Until April, indemnities paid in credit insurance advanced 411.9% and collection 24.3%

by Denise Bueno

The worsening conditions of the credit scenario, with the risk triggered by the crisis in Americanas and high interest rates, translated into an increase in the price of insurance. Consequently, insurance companies reported to Susep (Superintendence of Private Insurance), the body that regulates the sector, a growth of 24.3% in sales volume, to R$ 740 million. Indemnities, on the other hand, increased by 411.9%, to something close to R$ 1 billion.

“We recorded an increase in the average credit insurance ticket of more than 20%, to something close to R$ 400,000 per company”, says the vice-president of Corporate Risks at brokerage Alper Seguros, Ilan Kajan Golia. According to him, the repercussion of the volume of indemnities paid, especially for suppliers impacted by Americanas’ judicial recovery, made the search for information on insurance skyrocket. “Everyone wants to understand more about how insurance works, but this is a contract that has a longer negotiation period, with consultative sales”, he explains.

The monthly average of five policies negotiated by Alper tripled after the explosion of the retailer’s crisis. However, as the price also exploded due to the increase in the volume of indemnities, the contracting companies are waiting to close the contract, in a sign of hope that the rates will soon return to a lower level, with more favorable terms and conditions presented in the pre-crisis Americanas, which ended up giving rise to other companies that revised their financial statements.

This scenario of insecurity with the credibility of balance sheets turned on red lights for reinsurers, from whom insurers buy insurance. “A lot of people look for it, but as it became more expensive and restrictive, out of every ten operations, they approve two. Some insurers offer capacity for up to 50% of the customer’s credit portfolio, which means that he is paying twice as much for insurance. Before the Americans crisis, more than 70% of all the company’s billing was covered”, explains Golia.

For the president of CNSeg, Dyogo Oliveira, indemnities were boosted by recent credit events that relied on insurance protection. “On the demand side, these same events generate a greater search for protection. This, combined with the fact that keeping the interest rate at a high level tends to increase defaults, makes up the scenario of greater demand for the product”, he says.

To get an idea of the impact on credit, a portfolio that until then had been considered profitable, all branches and segments, except Supplementary Health, recorded an increase of just 2.2% in indemnities, to R$ 77.2 billion, while revenue with sales of the entire sector grew 8.6%, reaching R$ 117.4 billion. In parallel with credit insurance, civil liability, maritime and aeronautical, major risks and engineering risks also recorded positive performances.

Credit insurance aims to reduce the risk of credit operations, guaranteeing the creditor, the one who assigns funds, the reimbursement of the operation defined in the insurance contract, which will be carried out by the insurer, in the event of default by the debtor. The product can be used both for operations carried out in the national territory and for financial operations destined for export, however, the individual or legal entity that takes out the insurance must be domiciled in Brazil.

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