Investment policy

Are you planning to establish or take over a company abroad? We offer an insurance policy that covers the various risks involved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many Dutch companies invest abroad by establishing a subsidiary or taking over an existing company. In countries further afield, investing often involves taking political risks.

This could result in you losing your investment or having to write part or all of it off. Atradius Dutch State Business can insure you against political risks. You can therefore protect your balance sheet.

Our Investment Insurance covers the following political risks:

• expropriation
• transfer restrictions (for example, when remitting dividends)
• war or civil war and other forms of political violence

In addition, you may apply for supplemental insurance against breach of contract risk. This will protect you against losses in the event local public entities fail to honour their contracts with you, for example, by failing to deliver or purchase electricity from you at the agreed price.

Which types of investments can be insured?

We can insure the following types of investments abroad:

• your equity - or majority interest in – a company
• a loan you have provided to your subsidiary
• your branch office
• goods you have leased to your subsidiary or branch office
• a guarantee you have issued to third parties for providing financing to your subsidiary
• a bank loan for providing financing to your subsidiary

This insurance is intended for new investments. We advise you to submit an application before making your investment in order that we can let you know in advance which risks are covered.

When you insure a new investment in an enterprise, you can also ensure your existing investment in this company, provided the new investment is at least equal in value to the existing investment.

Who can apply for investment insurance?

• enterprises established in or carrying on business in the Netherlands
• banks financing Dutch enterprises’ investments abroad

For which countries is cover available?

We will assess each application on its own merits. In principal, cover is available for most emerging economies and developing countries. Countries subject to trade sanctions, or where the security situation is precarious, are however excluded.

For some countries, we may underwrite certain risks but exclude others from our cover. Therefore, please always check with us in advance.

Insured Sum

for your investment in the equity or assets of a company: the insured sum is the book value of your investment as reported in your own balance sheet

for a loan your bank provided to your subsidiary or a guarantee you issued to your bank: the insured sum is the principal outstanding

During the term of the investment the insured sum will be adjusted in accordance with the value of the investment. If this rises, the insured sum can be increased. The insured sum can also be lowered; for example, when the value of an investment declines or when the outstanding amount of a loan decreases as payments are made.

What else does the insurance cover?

The revenues - such as interest, dividend and other earnings - from the enterprise you have invested in or financed, are insured up to an annual maximum of 12% of the insured sum.

Duration of the insurance policy

The full amount of the investment must be invested within five years. Cover can be provided for up to fifteen years from the date of full investment or up to twenty years from the date of the initial investment. You may cancel the insurance after the fourth year. If you cancel the insurance, no premium will be due for the remaining term.

Indemnification

Indemnification is capped at EUR 75 million for loans and EUR 100 million for investments in assets.

Waiting period

Is in the case of export credit insurance, you will have a right to indemnification after a waiting period of, normally, three months. The waiting period gives both you and us an opportunity to mitigate any losses or have any damages repaired.

Deductible and percentage of cover

For each loss covered under the policy, your indemnification will be capped at the percentage of cover stated in your policy (maximum 90%). This means that, as investor or financier, you will bear at least 10% of the risk.

Premium

Your premium will be due annually and will be based on the amount you, as investor or financier, have declared. The premium will depend on the host country and the risks covered. The premium for the combination of war, expropriation and transfer risks varies from 0.65% to 1.1% per annum. For investments above € 50 million, the premium will be slightly higher for the portion exceeding € 50 million.

How much does it cost?

The premium amount is set at the beginning of the transaction. Depending on the contract value, export country and client rating.

• You can calculate your premium here.

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.

Questions or advice?

Please contact an Atradius Dutch State Business advisor via +31 (0) 020 553 26 93 or info.dsb@atradius.com.

You can find more information in our Investment Policy brochure.