Products


Euler Hermes Simplicity A new product for small businesses


Credit Insurance has always been about protecting businesses of all sizes from the risk of their customers becoming insolvent, and the subsequent impact on cashflow and payments. But whereas credit insurers have been good at developing a range of products to meet the needs of medium and larger sized enterprises, the SME market has often presented more of a challenge.


Euler Hermes market research has shown that while SMEs recognise the benefit of protecting their business against the risk of not getting paid, existing policies have tended to be costly, confusing and impractical for a business with little by way of credit management support. Until now. Over the last few months, Euler Hermes UK has been hosting a series of focus groups to discuss credit insurance with SMEs who are yet to be convinced. Although some believed that taking a gamble on getting paid was all part and parcel of running a small company, others showed considerable interest when presented with the principles of a new Euler Hermes product that we call ‘Simplicity’. Simplicity is an easy to use, ‘off the shelf’ trade credit insurance policy that protects very small businesses from the risk of not getting paid by their customers. Euler Hermes Simplicity is designed to bring peace of mind within minutes to small firms without complex administration. It offers simple pricing, simple administration and a simple and fast claims process on all debts over £200 so that if a payment remains outstanding, the potential impact on a company’s cash flow is minimized. Launched by Euler Hermes in the UK and in Ireland after extensive market research, Simplicity is the first product of its kind to specifically address the needs of small businesses by replacing the need for credit limits with 'blind cover'.


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The Policy is radically different to 'traditional' credit insurance policies in that the annual premium is a fixed amount, that depends only on the annual turnover of the Policyholder. Once purchased, the Policyholder doesn’t need to apply for credit limits or have to find a way to justify trade credit below a discretionary limit. If the Policyholder takes no further action after they purchase a Simplicity Policy, they are covered in the event of non-payment or insolvency of their customer to an agreed maximum limit as standard. Euler Hermes will pay claims up to 60% of unpaid invoices up to a maximum which is dependent on the turnover band indicated at the outset.


Euler Hermes firmly believes that the small business sector will play a vital role in the recovery, and the future success of the UK and Irish economies.


If a Policyholder applies for a Euler Hermes grade on our on-line system and their customer is assessed as an acceptable risk, cover is increased to 90% with a higher maximum. Policyholders are kept up to date automatically if their customers’ grades change (a Euler Hermes grade ranges from 1-10, where 1 is the lowest risk and 10 is the highest risk). Once a payment becomes overdue or the buyer becomes insolvent, Policyholders can submit a simplified claim form. With automatic renewal and no turnover declarations required at year end to calculate the premium, the aim is to have a credit insurance policy that requires no more administration than a motor or home contents policy. At Euler Hermes we firmly believe that the small business sector will play a vital role in the recovery, and the future success of the UK and Irish economies. We are confident Simplicity will prove to be a key element of their business processes going forward. Visit the Euler Hermes Simplicity website (www.ehsimplicity.co.uk) to see just how easy it is to get covered. We will let you know exactly what the costs are and answer some of the questions you might have about how it can work for you. You can even apply online. For off the shelf credit insurance to protect your business against bad debt, call 0800 197 1172, email ehsimplicity@ eulerhermes.com, or visit the website www.ehsimplicity.co.uk


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