You insure your trucks and your plants. Who insures your margins?
Companies insure their assets against rare accidents. They leave their margins exposed to everyday disruptions, which cost far more over a year. What is missing is insurance on what matters most.
By Mansour Niang, CEO & co-founder, Clevizio·Published August 4, 2026·5 min readKey takeaway
Companies insure their assets against rare accidents but leave their margins exposed to everyday disruptions: supplier failures, demand spikes, production hiccups. Because these disruptions are frequent, they often cost several points of margin a year, the equivalent of a major loss spread thin and invisible. Insuring your margins means building the ability to detect early, decide fast and learn from each decision.
Everything you insure without thinking about it
An industrial company naturally insures its trucks, its plants, its inventory and its liability. These are obvious expenses, never questioned, because an accident, however rare, can be fatal. You accept paying a regular premium to protect yourself against a serious, exceptional event. This logic of coverage is deeply rooted in how companies are managed.
What you leave exposed
Yet one major line item has no insurance at all: your margin, in the face of everyday disruptions. A supplier failure, a demand spike, a production hiccup are not rare accidents, they happen every week. And each one, poorly absorbed, eats away a few thousand euros of margin. Over a year, these small repeated leaks often cost far more than an exceptional loss. But because they are diffuse, nobody thinks of covering them.
Everyday disruptions cost more than the rare accident
That is the paradox: companies protect themselves heavily against the rare and the severe, and leave the frequent and the diffuse uncovered, even though the latter weighs more. A warehouse fire is dramatic and unlikely. Poorly managed disruptions, on the other hand, are certain and constant. Over a full year, they add up to several points of margin, the equivalent of a major loss, only spread out and invisible.
Insuring your margins is an executive decision
Insuring your margins does not mean taking out a policy, but building the ability to absorb disruptions the moment they hit: detect early, decide fast, capitalize on what you learn. It is active coverage rather than passive coverage. For an executive, the reasoning is the same as for traditional insurance: accept a controlled recurring cost to avoid much heavier, uncontrolled losses.
This article starts from a conviction: the perfect forecast doesn't exist, what matters is the decision that follows.
- Everything you insure without thinking about it
- What you leave exposed
- Everyday disruptions cost more than the rare accident
- Insuring your margins is an executive decision
Clevizio
Clevizio is the decision layer that plugs into your existing tools: it detects disruptions, simulates your options and keeps a record of every trade-off. See how the decision copilot works.
Mansour Niang
CEO & co-founder, Clevizio
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Frequently asked questions
What does "insuring your margins" mean in supply chain?
It means building the ability to absorb the disruptions that eat into margin (stockouts, spikes, production hiccups) by detecting early and deciding fast. Active margin coverage through decision-making, rather than a traditional insurance policy.
Why do everyday disruptions cost more than a rare loss?
Because they are frequent and diffuse. A major loss is rare and unlikely; everyday disruptions are certain and constant. Over a full year, they often add up to several points of margin, the equivalent of a major loss, spread out and invisible.
Finally put a number on what disruptions cost you every year.
Let's start by estimating what your disruptions really cost you. It's free, it takes 30 minutes, and you leave with a figure nobody in your company knows today.