How Much Does Trade Credit Insurance Cost?

When insuring your accounts receivable, your insurer will evaluate several factors to assess risk and determine pricing. They will assess the risk based on trading history, your customer ratings, credit terms, loss history, business sector, and customer location.  Additionally, the need for non-cancellable credit limits and whole turnover cover will be further evaluated.

Insuring accounts receivable differs from other insurance policies in terms of pricing structures and overall cost. As with most insurance policies, the price is calculated against risk and specific requirements, making each policy unique. Factors influencing the cost include the specific risk profile of your business and the amount of risk share you are willing to retain.

Turnover

This is where the pricing calculation begins. Referring to the total amount of money taken in by your business over a specific period. It is a critical factor in determining the premium for your accounts receivable insurance. As the premium baseline will be set by analyzing the amount of money taken by your business in a given timeframe.

Trading History

The history of your business will be analyzed as well. Your track record with your trade partners and receivables history will be evaluated. A poor trade history does not necessarily lead to higher premium pricing. There are many mitigating factors that can determine overall cost such as market outlook and future demand for your products and services as these may lead to future stability.

Sector / Industry

Another major factor in trade credit insurance cost is the sector or industry that you do business in. If you do business in sectors with higher stability, this can help to lower your premium rates. The overall market volatility, seasonality, and outside market influences on your industry will be considered when determining premium cost.

Credit Terms for Your Trade Partners

When determining policy pricing, your existing credit lines with your trade partners will be evaluated. Both the amount of credit extended and the terms of repayment are crucial factors in setting policy pricing. This assessment helps insurers understand the level of risk associated with your accounts receivable.

The benefits that comes with most trade credit insurance policies is that your insurer will help you determine future credit lines with your trade partners. Credit insurance agencies will provide expert analysis that allows you to be more informed about how different amounts of credit impact your overall exposure.

Customer Ratings

Your primary trade partners will be evaluated for their creditworthiness and trade history. This evaluation is typically based upon publicly available information. With a comprehensive assessment that will  analyze financial health, payment behavior, and overall reliability in fulfilling trade agreements. By leveraging credit reports, financial statements, trade databases, and news articles, we will gather detailed insights without alerting the trade partners to the evaluation process. This approach ensures that you can make informed decisions about your trade relationships while maintaining confidentiality and minimizing potential biases.

Countries

Your trade credit insurance pricing will also take into account the countries where your customers are located. Factors such as the state of infrastructure, political stability, and international conflicts in these nations can significantly influence premium costs. For instance, robust infrastructure and stable political environments may lower premiums, while regions experiencing political turmoil or conflicts may lead to higher costs due to increased risk. This comprehensive approach ensures that the pricing accurately reflects the varying levels of risk associated with different geographical locations, providing a tailored and precise insurance solution.

Example Policy Structures

All trade credit insurance agencies have different methods for structuring their policies and premiums. Below, we will explore our policy structure to help you understand one approach to trade credit insurance pricing.

Our Modula Policy allows us to provide you with credit insurance tailored to your requirements, so you don’t have to pay for something you won’t need. Atradius Modula is ideal for businesses with a turnover in excess of $5 million. We also offer policies for larger and smaller businesses, but for the purposes of explanation, we will use our Modula policy as an example.

Within the Modula policy are a diverse set of options or “modules” to suit your needs. These policy components provide coverage for the factors discussed above. These modules function as “building blocks” of cover. We use the “building blocks” we need to construct your policy.

This can be particularly useful when operating several policies to cover your different customers or markets.

Modula allows for varying levels of risk and need between customers to be clearly identified and differentiated. Providing a single policy promotes standardization and clarity, while the individual modules allow for a custom fit and a policy suited to each individual need.

These building blocks inform your final trade insurance premium cost and make pricing decisions clear.

Atradius Trade Credit Insurance Solutions

Atradius is the global leader in trade credit insurance policies. Learn more about our products and services.
 

Atradius Modula

Designed for larger businesses, this credit insurance policy covers domestic and export trade.

Atradius GO 

Perfect for SMEs, this policy is for domestic trade only and covers normal trading receivables exposure up to $200,000.

Media Policy

The Atradius Media Policy is designed for the unique needs of the media and marketing communications industry.

Global Policy

Multinational businesses operating from locations around the world benefit from the global view and local expertise of our Global service.

Special Products

From non-cancellable cover to long-term projects our Special Products solutions are unique. We have designed our policy to cover things like catastrophic events and political situations that arise outside of your control.

Disclaimer:

The statements made herein are provided solely for general informational purposes and should not be relied upon for any purpose. Please refer to the actual policy or the relevant product or services agreement for the governing terms.

Nothing herein should be construed to create any right, obligation or responsibility on the part of Atradius, including any obligation to conduct due diligence of buyers or on your behalf. If Atradius does conduct due diligence on any buyer it is for its own underwriting purposes and not for the benefit of the insured or any other person.

Additionally, in no event shall Atradius and its related, affiliated and subsidiary companies be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of the statements made information herein.