Trade credit insurance reaches just 13% of insured shipments

Global Trade Review, London, 22 November 2023) Premiums for trade credit insurance hit US$13.9bn in 2022, a small proportion [0.19%] of the US$7tn in insured shipments where trade credit insurance could have been used, the International Credit Insurance and Surety Association (ICISA) says. Only 13.2% of covered shipments worldwide were protected by trade credit insurance, with the private sector providing more than two-thirds of the cover [vs one-third from official OECD ECAs which supposedly monitor the environmental and ethical elements of international trade?], ICISA says. It estimates world trade to have totalled US$100.6tn last year. In a report released last month, global reinsurer Swiss Re says it expects trade credit insurance premiums to grow to US$14.8bn in 2024 [i.e. .015% of the value of goods traded] despite a slowdown in global trade, which it puts down to rate increases.