Dive Brief:

• Insurance companies and banks are raising the costs of covering Sears Holding Corp.’s payments to its vendors, a consequence of the struggling retailer's cash woes.

• Many vendors will buy insurance to protect against non-payment, but in Sears’ case, the retailer’s iffy financial situation is making that prohibitively expensive in some cases.

• Sears has recently raised funds, but some insurers say they are still worried about its precarious financial situation heading into the holiday season. Reports of insurers no longer offering coverage for new clients dealing with Sears couldn’t be confirmed, but insurers say they are closely monitoring Sears’ situation.

Dive Insight:

While Sears Holding Corp. continues to insist that its finances are lined up to adequately prepare for the holiday shopping season, its woes are affecting its supply chain. There is a wait-and-see attitude at best, and its vendors and insurers are clearly keeping a close watch. 

"This year I think they are good," Evan Mann, a senior analyst at debt research firm Gimme Credit told CNBC. "But if they have a really bad Christmas and liquidity looks bad at the end of the year, next year could be problematic."