This approach is clear at Allianz Trade Middle East, which helps both SMEs and large global clients with trade credit.

"We give our clients different products, ranging from solutions for local clients through Corporate Advantage or for global clients through World Policy. Our job is to ensure all claims in the Middle East are handled with the highest quality of service," says Yash.

Each country within the Middle East has different laws and regulations. "Our challenge is to provide a seamless solution to mitigate the client’s bad debt, when possible through both claims and collections." says Ahmad.

The service is the same in the 8 countries where Allianz Trade in Middle East operates, but the number of claims varies a lot. "Some customers have hundreds of claims a year, and a single claim can involve many transactions. We also have clients who have never made a claim, and everything in between," says Ahmad.

Our trade credit insurance stands out because we are experts and focus on our customers, says Ahmad. "We've been working hard for years to refine our service and communications with our customers. We also have monthly meetings with our brokers to anticipate upcoming claim payments and ensure they are done on time."

Ahmad also thinks consistent service makes Allianz Trade a leader. "What makes us different is our consistent quality throughout the organization," he says.

Part of that service-focused approach is to provide guidance to clients at different points, to reduce instances of claim rejection.

“Only about 5% of claims from our clients are declined – and this number is constantly monitored to identify customers with a high rejection rate, and provide them with tailormade advice to avoid such cases” says Yash.

“Our advice to clients is to always know your policy timelines – even before you need to make a claim,” says Yash. “We monitor the top reasons for claim rejections and advise clients to be mindful of these at the inception stage.”

 “The most important aspect of the policy is to be compliant with the policy timeline. After the due date on the invoice passes, in general we expect clients to take 60 to 90 days to try to work things out with their customer before they declare a state of default notification to us,” says Yash. “We advise policyholders to be aware of their maximum payment terms and maximum extension period as per the policy and monitor any delays regularly in order to ensure their claim is approved. We also advise clients to ensure their buyer is not in a state of default when making new supplies.”

“We never want a claim to be denied but the fact that the overdue or claim has not been notified to us within the required timeframe is the most common reason that a claim is rejected,” highlights Yash.

Yash has further advice for those anticipating that they might need to make a claim one day. “When you enter into any kind of trade, make sure everything is very well documented. Always keep track of all your invoices, due dates, buyer’s acknowledgement of payment terms and delivery notes, so as not to miss deadlines or lack the documentation as required in the policy,” he says.

“This helps us quickly assess your claim and reduce the need for follow up clarifications,” Yash outlines.

Ahmad outlines "We always try to keep in mind that we want to treat our clients in the same the way we’d want to be treated ourselves"

"I think it’s all about the people. It is a privilege to work with our clients and brokers out of so many industries and cultures" says Puspha

Yash notes "It is incredibly rewarding to find a solution that reduces our clients’ losses, whether through claim indemnifications or through a creative and effective collections approach"