Capital, certainty, and the end of passive credit insurance. Burkhard Wittgen, Global Head of Multinationals at WTW, has published a personal blog advising that, with defaults rising and the economy stuck in a low-growth, high-volatility pattern, receivables start to feel less like routine invoices and more like unsecured lending to customers. Burkhard's point is that this makes trade credit insurance just as much about protecting liquidity as it is about paying claims. He also argues that modest premium growth figures miss what's really going on: insured exposure is rising, but capacity is tight. So when insurers cut or withdraw limits, it can land like a financing shock for policyholders (bank terms may tighten, factoring becomes more expensive, and sales teams may have to pull back) rather than simply an underwriting decision. His view is that programmes should be designed for certainty, not renewed on autopilot. To read Burkhard's blog, go to https://worldofcreditinsurance.com/2026/02/22/capital-certainty-and-the-end-of-passive-credit-insurance/.

How trade credit insurers can overcome the challenge of manual processes and rising costs. SCHUMANN has published a blog highlighting how rising operating costs are putting pressure on trade credit insurers, particularly where core underwriting and portfolio workflows remain heavily manual. It argues that manual handling can slow response times, increase administrative burden, lead to inconsistent decisions, and increase the risk of avoidable errors—issues that become more pronounced as portfolios grow. The blog points to greater automation as one potential response, describing rule-based processes that can help collect and validate data, route cases for approval or escalation in line with delegated authorities, and keep portfolios up to date. It also notes potential governance benefits, such as embedded policy checks and automatically generated documentation to support compliance and audit trails. To read SCHUMANN's blog, go to https://prof-schumann.com/en/blog/credit-insurance-how-to-overcome-the-challenge-of-manual-processes-and-rising-costs.

​​

Trade credit insurance proves vital amid tariff aftershocks. Post Online has published an article in which Matt Williams, CEO of Allianz Trade UK & Ireland, says Allianz Trade has seen “ripple effects” following President Trump’s tariffs. He notes that this has influenced not so much how much insurers underwrite, but how they underwrite. He adds that, as companies reconfigure supply chains, trade credit insurance is increasingly being used as a sales development tool, helping firms explore new markets and assess new customers. To read Post Online’s article, go to https://www.postonline.co.uk/commercial/7959578/trade-credit-insurance-proves-vital-amid-tariff-aftershocks?check_logged_in=1.

​

NCI warns of continued insolvency pressure. Kirk Cheesman, Group Managing Director at National Credit Insurance (Brokers) (NCI), has published an article noting that 2025 was one of the toughest periods Australian businesses have faced in years. Corporate insolvencies rose across many sectors, including some long-established firms with previously stable cashflows. Furthermore, with little sign of easing, failures look set to remain elevated in 2026. In response, Kirk observes that directors and credit managers are tightening counterparty checks and monitoring concentration risk. Trade credit insurance is increasingly being treated as a core part of the framework, both for insolvency protection and for the discipline it brings to credit limits and ongoing buyer monitoring. To read NCI's article, go to https://www.nci.com.au/news/2025-produced-record-insolvency-numbers-expect-more-in-2026/​.

​

A global career in trade credit insurance: Corine Troncy. ISC Group's Cool Jobs podcast features Corine Troncy, Global Head of Trade Credit at AIG, on what has shaped her career and what she values in leadership. She reflects on building experience across multiple regions (Asia, North America, and Europe) and how international exposure influenced her perspective and decision-making. Corine emphasises the importance of curiosity, adaptability and relationships, and argues that progress is rarely linear; mentors, networks and timing often matter as much as technical expertise. She also touches on how she approaches leading teams in a demanding market environment, balancing performance expectations with culture, coaching and talent development. To listen to the podcast, go to https://vimeo.com/1163432847/ba9fcaf3e8.

Woman in Credit Insurance (WICI) Spotlight on Shannon Magee. WICI's February 2026 'Spotlight on…' interview features Shannon Magee, Trade Credit Claims Manager at Tokio Marine HCC (TMHCC), highlighting her career path and leadership perspective in trade credit insurance. With eight years of industry experience, Shannon began at TMHCC as a Claims Technician, later travelled, worked as a trade credit broker, and returned in August 2025 to lead TMHCC's claims team. She identifies a key industry challenge as the lack of clear progression routes for professionals with 3–5 years' experience, which can hurt motivation and retention. Her advice to aspiring leaders is to embrace opportunities, not let age hold them back, and push through imposter syndrome. She credits mentoring as vital to confidence and development, and says her favourite part of the role is helping policyholders, brokers and her team grow. To read the Spotlight, go to https://icisa.org/news/wici-spotlight-on-shannon-magee/.
 

​UK growth to cool as one-offs fade; insolvencies to decline through 2027. Allianz Trade's latest UK Country Risk Outlook suggests UK growth will cool in 2026 as the one-off factors that supported recent performance fade, before picking up slightly in 2027 (although the economy has little spare capacity to grow much faster than around 1.5%). Business insolvencies have broadly stabilised since 2024, but at an elevated level. Allianz Trade notes that insolvencies in construction and hospitality have eased, and expects a sustained decline in overall insolvencies through 2027. Even so, insolvencies are forecast to remain above pre-pandemic averages. Externally, Allianz Trade flags weak fundamentals: the UK has run a substantial current account deficit for years, and strong services exports are not enough to offset deteriorating goods export performance. To read Allianz Trade's Risk Report, go to https://www.allianz-trade.com/en_GB/insights/economic-research/uk-country-risk-outlook-2026.html.

​

​Coface sees rising demand for data and debt collection. Coface's full-year 2025 results underline a tougher operating backdrop, with subdued growth, geopolitical volatility and elevated insolvencies. Against that, the performance of its non-insurance activities suggests many companies are actively strengthening credit risk management, investing in better data, earlier warning signals and faster recovery options. Coface reports non-insurance revenue up 7.8% to €166.2 million, led by information services (up 16.2% at constant exchange rates) and debt collection (up 24.4%). Regionally, the Mediterranean & Africa delivered the strongest growth, rising 3.7% at constant exchange rates. To read Coface's news release, go to https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/coface-profit-slides-15-as-claims-normalize-and-competition-intensifies-566063.aspx.

The UK remains a low-risk market on paper, yet some issues are starting to creep up. Insurance Business reports that Allianz Trade's latest Country Risk Atlas continues to classify the UK as a relatively low-risk market, but warns that weak productivity, high debt and political uncertainty will constrain growth and keep commercial pressures elevated. For credit insurers, the most important signal is Allianz Trade's view that commercial risk has now overtaken economic, political, business-environment and financing risk as the main threat to UK corporates. For credit, surety and trade‑related covers, this points to continued elevated claims frequency, particularly among highly leveraged SMEs in construction, retail, hospitality and energy‑intensive industries. Underwriters are likely to keep a tight focus on sector and counterparty selection, underwriting information quality and shorter credit terms, even as broader macro indicators look benign. To read Insurance Business' article, go to https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/uk/news/breaking-news/uks-productivity-slump-to-curb-growth-despite-low-risk-rating--allianz-trade-566330.aspx.

​

Coface Risk Review 2026: Slower growth, but trade is still expanding. Coface's latest Risk Review projects global GDP growth easing to 2.6% in 2026 from 2.8% in 2025. The outlook remains patchy: the US is forecast to grow 2.2%, supported by solid consumption despite a 15% rise in bankruptcies in H2 2025. The eurozone is expected to expand by around 1%, helped by a German rebound linked to a major investment plan. Coface also notes 3.9% growth in global trade volumes in 2025, suggesting output and trade are slowing, not stalling. Coface's Risk Review has made seven country risk assessment changes (six upgrades) and nine sector rating changes (seven upgrades). To read Coface's news release, go to https://www.coface.com/news-economy-and-insights/risk-review-2026-a-moment-of-truth-for-the-global-economy.

​

UK retail volumes rose in 2025, but the "Golden Quarter" disappointed. Tokio Marine HCC (TMHCC) has published its latest UK Retail Sector Report (February 2026), which says retail demand remained subdued in 2025 (and was still below pre-pandemic levels), despite a modest improvement in volumes. Retail sales volumes rose 1.3% in 2025 (versus 0.2% in 2024), but the "Golden Quarter" fell short of expectations: Q4 2025 sales volumes fell 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, although they were up 2.0% year-on-year. TMHCC says this largely reflects a weak outturn in Q4 2024 rather than a material strengthening in underlying momentum. Retail insolvencies also remained elevated in 2025 (up more than 5% on 2024) and into early 2026. Looking ahead, TMHCC expects the headwinds that weighed on retail in 2024–25 to show little sign of dissipating in the near term. To read the report, go to https://www.tmhcc.com/en/news-and-articles/thought-leadership/uk-retail-sector-report-february-2026.

​

UK Food & Drink: Resilient, but under pressure. EFCIS' UK Food & Drink Sector Review (H1 2026) says the sector remains economically important but is under sustained structural pressure, with value-led consumers and intense retail competition limiting suppliers' ability to pass through costs. Grocery is one of the brighter spots: supermarket sales hit a record £13.8 billion in the four weeks to 28 December 2025 (+3.8% YoY), with discounters gaining both turnover and footfall. UK Christmas grocery sales also rose 2.5% YoY to around £19.6 billion in December 2025, despite a slight fall in unit volumes, implying shoppers bought fewer items but paid more per item, supported by heavier promotions. The report flags ongoing downtrading and own-label substitution, plus rising working-capital stress from inventory build-ups, longer receivable days and commodity-driven price volatility. Click here to read EFCIS' report.

​

Atradius' construction outlook points to stronger 2026 growth. Atradius has published a new construction industry report forecasting global output growth of 2.3% in 2026, up from 1.4% in 2025, with emerging markets (+3.1%) expected to outpace advanced economies (+1.5%). Overall, Atradius expects non-residential construction to grow by just 1.6% globally, while residential output is forecast to rise 2.6% in 2026 (and 4.0% in 2027) and civil engineering by 2.5% in 2026 (and 3.7% in 2027). Atradius also highlights stronger growth in India (up to +4.4%) and Southeast Asia (around +6% on average), while forecasting more modest increases in the US (+1.5%, due to tariffs on key construction inputs which are disproportionately affecting the industry), the eurozone (+1.6%) and the UK (+1.5%). To read Atradius' news release, with a link to the full report, go to https://atradius.co.uk/knowledge-and-research/reports/industry-trends-construction-february-2026.​

Ireland entered 2026 with an economic momentum that set it apart from many of its European peers. Allianz Trade's Ireland Country Risk Outlook 2026 highlights that Ireland remains a low-risk market for enterprises. Ireland's GDP is notoriously volatile, so Allianz Trade suggests Modified Domestic Demand (MDD) is a better gauge of underlying activity. MDD shows the Irish economy has significantly outperformed the eurozone since the pandemic, supported by multinational-heavy sectors (notably technology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and financial services) and strong exports. Although the outlook flags Ireland's exposure to the US (which takes 30% of Ireland's goods exports), Allianz Trade says the 15% US tariffs imposed on the EU in 2025 are manageable and not a major concern for Ireland's economic model and growth prospects. On credit conditions, it notes business insolvencies surged in 2023–24, began declining in 2025, and are expected to remain lower through 2027. To read Allianz Trade's Outlook, go to https://www.allianz-trade.com/en_GB/insights/economic-research/ireland-country-risk-outlook-2026.html.

What drives trade credit insurance costs? Atradius has published a new explainer on what drives trade credit insurance pricing. It says cover typically costs 0.1% to 1% of insured B2B sales, priced mainly by two factors: the risk of non-payment and the potential loss. Costs also depend on the amount of risk a business retains through deductibles or coinsurance. Sector mix matters too, with Atradius noting that construction, retail and transport are more cyclical than steadier areas such as utilities and healthcare, which can influence both pricing and credit limits. To help control costs, Atradius highlights the value of timely, transparent financial information and diversifying the customer book to avoid concentrated exposures. To read Atradius' article, go to https://atradius.co.uk/knowledge-and-research/resources/what-drives-credit-insurance-costs.​​​​​