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Start with the policy you actually have
This guide concerns UK Export Finance’s management guidance for an offered or live export insurance policy. It is not an eligibility guide for every European or Southeast Asian business.
Give one named person responsibility for policy administration. Sales, finance and delivery managers need a route for reporting problems and proposed changes, so the cash plan does not continue using stale assumptions.
Give the insurer a factual account of the problem
Build a short record rather than describing every problem as refusal to pay. These are ELN preparation questions; the actual insurer and wording determine the claim treatment.
| Question | Evidence to collect |
|---|---|
| Is the amount due? | Operative contract, invoice, payment trigger and delivery/acceptance evidence |
| What is disputed? | Buyer’s specific objection, your response and any agreed credit or variation |
| Which cover is relevant? | Policy, covered buyer/contract/amount and the event being reported |
| What changed? | New payment terms, delivery changes and facts affecting the buyer’s ability to pay |
Keep notification and cash expectations separate
Under UKEF’s guidance, report non-payment once it remains unpaid 30 days after due. Awareness that the buyer will not pay starts a separate 15-day notification clock. The six-month non-payment claim condition is different; a favourable award or judgment may reduce it. Contact UKEF promptly and check the actual policy.
Fictional example: a US$60,000 invoice remains unpaid and the buyer challenges US$10,000 of the work. Do not treat the whole US$60,000 as an insurer-approved claim or assume the uncontested US$50,000 is automatically payable by the insurer. Establish the debt, dispute and policy response separately.
Fund the period in which the outcome is still unknown
Ask management for a cash plan that works while the insurer’s response or dispute remains unresolved. Identify which further deliveries, legal costs or settlements need approval and whether proposed contract changes require insurer consent.
Keep the claim dossier and policy communications in the business’s secure process. Use the monthly Cash runway tool for the wider cash position, with uncertain insurance receipts marked as assumptions outside any confirmed funding amount.
Scope
- Specific scheme guidance, not a claim decision, legal dispute strategy or insurance recommendation. Actual policy wording, eligibility, notice, consent, exclusions and event facts control.
Next step
Use Cash runway to test the business without an assumed insurance receipt. Maintain a separate policy/reporting register and obtain the actual insurer response before treating a claim as confirmed cash.
Sources & review notes
UK Export Finance
Passage, dates and research notes
official-guidance · Claim events, disputes and policy change/notification paragraphs
Full body read; actual policy conditions and scope control.
Detailed rule records (1)
The guidance separates claimable events, reporting and waiting conditions. A disputed debt may require a favourable award or judgment; actual policy wording controls the claim.
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