The UK panels sector must fight to prevent credit insurers taking a one-size-fits-all risk assessment approach to the industry or risk losing affordable cover.
That is the view of Nigel Williams, chairman of The Timber Trade Federation National Panel Products Division (NPPD) and director of importer/distributor Premier Forest Products.
He raised the point at the NPPD annual dinner in London last week and later told TTJ that he and the TTF are taking the matter further, particularly with the big insurers. He said that, because of the panels sector’s perceived interrelation with the construction sector, it was being given ‘carte blanche’ high credit risk status.
“Insurers seem to base ratings on the conclusions of analysts using criteria that cannot be relevant to each and every [panels] business,“ he said. “Our whole sector is being unfairly labelled and the ripple effect is potentially very damaging.”
The TTF has already taken the issue to the Construction Products Association and the CBI, which directly led to an article in The Daily Telegraph.
“This issue is important across the economy,” said TTF chief executive John White. “Government is urging banks and others to play their part in minimising the impact of the recession, but pulling credit cover exacerbates a bad situation by forcing companies to pull investment in their customers which in turn puts them in a more perilous position with the insurers. We need to manage credit reductions on a sensible and case by case basis.”
Mr Williams is now urging individual panel businesses to take up the issue with insurers.
“We can’t stick our heads in the sand on this,” he said. “Without credit cover, we can’t trade.”
