UK Trade Credit Insurance 'Top-Up' Scheme

From UK Budget09:

In line with the Government’s objective of providing targeted support to address specific challenges that business are facing, the Government announces a ‘top-up’ trade credit insurance scheme to help UK businesses maintain their finances. Under this scheme, the Government will offer to ‘top-up’ private sector trade credit insurance provision for six months. The scheme will be available to the 14,000 businesses that already use trade credit insurance and will mitigate against disruption to the supply chain and cashflow of the 250,000 companies they do business with, if their trade credit limits are reduced.

14,000 companies of all sizes currently buy trade credit insurance against supplies to over 250,000 UK businesses as a guarantee that their bills will be paid. Suppliers who experience reductions in credit limits may choose to stop future deliveries or refuse to extend credit, adding to pressures on firms potentially already facing difficulties and tending to reduce the level of trade.
From May 2009 until end December 2009, suppliers will be able to purchase six-months’ ‘top-up’ insurance from the Government if credit limits on their UK customers are reduced, backdated to 1 April 2009, providing another alternative to the abrupt disruption of supply and cashflow, and giving time for the businesses affected to adjust to changing circumstances.
The Government has worked collaboratively with the private sector insurers, who will provide this product on the Government’s behalf, to design a scheme that is well targeted and protects taxpayers’ interests. Therefore, the amount available to each supplier if a company’s credit limit is reduced will be that which either restores cover to the original amount, doubles the amount the company is able to obtain from the private sector, or £1 million, whichever is the lower.
The aggregate level of insurance provided under the scheme will be capped at £5 billion, and companies from all sectors of industry and from all stages of the UK supply chain will benefit from the increased certainty that this scheme provides.