This year, we carried out a survey amongst brokers asking how you felt we were working with you to grow and service the market. I have taken your feedback to heart.
Some of the comments were that you found inconsistency in our market positioning message and that sometimes you found it difficult to contact members of our commercial team.

Firstly, our positioning; Coface is a key player in credit insurance.

We believe that it provides efficient credit receivables protection for all kinds of businesses, from small enterprises to multinationals. Over the past few years, we have organised ourselves to be able to sell, as stand-alone products, all the elements that together constitute a credit insurance policy: information, credit rating, debt collection and protection. Additionally, taking advantage of belonging to a banking group, we have also been able to offer financing and rating enhancements, on top of insurance.

This diversification does not run counter to our basic positioning in credit insurance. On the contrary, it allows us to have a broader view of businesses and offer more flexible credit management solutions.

Going forward we wish to enhance our relationship with the broking community to be seen as an effective partner. Why? - because of our capacity to offer credit insurance locally and internationally, as an integrated product –including information, collection and protection, or indeed separately, according to brokers’ and clients’ needs; In addition, at a time when credit is becoming tight, we are able to provide financing on top of insurance.

Secondly, your access to our organisation.

We are here to offer brokers the contacts you need, when you need them.

We are establishing a single Commercial Department under John Shulman, who has been successful in launching the receivables finance business line in the UK. This department is in charge of the acquisition of new clients as well as ongoing client relationship management. It offers the full range of Coface products, with credit insurance remaining at its core.

The Commercial Department contains two divisions:

• The Key-Accounts Division - headed up by Phil Prunty. Its ambition is to offer a first class relationship to brokers and companies willing to build large business deals across the UK and Ireland, as well as internationally.
• The Sales Division will be based regionally so as to be as close as possible to service our brokers’, clients’ and prospects’ needs more effectively.

Russell Warner, who has supported the development of the regional structure will take this opportunity to hand over the responsibility to the Regional Sales Directors pending the appointment of a Head of Regional Sales, and has agreed an amicable arrangement to pursue an alternative project outside Coface.

The London market initiative will be maintained and developed, but there will be some organisational changes over the next few weeks. You will naturally be informed in due course.

Brokers are and will remain our main sales channel. We know that we must build trust, through a high quality personalised service. That is one of our key priorities for the coming weeks and months.

Xavier Denecker, Managing Director, Coface UK & Ireland

Coface has teamed up with GuruOnline.tv to offer video based business advice on how to use credit management as a strategic tool, covering such subjects as why it is necessary to protect bad debts, why the ledger is an important asset, how to protect export debts and what businesses should look for in choosing an insurer.

Additional advice is also available on how invoice discounting and factoring work and their potential benefits as a source of finance.

One of the most frequently asked questions about the Cofanet data export function is for the clarification of the meaning of all 35 field names that are available for download.

To view our Hints and Tips Document listing all the field names and their meanings, click on the link below.
Cofanet - Online Portfolio Management - Hints and Tips (Word 37Kb)

As of now we would like to advise you that on Contract Renewal all relevant documentation will now be sent to Policy Holders electronically.
Your Coface Commercial Team

For your convenience and ease of contact, we have included below an organisational chart with the direct points of contact to our team of Risk Underwriters. This also details the structure of the Risk Department and the trade sector allocation between the teams.

Click here for UK Risk Department Organisation Chart