The International Credit Insurance and Surety Association (ICISA) today reports the estimate of the level of world trade supported by trade credit insurance for the year 2024. Covering an estimated 15% of world trade (2023: 15%), TCI underpinned approximately €9.25 trillion (2023: EUR 8.5 trillion) in global transactions during a challenging year for businesses around the world. This increase is in line with the increase in the global GDP figures as published by the World Bank. In 2024, trade credit insurance (TCI) generated an estimated EUR 16 billion of premium and continued to be an indispensable tool for businesses navigating a rapidly evolving global trade landscape.
Navigating a volatile global economy
2024 marked a period of significant uncertainty for businesses around the world, with geopolitical tensions and disruptions to supply chains becoming concrete operational challenges, and a resulting rise in insolvencies in many markets. Against this backdrop, TCI acted as an important safety net, helping companies mitigate the risk of non-payment, providing flexibility to trade resiliently, and supporting access to finance.
TCI plays a crucial role in protecting businesses from the financial consequences of trade defaults. It provides essential protection by covering invoice non-payment, a major concern for businesses operating across borders. This is particularly important in the context of companies seeking new trading partners and markets as a result of disruption in global trade. By absorbing these risks, TCI enables businesses to focus on growth and expansion and freeing capital for further investment. By securing receivables, trade credit insurance enhances access to financing, as banks view credit-insured transactions as more secure assets. TCI acts as a buffer, absorbing the financial shocks of trade disruptions and preventing them from cascading into broader economic impacts, ensuring that businesses can maintain stability despite unforeseen defaults.
ICISA members’ roles in facilitating global trade
ICISA members are active on all six continents, supporting companies of all sizes across a wide range of sectors. ICISA’s estimate of the market’s impact on world trade in 2024 also demonstrates the important role the private insurance sector plays in short-term trade credit insurance, representing an estimated 71% of that market. This involvement, alongside public sector offerings, creates a highly dynamic, competitive, and innovative environment. ICISA’s members’ market share in 2024 totaled 92% of the total private market.
ICISA’s estimate of the impact of TCI in World Trade is based on compiling available information from different sources in the market, including ICISA’s own annual statistics from its membership of global insurers. While precise information on the global trade credit insurance market is difficult to source and requires the use of certain assumptions and proxies, this annual exercise demonstrates a global market evolving to meet the needs of clients. In the light of economic and geopolitical developments, the results of this line of business show that its participants are maintaining underwriting discipline. This is a precondition for this market to satisfy the needs of its clients and the economies that it serves in a sustainable manner.
About ICISA
The International Credit Insurance & Surety Association (ICISA) is the leading global trade association representing the private trade credit insurance industry. Through its membership, ICISA plays a key role in promoting secure trade and economic growth across borders, supporting businesses with the risk management tools they need to succeed in an increasingly complex global economy.
