Sam Salem and Son

Introduction

Sam Salem and Son, a New York City-based linen manufacturer, has been working closely with retailers to provide a range of branded and private-label home-fashion products since 1944. However, with the seismic changes to the retail sector and the resulting financial turmoil, this family-run business selling to more than 350 retailers of all sizes needed to manage the risks to its operations in case any of its larger retail industry customers were unable to pay their bills.

Challenge

Obtaining affordable and sufficient credit insurance coverage is not easy even in the best of times. A company like Sam Salem and Son working in a distressed industry faces even more complexity. Given the extremely high risk of insolvency and general financial problems among retailers, Sam Salem and Son needed to expand its credit insurance coverage at exactly the time when such coverage was at its most expensive and difficult to obtain. In fact, it wasn’t long ago that Sam Salem and Son would have been unable to obtain credit insurance at all for some of its largest customer accounts. The executives at Sam Salem and Son realized they would need expert advice from professionals with both strong industry connections and superior knowledge of the marketplace.

Solution

To overcome these challenges, company executives wanted to cast the widest possible net to obtain affordable credit insurance coverage, rather than working directly with a single insurance carrier as they had in the past. With FGI serving as the broker for this coverage, a few insurance carriers submitted quotes. However, it was FGI’s ability to use its own network to work directly with the decision makers at each carrier that made the difference

This scenario maximized competition among insurance carriers and gave Sam Salem and Son much more leverage to negotiate lower costs and better coverage. The chosen coverage offered all three things Sam Salem and Son was seeking—better coverage for even its highest risk customers, better premiums and a lower deductible.

Results

Now that Sam Salem and Son has the credit insurance coverage it needs, the company is able to concentrate on growing its business with new and existing customers. For example, the company was able to obtain $750,000 in credit insurance coverage on one key account alone, allowing it to sell much more aggressively to that customer – as well as many others. These additional sales will allow the company to pursue what is essentially a higher growth, lower risk business strategy.