and cites his top ten reasons why claims are denied.

In today’s economic environment, my colleague Ron Doyle, another ICBA blogger, has pretty much taken up full time residence in our claims handling room at our head office in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Ron is a seasoned credit insurance vet with over 30 years experience in the credit insurance business. Having worked through at least five recessions and possibly four mini recessions, he has a myriad of unusual claims stories.

Click to read more ...