This summary contains key information from our webinar on 21 February 2025, dedicated to three risks that are often overlooked by businesses and hosted by Cyril Cousergue. Certified by ORIAS as an insurance broker, Cyril combines excellent knowledge of this field with more than 30 years of experience in financial management and management control in demanding industrial sectors such as automotive, plastics and metallurgy.
Find out here what your company may be exposed to in the event of customer risk, inexcusable employer negligence and occupational accident/illness risk, and how best to protect yourself.
>> To view the recording of the webinar (duration: 30 minutes), click here.
Businesses and risk: visible and invisible risks
Companies are generally well aware of the usual risks covered by traditional insurance policies. However, there are other risks, invisible or poorly identified, that also affect many companies and can seriously undermine them. These are the risks we will be discussing today.
Customer risk (in the UK and abroad)
A customer does not pay their debt when it is due. This risk is known in the sense of customer reminders, often managed amicably, without insurance. These reminders become unpaid debts in the event of non-payment after reminders/legal proceedings.
To limit this scenario, best practices should be followed: careful selection and diversification of your customer portfolio, application of the shortest possible payment terms with requests for deposits, choice of the right INCOTERM, frequency and amount of your deliveries per customer, etc.
In addition to good management, insurance solutions are available: COFAS is the best known for exports. Another more recent option is BPI, which also offers a range of useful support services for businesses.
There are also insurance companies that insure risks in France, Europe or outside Europe. For example, if you have a large export flow to Canada, it may make sense to have local insurance.
Pricing will depend on your activity at a given moment. Your customers and markets will evolve over time, so you need to be careful to adapt your insurance as you go along and regularly review your exclusion clauses.
Inexcusable fault on the part of the employer
The employer has not taken all measures to avoid a danger to their employees, of which they were (or should have been) aware. This constitutes an aggravated accident at work, as the employer did not do everything they should have done to avoid it.
This scenario is more common than one might think: failure to provide PPE or providing incomplete PPE, unmarked or partially erased floor markings, are all likely to reclassify a workplace accident as gross negligence on the part of the employer. The financial consequences are severe: doubling of the pension (permanent disability), recourse by the CPAM (French social security), substantial compensation, etc.
It is therefore essential, first and foremost, to be rigorous in terms of prevention: strict compliance with the Labour Code, provision of the necessary training, supply of appropriate PPE, combating discrimination or harassment, etc.
Secondly, ensure that your civil liability insurance includes a sub-cover called "inexcusable fault" with the right level of cover: being over-insured is pointless, but being under-insured will not help you either.
The risk of workplace accidents and occupational illnesses
This is the least well known and therefore the least recognised by companies.
In the event of an AT/MP, CARSAT will calculate an increase in the employer's contribution rate, the AT/MP rate. This rate is revealed when you receive the letter from CARSAT, and the bill can be very steep, with unexpected costs spread over up to six consecutive years.
What can you do? Once again, it is essential to ensure effective prevention of accidents and illnesses, but this is not enough: insurance solutions are also needed.
Before rushing into anything, you need to analyse your risks, see what is acceptable for YOUR company and then find the right balance between risks, cover and costs.
Good to know: If you have fewer than 20 employees, you are subject to a fixed national AT/MP rate set by CARSAT.
To conclude
These three invisible risks affect many companies, even if they are unaware of them or neglect them. There are others, generally specific to a particular profession or activity.
Insurance provides many of the solutions, but non-insurance solutions (contractual clauses, accident prevention measures, etc.) should not be overlooked.
First and foremost, we recommend that you identify all the risks your company faces and then assess the acceptable level of risk before choosing the optimal solution.
