Export Insurance Policy
Find out about our Export Insurance Policy: its benefits, eligibility criteria and how to apply.
We can help exporters manage risks in challenging markets, ensuring that they get paid even where the private market is not able to offer insurance.
Our Export Insurance Policy offers cover against the risk of:
- not being paid under an export contract
- not being able to recover the costs of performing that contract because of certain events which prevent its performance or lead to its termination
How it works
Benefits
Exporters taking out one of our export insurance policies receive:
- up to 95% cover
- cover against loss suffered due to specified risks
Our policy covers costs incurred if the export contract is terminated because the buyer defaults before the goods are delivered, or if the buyer fails to pay due to specified political, economic or administrative events.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible to take out an export insurance policy, the transaction must satisfy UKEF’s eligibility criteria, which includes, among others, the requirements that:
- the exporter must be carrying on business in the UK
- the buyer must carry on business overseas
- the exporter must demonstrate an inability to obtain credit insurance from the commercial market
All transactions supported by UKEF must satisfy:
- our foreign content policy
- our anti-bribery and corruption and environmental, social and human rights due diligence processes
The transaction may not be supported if there are sanctions imposed on the country of the overseas customer.
Cost
The premium payable for our cover is determined on a case by case basis.
How to apply
To find out more about our Export Insurance Policy or to discuss eligibility for our support, contact our customer services team. Email customer.service@ukexportfinance.gov.uk.
We have also approved more than 40 brokers to deliver our Export Insurance Policy. These brokers can help arrange insurance from organisations in the private sector in addition to UK Export Finance.
Our application form and product documentation are also available if you’re ready to submit an application.
Product documentation and application form
Specimen policies to assess whether our export insurance policy is suitable for the contract.
Get a non-binding indication (without assessing buyer risk) as an optional precursor to making a full application.
Make an application.
More information
Under obligations arising from UK international trade agreements, the UK government is not permitted to provide export credit insurance for marketable risks.
The UK has determined that the economic situation means that there has been a significant contraction of private credit insurance capacity across all markets. Therefore there are currently no countries that are considered to be marketable risks, although the exporter must continue to demonstrate an inability to obtain credit insurance from the commercial market. This decision matches the approach being taken in the EU State Aid temporary framework.
Read our guide for applicants on business processes and factors, to find out how we make decisions on applications.
Read our position on Financial Crime Compliance.
Last updated 31 March 2020 + show all updates
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Updated to reflect support for credit insurance business with a horizon of risk of less than 24 months in the EU, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the USA.
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Change to Security of Information Arrangements
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First published.