Government help for exporters

Before your business begins exporting, it is recommended that you assess the different risks you may face and consider whether you need to insure against them. As well as physical loss or damage to goods, and faulty goods or services, you also need to consider non-payment by your customers.

For this last risk, an export insurance policy may be appropriate. This type of policy insures an exporter against the risk of not being paid under an export contract or of not being able to recover the costs of performing that contract because of certain events that either prevent the carrying out of a project or bring about its termination.

To complement cover available from the private market, UK Export Finance, the UK's official export credit agency, offers a range of products and services, including export insurance policies for contracts to a value of at least £20,000, typically involving the export of capital equipment and project-related goods and services. If your contract is not for semi-capital or capital goods and related services, you must first attempt to obtain insurance from a private export credit insurer before applying to UK Export Finance. Find out more information about the export insurance policy.

Find out about insurance facilities from UK Export Finance.