March, 27 2024
In a market with high risk and low profits, Nor Seafoods appreciates the security, stability and peace of mind that Allianz Trade credit insurance brings to the operation.
The Aalesund-based company buys fish caught in the Arctic Sea on the open market and sells them both domestically and abroad. Its customers are typically processing companies that turn the fish into various food items.
Nor Seafoods is a shareholding company and has been in operation since 1998. The location in Aalesund and the well-skilled staff make it possible for Nor Seafoods to remain flexible and quickly adapt to the dynamics of the global market and its demands.
According to General Manager Inge Kristian Hansen, the ambition of Nor Seafoods is to be the chosen supplier for their customers of both fresh and frozen whitefish and salmon. Allianz Trade credit insurance is an important part of that ambition.
"Credit insurance gives us security and predictability. We have been growing very quickly for several years now and it makes it easier for us to grow and get customers in new markets when we have this kind of security because we don’t know every customer in all markets", says Inge Kristian Hansen.
Credit insurance is an important part of the value chain
For almost a decade, Nor Seafoods has been working with Allianz Trade. The collaboration brings, security, stability and peace of mind, says Inge Kristian Hansen.
“We’re very exposed in a high-risk market with relatively low profits. The high risk is getting the big volume of fish and the big turnover and sometimes the better profit, but mainly the profit is low. We have to have credit insurance, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to sleep. Credit insurance from Allianz Trade also gives us information on markets we’ve never been in.”
He explains that Allianz Trade credit insurance is important to two parts of the company’s value chain.
“One is in the sales process, closing a contract for example, and the second is when it comes to financing. If we don’t have credit insurance we cannot get financing from the banks for example. Every trade has to be insured,” says Inge Kristian Hansen.
Protection against customers going bankrupt
In a global landscape still affected by the pandemic and huge political shifts, the security provided by Allianz Trade credit insurance is valuable to Nor Seafoods.
“We’ve experienced changes that we have no control over. We need to adapt to them. The risk picture is worse than it’s ever been and there are things happening that we are unable to predict. And when we can’t predict what’s going to happen, it’s important that we have security like credit insurance,” says Inge Kristian Hansen.
Nor Seafoods especially appreciates the highly-skilled personal contact that Allianz Trade has provided over the years.
“We’ve had customers go bankrupt but still received our money back through credit insurance. The other thing is that we sometimes get warnings about customers through credit insurance that make us turn down the activity. We’ve also seen companies that we’ve been warned about could go under, but we weren’t affected by it because of the guidance we received from Allianz Trade credit insurance,” says Inge Kristian Hansen.