Judge of the Change

Fashion runs on these really strange net 60, net 30, net whatever, store pay payment terms. We didn't understand all of this at first. When we first started PD, we asked for a deposit when someone placed an order, that helped at the beginning. But over time, stores overturned those rules. No one really pays on the dot. The reason a lot of brands... See more

Michael Chen, president of Myco Furniture in Houston, said he had been using factors — groups that buy a company’s receivables at a reduced rate — but switched to credit insurance through Euler Hermes as a way to cut costs and be more selective in what the company insured.

James Daly, president and chief executive for United States operations at Euler Hermes, said that rates varied, but someone insuring $1 million in receivables through the company’s Simplicity plan could expect to pay an annual premium of around $7,000.

This is where so-called limits insurers come in, offering coverage to firms with annual revenues of $1 million to $20 million.

Euler Hermes, a limits underwriter, recently introduced a plan called Simplicity, aimed at helping businesses with $1 million to $5 million in sales. Another insurer, Coface, offers the International Policy, an industry... See more