'Encours' is an amount of money at risk. Why? Because the text is talking about 'insurance

..

In the case of credit insurance and ORSA policies, underwriters check regularly how the insured’s financial, etc., situation evolves so as to get a clear, precise estimate of their (the underwriters’) liabilities towards the insured. The better the situation, the smaller the risk (of the credit not being refunded).

As your text says, evaluating the insured's situation is better than (but doesn't exclude) working out the premium(s) paid or outstanding (évolution de la collecte in the text below) since the pace at which they’re paid has nothing to do with the evolution of the risk (premium payment is usually defined in the policy, irrespective of whatever may happen to the insured during the underwriting year, although some policies may exceptionnally provide for a change).


Cf.
Le pilotage de l’activité par la solvabilité nécessite d’intégrer une vision prospective dans l’ORSA… Les facteurs internes doivent également être pris en compte : à ce titre les assureurs doivent mettre en place des business plans prospectifs spécifiant l’évolution future probable de la collecte et des encours des portefeuilles.
http://www.ressources-actuarielles.net/EXT/ISFA/1226-02.nsf/...$FILE/Memoire%20&%20Resume%20BOUISSIERES%20Geraldine.pdf

CL3 because a specialist native speaker might come up with the right term, but I'm pretty certain of my explanation and I believe I've seen 'outstanding liabilities' in that sense in the insurance translations that I've done.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 11 hrs (2016-12-10 06:07:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Just to avoid any confusion, ‘policy’ in the first paragraph of my explanation means ‘the company’s own policy regarding its own assessment of etc.’, whereas in the second paragraph, it means the ‘insurance policies’ that it sells to its clients.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2016-12-10 12:48:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

@ Daryo, about ‘potential’ and ‘outstanding’.

The risk isn’t 'potential'. It’s real; it exists the minute the insurer is… ‘on risk’ (set insurance phrase).

What does change is its impact on the insurer; depending on the type of policy or on the nature of the insured risks, part of the exposure to the risk may no longer exist at one point but the risk itself is still there. For example, if a motor policy is in the middle of its duration, 50% of the risk no longer exists, but 50% is ‘outstanding’ according to insurance terminology. That's much more serious from the insurer’s point of view than merely ‘potential’ because the insurer is effectively on risk, not potentially . In Mark's case, the impact on the insurer depends on the insured's financial, etc. health (highs and lows determine the insurer’s liabilities towards the insured).

As for ‘outstanding’ from a tax law perspective: in all the countries that I know of, insurers are allowed by their tax authorities to set money aside for outstanding losses, liabilities, uncollected premiums and so on, but not for ‘potential’... whatever.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 hrs (2016-12-10 17:59:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

@ Nikki,

Did I write 'adjusted a/c to term of credit remaining' ? I don't think I did as an answer (but as an example, yes).

What I did write to support my answer : ‘underwriters check regularly how the insured’s financial, etc., situation evolves + 'In Mark's case, the impact on the insurer depends on the insured's financial, etc. health (highs and lows determine the insurer’s liabilities towards the insured)'.

Bon weekend !