?Outgoing LHC chairman Andy Lodowski told the meeting that several credit insurers were still tarring the whole industry with the same risk brush.
“The credit insurance companies can do what they like because they are making so much profit,” he said. Others agreed some credit insurance businesses still did not give value for money and that due diligence had to be an option for traders in the face of astronomical annual insurer premiums.
The views were prompted by the fact that the meeting’s guest speaker was Alan Sarling, managing director of Coastal Credit Insurance Brokers.
After updating guests on the state of the economy and insurance sector trends, he admitted it wasn’t always easy as a broker to get underwriters to make the right calls on timber companies.
“I sometimes have to go along and hold their hands,” he said. “And I spend a lot of time fighting underwriters on getting buyer limits.”
However, he added, it had become a more “fluid market” in terms of pricing and cover”. “It’s actually a good time to think about having a credit insurance policy if you don’t have one,” he said.
He also warned traders about recent corporate fraud cases, including fictitious companies and ID theft.
