Credit Insurance for Broadcast
& Media Businesses

Protect eligible receivables against specified customer credit risks and reduce the potential impact of a significant customer failing to pay.

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An Invoice Is Still a Credit Risk Until It Is Paid

A production may be complete.

The work may have been accepted.

The invoice may have been raised to an established customer.

But until payment reaches your bank account, the business retains a financial exposure.

For broadcast and media suppliers, that exposure can be considerable.

A major project may involve substantial upfront or ongoing expenditure on crew, equipment, facilities, travel and subcontractors.

If a significant invoice then becomes irrecoverable, the financial impact extends beyond the missing revenue.

The business may already have incurred much of the cost required to earn that income.

Trade credit insurance is designed to protect against certain insured losses arising from customer insolvency, protracted default or other covered non-payment events, subject to policy terms.

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Why Credit Risk Matters

Consider a substantial customer invoice.

Before raising it, the business may already have paid or committed money to:

Crew
Freelancers
Equipment hire
Technical suppliers
Facilities
Travel
Accommodation
Subcontractors
Operational overheads

If the customer fails to pay, those costs remain.

That is why credit risk is relevant even to businesses working with established customers.

Customer Concentration

Many specialist broadcast and media businesses work closely with a relatively small number of major customers.

Those relationships can be commercially valuable.

They can also result in significant customer concentration.

If one broadcaster, production company, agency or rights holder accounts for a large proportion of the debtor book, non-payment can have a disproportionate effect on cash flow.

Trade credit insurance can form part of a wider strategy for managing that exposure.

What Can Trade Credit Insurance Cover?

Cover depends on the insurer and policy.
Potential insured events can include:

Customer Insolvency

Protracted Default

Certain qualifying non-payment events

Other specified commercial risks

Policies include conditions, limits and exclusions.

The precise scope of protection should therefore be understood before cover is arranged.

More Than Claims Protection

Trade credit insurance may also support broader credit management.

Customer Assessment
Insurers analyse commercial credit risk and can provide information that supports decisions about customer exposure.

Ongoing Monitoring
Changes in the financial position of insured customers may affect available credit limits.

Controlled Growth
Greater visibility over customer risk can assist when considering larger projects or new clients.

Concentration Management
Identify where significant exposure exists within the debtor book.

Financial Resilience
Reduce the potential effect of a qualifying bad debt on the wider business.

Credit Insurance and Invoice Finance

The two products have different functions.

Invoice Finance primarily supports liquidity by advancing working capital against eligible invoices.

Credit Insurance provides protection against specified customer credit risks.

Depending on the circumstances, they can potentially form complementary parts of a wider receivables strategy.

Ask One More Question Before the Next Contract

When assessing a new project, businesses naturally ask:
Can we deliver it?
Do we have the crew?
Do we have the equipment?
Can we meet the technical specification?

There is another question worth considering:
How much cash are we committing before this customer pays us — and what would happen if that payment did not arrive?

As contract values and customer concentration increase, that question becomes increasingly important.

Protect the Revenue You’ve Worked to Earn

Speak to MacManus Asset Finance about trade credit insurance and whether it may have a role within your wider working-capital and credit-risk strategy.

Credit Insurance FAQs

What is trade credit insurance?

Trade credit insurance protects a business against specified losses arising when an insured commercial customer fails to pay in covered circumstances.

Does it cover every unpaid invoice?

No. Cover depends on policy terms, customer limits, exclusions and the reason for non-payment.

Can established broadcasters and media companies be insured?

Potentially. Credit insurers assess individual debtors and determine available credit limits according to their own underwriting criteria.

Why insure invoices from large customers?

The issue is not simply the likelihood of default. The size of the financial exposure also matters.

Can credit insurance work alongside invoice finance?

Potentially. The products perform different functions and may sometimes form part of the same wider receivables strategy.

Is credit insurance relevant if we only have a few large customers?

Potentially. A concentrated debtor book can make customer credit-risk management particularly important.

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MacManus Asset Finance Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN: 821663. MacManus Asset Finance Ltd is an authorised credit broker and not a lender. We work with a Panel of Lenders whose particulars will be supplied upon request to find a potentially suitable arrangement for your consideration. ICO registration Z9484665 and you can check via www.ico.org.uk.

MacManus Asset Finance Ltd, registered at Ground Floor, Unit 5 De Clare Court, Pontygwindy Road, Caerphilly, CF83 3HU. Company Register number is 05785432.
We will receive commission from lenders. Different lenders pay different amounts depending on different commission models. For transparency we work with the following commission models: percentage of the amount you borrow and rate for risk (this is based on the risk profile of the business). Further details of the commission model, calculation and amount will be disclosed to you throughout your customer journey.

Credit Insurance for Broadcast & Media Businesses