“A quarter of failure in business is tied directly to unpaid debt,” said Michel Bianchini of Euler Hermes. “It means that, for 25 percent of business failures, it wasn't because of a management mistake or a legal problem, but it was because a customer did not pay.” For that reason, Bianchini believes the type of insurance his company provides is necessary for all exporters.
“Our job is to protect customers against the risk of failure from unpaid debt,” said Bianchini. “In case of unpaid debt, we will indemnify the customer, generally about 90 percent of the debt.” That's possible because Bianchini's company investigates companies extensively and determines appropriate credit limits based on that research. Euler Hermes then advises its customers on what kind of risk is appropriate to take when selling to overseas buyers. All but nine countries in the world are covered by Euler Hermes' services, and Bianchini believes it's that reach that distinguishes the company from the competition.
“To be efficient in this business, you must have a lot of links of information,” he explained. “Between bankers, insurers, companies and business information services, we have 6,000 people in our group, and 3,000 of them are collecting information.” Euler Hermes can then use that information to help companies grow, and it can protect them if that growth is stunted.
“Companies have to get more customers, and they have to do that by increasing turnover,” said Bianchini. “We can get all the information necessary to get more business.”
For more information:
Michel Bianchini
Euler Hermes
Tel: +33 491 133 716
[email protected]
www.eulerhermes.com
