Export insurance for contractors

Our insurance for construction work in countries outside the Netherlands is tailored to the practical needs of contractors and enterprises in the construction industry.

It covers the risk that your client will not pay you for the costs you have incurred in the event you are obliged to suspend work on a project, as well as for the risk that you will not receive payment or interest in full or within an acceptable period of time for approved certificates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Risks Covered

The choice is yours: you may take out cover solely for post-delivery or post-completion payment risk (credit risk) or in combination with cover for the costs you will incur prior to the delivery of your goods or completion of your work on the project (pre-delivery risk). Non-payment may be due to circumstances in your client’s country such as war, natural disasters or a government’s financial difficulties (political risks). It may otherwise be due to financial difficulties experienced by your client (commercial risk). Depending on the situation, you may choose to insure only political or only commercial risks.

Deductible/Insured’s Own Risk

The percentage of cover we can offer under an insurance policy for contractors is flexible. It will be fixed at a percentage which is usually between 90% and 98% of the contract value. You will therefore bear the risk for the remainder, i.e. at minimum 2% and at maximum 10% of the contract value. This is known as your deductible or own risk. You may transfer this risk to other parties to the transaction, such as your bank or suppliers. You must however apply for and obtain written approval from Atradius for this before your contract enters into force.

Do you need financing for your project?

Your client may require financing to pay you for your goods and services. Atradius Dutch State Business offers facilities which can assist you in obtaining financing for your client. Please refer to the Buyer Credit Insurance Policy section below.

Is your client asking for guarantees?

Clients often request contractors to have their banks issue guarantees for projects. The most common of these are advance payment bonds, performance bonds, maintenance bonds and retention bonds. They must often be unconditional. This means they are easy to call, whether fairly or wrongfully. Another type of guarantee which a client will often require is a bid bond. Our bond cover insures you against the unfair calling of the bonds your bank has posted on your behalf. An additional benefit of our bond cover is that it frees up capacity under your credit facilities with your bank.

Protecting Your Tools and Equipment

You may need to deploy costly tools and equipment to carry out your project abroad and, upon its completion, relocate these to the site of your next project. Atradius Dutch State Business Tool and Equipment Insurance protects you against losses due to damage to your tools and equipment owing to political reasons such as war or disturbances. This insurance also protects you against losses if you are not able to import, transfer or repatriate your materials due to causes such as, for example, a permit not being renewed upon its expiry or other measures being imposed by the authorities in the country where the materials are deployed.

What to do if you are not paid?

Let us know as soon as possible if your client is in arrears. The Atradius Dutch State Business Claims and Recovery team can then determine with you the best course of action to take to avoid any imminent losses. If the payment problems cannot be resolved within the waiting period (usually three months), you may submit your claim for indemnification with us.

Indemnification

If you have a right of indemnity after the waiting period, we, on behalf of the Dutch state, will pay you the covered percentage of your unpaid invoice and any interest due. Claims are normally paid in euros. When we indemnify you for a loss covered by your insurance policy, we will assume the rights to the receivables concerned, including any related guarantees or collateral. We will then take measures to collect the amounts owed by your client. Any amounts we recover will be shared with you according to your portion of the risk.

Anti-bribery declaration and anti-bribery policy

In the Netherlands, all forms of bribery are prohibited and punishable by law. The Dutch State and Atradius DSB do not under any circumstances wish to become involved in transactions involving bribery. It is therefore important that we want to ensure as far as possible that eca-covered transactions are free of bribery. We will therefore ask you to sign an anti-bribery statement at the time we issue a policy to you. You can view a sample of such a statement under downloads.

Atradius DSB and the state have jointly drafted an anti-bribery policy. You can download the document below.

Exclusion list eci

In the Exclusion list export credit insurance (eci), available below, you can find which activities are excluded from insurance by Atradius DSB. As per January 1st 2023 there are new limitations in place for fossil fuel-related transactions resulting from the implementation of the COP26-declaration.

Premium

 

 

Questions or advise?

If you have questions or need product advice please contact an Atradius Dutch State Business advisor via  020 553 26 93 or email us: info.dsb@atradius.com. Our team is ready to provide you all the support needed and guide you on the journey of finding the right solution o your project. Visit our product solution page