CMR Insurance Services Blog
The Domino Effect: How a 10% Margin Loss Can Ripple Through Your Business
In the complex world of business finance, percentages can sometimes seem abstract. However, the reality of profit margins and their subsequent impact on a company's financial health is absolute. Let's...
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The Importance of Trade Credit Insurance in Turbulent Times
In a year filled with economic challenges, the importance of trade credit insurance has never been more evident. High-profile business failures, combined with less-publicised collapses, have sent shoc...
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Understanding the Cost of Trade Credit Insurance
Navigating the intricate landscape of trade credit insurance can be a challenge, especially when it comes to understanding its cost. How do premiums get determined? What factors affect the final...
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How Trade Credit Insurance Can Help Mitigate Business Risk
In the world of business, the threat of risk is omnipresent. Whether it's non-payment from customers, political uncertainties, or market instabilities, businesses need to be adequately prepared to mit...
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Demystifying Trade Credit Insurance: Common Myths and Facts
Trade credit insurance is a powerful financial tool, designed to protect businesses from the risks associated with providing credit to their customers. Yet, despite its benefits, it remains shrouded i...
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Atradius Economic Outlook - July 2023 - Executive Summary
Welcome to the July global economic review by Atradius. We are dedicated to providing up-to-date information on economic trends and forecasts, helping you understand the dynamic global economy. Here,...
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Why Your Business Needs Trade Credit Insurance: Ensuring Profitability with CMR
In today's unpredictable business climate, financial uncertainties are an inevitable part of the journey. Navigating these uncertainties can be challenging, especially when it comes to managing the ri...
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Understanding Trade Credit Insurance: Key Benefits and Importance
Trade Credit Insurance, also known as credit insurance or business credit insurance, is a crucial tool that safeguards companies from potential losses caused by the non-payment of trade debts. T...
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Communication is key!
One of the benefits of a credit insurance policy is the access it provides to information on customers, especially when there is adverse information or signs that a company might be in distress. ...
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Trade Credit Insurance - Discretionary Limits
What use is a credit insurance policy without any credit limits? The short answer is not much. When you have a policy with CMR Insurance Services, you can establish credit limits in two ways. The firs...
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Commercial Debt Collection: Best Practices for Businesses
As a business owner, you know that receiving payment for the goods or services you provide is crucial to the success and sustainability of your company. While it is always ideal for clients to pay on...
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Case Study: Fraud
An unpleasant fact of life is that fraud can happen. Whilst we all do our best to put measures in place to avoid fraud, it can still happen. Unfortunately, we recently came across a case of fraud, whi...
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Trade credit insurance Government Scheme FAQs
Following the launch of the Government's Trade Credit Insurance Support Scheme (Scheme), there are naturally a number of questions. Atradius, the insurer we work with have released some FAQs to help u...
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UK Government Launches Trade Credit Insurance Support Scheme - 05/06/2020
The UK Government has formally launched the Trade Credit Insurance Support Scheme (the Scheme) that the industry has been pressing for and working towards since April. This is very good news for Trade...
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Covid-19: Government plans for a temporary reinsurance scheme so businesses can continue to access trade credit insurance
CMR, which is part of PIB Group, is pleased to see today's Government announcement that it intends to develop a Government-backed temporary reinsurance scheme to help businesses recover from the imp...
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30 Years of CMR
Happy Anniversary to us! CMR has been trading and supporting business growth since 1st May 1990. For 30 years! We're looking forward to continuing that as part of PIB Group. "We are all very...
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Trade Credit Insurance FAQs
What is the most frequent type of claim? The most frequent claim type is an insolvency claim, which can be processed as soon as the buyer enters any form of insolvency proceedings. Are bad debts a...
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Client and Business Partner Update
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)In the light of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) threat, we want to give our clients and business partners some reassurance with the steps that PIB Group ('PIB'), and all our businesse...
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Trade credit insurance and the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
During these unprecedented, uncertain and quite frankly unnerving times, how will we as humans cope? Obviously the most pressing matter is every single person's well-being and safety, but what will ev...
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CMR Insurance Services has been acquired by PIB group
We're delighted to announce that CMR Insurance Services Ltd ('CMR') has been acquired by PIB Group. Launched in 2015, PIB Group is a dynamic insurance intermediary group aiming to create a leading pos...
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Corporate insolvencies rise for first time in 10 years by Atradius
Atradius recently shared the below post on their website and we feel it's important to share as much as possible. Corporate insolvencies are on the rise globally due to the more challenging economic...
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The UK Economic Outlook and Trade Credit Insurance
There can be little doubt that economic performance in the UK has deteriorated since the referendum and this understandably is a relevant factor in considering risk acceptance levels. You only n...
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6 ways to reduce risk when selling on credit
Have you ever heard a small business say it is not a bank? When you are selling on credit, you are a bank to your customers. You're offering them an overdraft free of charge. Of course, there are many...
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Trade Credit Insurance Claims Procedure
There's no denying making an insurance claim can be time consuming as you must complete forms, collate paperwork and then wait for the insurer to review it all. At CMR, our managed trade credit insu...
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Top 10 Reasons to buy Trade Credit Insurance
Trade Credit Insurance covers your debtor book, which is quite often your business' largest asset. Yet, many businesses do not protect this asset either due to a lack of knowledge about credit insur...
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Debt Recovery Specialists
CMR has been successfully supporting clients with debt recovery action for over 28 years. During this time, we have managed to build a wealth of experience and even managed to beat our record and co...
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No-deal Brexit risks driving up insolvencies by Atradius
Atradius recently shared the below post on their website and we feel it's important to share as much as possible. The UK leaving the EU without a deal would be a major disruption, causing business in...
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Brexit - Unclear and Uncertain
Brexit - I'm sure you're fed up of the uncertainty and no one agreeing on a suitable deal, especially when it's less than 6 months until the UK leaves the EU. Uncertainty is the main cause for concern...
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The Retail Slump
In the last few months, it has been well reported that the retail sector is struggling. Now the figures are out to prove it. During the first quarter of 2018, the number of retailers that have faile...
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The Beast from the East is to Blame!
Businesses are not only subject to failure through competition, bad decisions and fluctuations in the economy. The weather can also wreak havoc! We saw that the Beast from the East caused plenty of st...
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Carillion Update
Receivers believe that the construction side of Carillion had liabilities of almost £7bn when they failed and went into liquidation in January. Construction News has reported that the official recei...
Read More Are you Going to Back the Winners?
With Cheltenham festival about to begin, it got us thinking. Do you back horses just because you like their names? As we got talking, many of us agreed that a catchy name decided on whom we'd back....
Read More Chicken Chaos!
KFC has been forced to close many of its stores as they have run out of chicken! This seems a bit crazy, right? The issue started when they switched their delivery contract to DHL. DHL have blamed t...
Read More Profit warning for Carpetright
Shares of Carpetright have dropped 40% following a profit warning for full-year accounts. A decline in UK trade after the Christmas period accounts for much of the loss. Profits are now likely to be...
Read More The Collapse of Carillion
Carillion, a very large construction company has gone into liquidation. It would seem they have been struggling for a long time as their share price plummeted from over 200p to 14p in the past year. T...
Read More CMR are the Trade Credit Insurance Scheme provider for BIBA
We are pleased to announce that we have been appointed by British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) as the scheme provider for trade credit insurance. All of us at CMR are very proud to hav...
Read More Another Large Company has Collapsed!
It would seem another large company has failed. Palmer & Harvey, a major UK wholesaler has gone into administration following failed rescue talks. The company has employed 3,400 people and now 2...
Read More More administration woes for the furniture retail sector
Within a week of Multiyork's collapse another furniture retailer, Feather & Black, are facing closure, with 123 jobs at stake. Feather & Black have the same owners as Multiyork. Even though...
Read More Don't let the tables turn on you!
550 jobs are at risk following another high-profile company being taken into administration. Multiyork, the furniture retailer, will trade until Christmas while administrators Duff & Phelps seek...
Read More Interest rates increase for the first time in 10 years
We all saw it coming! The base interest rate has risen from 0.25% back to 0.5%, the first increase in 10 years. This rise could cause issues for businesses that have a lot a debt compared to share c...
Read More UK Legal Update: Is your company "PAP" ready?
PAP or Pre-Action Protocol explains the conduct and sets out the steps the court would normally expect parties to take before commencing proceedings for particular types of civil claims. As of the 1...
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Is your credit insurance policy just another overhead?
There are many costs that coincide with running a business. These costs can either help increase your profit or quite simply reduce them. Insurance policies have always been put in the latter category...
Read More Chic Paints Ltd - The credit insurance answer
We quite often get enquiries from Chic Paints Ltd, who require cover for up to £100 million sales. Sounds fantastic, right? Sadly for us, this isn't a big piece of business, it's for an accountancy qu...
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10 reasons you should invest in credit insurance
Funnily enough, CMR believes credit insurance is a fundamental need for businesses. Not because it keeps our business going but for many other reasons that we are now going to detail below, in what...
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Cash flow tips for you
One of the most important elements that keep a company stable is good cash flow. Cash is needed to pay employees, suppliers, rent and other overheads. It's fundamental for keeping a company afloat....
Read More Credit insurers pay you £4 million a week!
Ever wondered if credit insurance companies actually pay claims out to their clients? Well, we've got some news for you thanks to figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The latest...
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Are your clients asking if you have credit insurance?
Your suppliers There have been cases where suppliers are asking their customers if they have credit insurance, and there is a good reason for this. The reason is not that they are concerned you won...
Read More Credit Insurance: The Business Rates Risk
Many business owners in England will now be aware of the business rates increasing and how this increased cost will mean that they will have to increase their revenues to cover the additional overhead...
Read More Credit Insurance: UK Companies in Numbers
We recently received Creditsafe's "2016 A Year in Review" analysis and we found all the information very interesting. We therefore thought it would be useful to pass on some of their findings. Compan...
Read More Credit Insurance: Fraud spotting tips!
There are many cases of fraud that can catch companies out, but we are going to concentrate on one on this occasion and that is short firm fraud. Short firm fraud is the most common type of fraud and...
Read More Credit Insurance: UK Manufacturing
UK manufacturing seems to be heading in the right direction as according to a new survey its activity hit a two and a half year high last month. The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index (PMI) f...
Read More Our Managed Credit Insurance Policy
We know what you're all thinking, it's just another company saying they're better than their competitors and they will promise you the world. However this is not the case. We would just like to enligh...
Read More You don't need credit insurance...until you need credit insurance
There are companies that feel like credit insurance is not necessary, but we have seen cases where companies live to regret this. Companies decide they do not need a credit insurance policy and then a...
Read More Savers, spenders and credit insurance
The base interest rate has dropped but what does that mean for the credit insurance world, maybe nothing, but more likely everything. The main reason for dropping the base rate is to promote spending...
Read More "I had an opportunity to take out credit insurance, but didn't." - Peter Jones
At 6 foot 7, Peter Jones not only towers over most people but towers over the business world with his estimated net worth of £500 million. By the time he was 22 he was living the dream. He had his own...
Read More Brexit - What's next for the Credit Insurance world?
The news on Brexit just keeps on coming and rightly so, as the political situation changes daily. Theresa May is now our Prime Minister and she is currently building her cabinet, which entails some su...
Read More Credit insurance brings certainty to this uncertain world
Following the Brexit vote, uncertainty is the only thing we can be certain of. No one seems to know what is going to happen and everyone has questions. What are the trade deals going to be? What direc...
Read More Credit Insurance: As the pound decreases the exporting increases?
As everyone knows the British Pound has weakened against most currencies across the world since the EU referendum. This would seem a good time to export goods and services as foreign companies will be...
Read More We're out! - Credit Insurance can help take the uncertainty out of Brexit!
With news that the UK has decided we should leave the EU and David Cameron announcing his resignation, the country is full of uncertainty. The pound has hit its lowest point since 1985, a lot of banks...
Read More Trade Credit Insurance: Giving you confidence to enter new markets
At CMR, we understand that growth and profitability are the most important factors when running a business as we ourselves have been running a successful company for 25 years and counting, specialisin...
Read More Cash flow issues can be triggered by many causes...but Credit Insurance could save the day
Volkswagen's first quarter profits fell following the emissions scandal, a scandal that very few, if any, anticipated. According to the BBC, their profits have dropped by 20% in the first quarte...
Read More Playing your Trump card with Credit Insurance
Since Donald Trump has confounded the doubters and clinched the Republican Party nomination and now running neck and neck with Hillary Clinton to become the President of USA, it has got us at CMR wond...
Read More Trade Credit Insurance: Keep up with the big boys!
Most large companies have credit insurance to protect themselves against bad debt, whether its administrations or cash flow issues for their suppliers. When trying to grow your company why not copy th...
Read More Credit Insurance cover available in "fantastically corrupt" countries
Following on from David Cameron's sweeping statement about the "fantastically corrupt" countries of Nigeria and Afghanistan, CMR is pleased to announce that only this week we have managed to secure cr...
Read More Credit [Insurance] has to go to Leicester City FC
A truly incredible feat has been achieved by Leicester City FC and their fans, including our Sales Director, Neal Matley, are quite rightly ecstatic with all their efforts coming to fruition and the p...
Read More Credit Insurers don't always get it right!
Credit insurers pay out millions of pounds in claims on companies that they believed were solid risks but weren't…everyone makes mistakes - even the experts! With the recent demise of BHS the headlin...
Read More Credit Insurance gives you the POWA to go from 0 to 90!
Further to our blog about POWA Technologies, we have learnt what Deloitte, the appointed administrators were able to extract from the company for the unsecured creditors…nothing! Following the admin...
Read More Credit Insurance: The bigger they are the harder they fall
Many companies feel they do not need credit insurance for so called big companies, but why is this? Do they feel they are too big to fail? There are many examples where this is not the case and credit...
Read More Trade Credit Insurance takes the uncertainty out of Brexit
The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee says that the outlook for financial stability has deteriorated since November. The committee said "the most significant" domestic risks to financial st...
Read More The POWA lies with Credit Insurance
A company that David Cameron once described as one of Britain's brightest tech start-ups has gone into administration. The company, POWA, was valued at over US$1billion (£694m) before it was to be flo...
Read More Hedge your bets with Credit Insurance
With the Cheltenham Gold Cup week starting, risk is a good thing to be talking about. Would you gamble 40% of your income on one horse without knowing the form and some sort of protection? A money bac...
Read More Trade Credit Insurance: It's in the Bag
It has been reported that Nelson Packaging Limited has gone into administration and the new 5p charge for plastic bags has been blamed. Let's look at the facts and find out how trade credit insurance...
Read More Irish Pride bakers in receivership - Atradius pay millions in claims
Irish bakers Irish Pride went into receivership suddenly last month leaving many suppliers facing huge debts. Atradius are paying substantial claims to some of their policyholders - read more about th...
Read More Atradius Market Monitor October 2015
Atradius have published their latest edition of Market Monitor which includes latest reports on the UK, Brazil, China, France, Spain, as well as other markets, and a focus on the automotive sector. P...
Read More Claims data from the ABI shows increasing claims
The ABI has published trade credit claims statistics for quarter 2, 2015. Gross paid claims were £34.7M, a 47% increase on quarter 1 and a 61% increase on the same period last year. Domestic claims...
Read More Tesco admit to unfair practices with suppliers
Tesco has admitted 'a number of instances of probable breaches' of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice, in their 2015 Annual Report. The code sets out how designated retailers are expected to fairl...
Read More Longcross Construction in Administration
Longcross Construction has been placed in administration after their bank reportedly withdrew its support. Longcross is based in Ashtead, Surrey with offices in London, Birmingham, Derbyshire, Exeter...
Read More B&Q suppliers woes & how Credit Insurance can help the SME business
Reports in the press state that a previous supplier to B&Q is threatening legal action against Kingfisher group. Terry Clark says his company TWC, failed as a direct result of their "horren...
Read More Notice of Administration - GB Building Solutions Ltd
Atradius have issued the following advice for creditors. It has been confirmed that Anthony Nygate and Graham Newton of BDO LLP have been appointed as Administrators of GB Building Solutions Ltd and G...
Read More The Insurance Gap
Whilst the current economic outlook is generally very positive, running any business carries its risks. Unforeseen events can seriously impact your business, or your customers business! An exception...
Read More Bank Fashion & USC enter administration
The new year period is often a challenging month for some businesses and this year is no exception. Two major fashion retailers have entered Administration already this year, first Bank Fashion Ltd a...
Read More Movember - CMR charity event
Chris, Neal, James and Stephen will be growing moustaches in November for Movember, the leading global organisation committed to changing the face of men's health. We will provide photo updates of ou...
Read More Phones 4U Creditor Factsheet
Atradius have released a factsheet for creditors of Phones 4U, the information is useful even if you do not hold a credit insurance policy with us. If you would like any further information ple...
Read More Phones 4U in Administration
High Street retailer of mobile communications, Phones 4U, has entered Administration putting over 5,000 jobs at risk. The chain, which is owned by private equity firm BC Partners, said their 500 stor...
Read More Dragon Peter Jones - my biggest mistake
Dragon's Den entrepreneur Peter Jones was a guest on the Chris Evans Radio 2 Breakfast Show today (18th July) along with fellow Dragon Kelly Hoppen. When Chris asked the Dragons about mistakes they h...
Read More Russia - A Market Well Worth Pursuing
Chris Hoy is Managing Director of CMR Insurance Services Limited. As the UK appointed representative of Atradius the global insurer, CMR Insurance Services have been helping protect British business a...
Read More India - economy continues slowdown
India's economy continues to slowdown according to the latest government figures. For the April-to-June quarter, it grew at a rate of 4.4%, compared with the same period in the previous year. It was...
Read More Buckie Shipyard in administration
One of Scotland's oldest specialist ship-building businesses, Buckie Shipyard Limited, has been placed in administration. With origins back to 1903, Buckie Shipyard provided a fully integrated servic...
Read More Thoughts on the use of Credit Insurance
This article was published by The Channel, an IT sector publication/website http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2013/06/17/lost_meelions_on_reseller_failures_credit_is_a_risky_biz/ The author, Eddie Pac...
Read More Atradius Payment Practices Barometer
Credit Insurance underwriter Atradius has released their latest Payment Practices Barometer for Western Europe. GB Core results An average of 30% of the total value of domestic...
Read More Do you know your customer?
It might seem an obvious question, but do you know who your customers are?In the event of a non-payment it is important to know who is legally responsible for payment, who you could pursue through the...
Read More Major High Street failures
We have seen a surprising number of failures on the High Street over the last year. An interesting piece on the BBC website gives a round-up of the high profile failures and current position; htt...
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