Ex-Im Bank’s export credit insurance allows you to increase your export sales by limiting your international risk, offering credit to your international buyers, and enabling you to access working capital funds.
Benefits:
- Reduces nonpayment risk
- Enables you to extend competitive credit terms to buyers
- Helps you export to new markets with more confidence
- Increases cash flow
The following export credit insurance brokers serve Alabama:
Kathy Edwards
Global Business Solutions
9A Twin Echo Court
Fairhope, AL 38532
Tel: 800-499-6065
kathy@gbsus.com
Warren Barres
J. Maxime Roy Inc.
911 Lee Avenue, Suite 410
Lafayette, LA 70501
Tel: 337-235-7548
warren@jmaximeroy.com
Angela Johnson
Export Insurance Services, Inc
PO Box 211837
Augusta, GA 30917
Tel: 706-210-4379
ajohnson@exportinsurance.com
Jennifer M. Simpson
Regional Director, Eastern Region
Export-Import Bank of the United States
5835 Blue Lagoon Drive, Suite 203
Miami, FL 33126
Mobile 305.586.2022
jennifer.simpson@exim.gov
Increase Your Export Sales While Minimizing Risks
Limit Your Risk
Ex-Im Bank’s insurance covers the risk of buyer nonpayment for commercial risks (e.g., bankruptcy) and certain political risks (e.g., war or the inconvertibility of currency). This product can replace cash-in-advance, letters of credit, and other documentary sales. By limiting your risk, you can sell to more international buyers and compete vigorously in international markets.
Extend Credit to Your Buyers
These policies also allow you to provide qualifying international buyers with advantageous terms of credit. In today’s competitive global marketplace, you may be able to increase sales by providing this “open account” financing feature.
Access Working Capital
Ex-Im Bank’s insurance enhances the quality of your balance sheet by transforming export-related accounts receivable into receivables insured by the U.S. government. With our insurance in place, lenders are more likely to advance against these receivables to increase your working capital cash flow. See Lender Referral List.
Get Assistance
Ex-Im Bank regional offices and insurance brokers can provide assistance with our export credit insurance applications. Insurance brokers can provide the required information to Ex-Im Bank and assist with the documentation. See Insurance Brokers.
Eligibility
Ex-Im Bank can do business in most markets. However, we may be limited or unable to offer financing in certain countries and under certain circumstances. See Country Limitation Schedule.
Military or defense items are generally not eligible nor are sales to military buyers (with certain exceptions).
Short-Term Insurance – Products must be shipped from the United States and have at least 50% U.S. content (excluding mark-up).
Medium-Term Insurance – We will insure up to 85% of the net U.S. contract value. (If the foreign content is more than 15%, we will support only the U.S. portion.)
Enhanced Support for Environmentally Beneficial Exports
Ex-Im Bank has an Environmental Exports Program that provides enhanced support for a broad range of environmentally beneficial exports, including exports related to renewable energy sources. These enhancements apply to both short-term and medium-term policies.
Credit Standards
All applications for short-term and medium-term insurance are subject to objective credit criteria. To ensure consistent and transparent credit analysis, Ex-Im Bank has developed credit standards to facilitate timely application processing. See Credit Standards.
Exporter Policies (Short-Term)
Ex-Im Bank’s short-term insurance covers a wide range of goods, raw materials, spare parts, components, and most services on terms up to 180 days. We also cover capital goods, consumer durables (e.g., refrigerators) and bulk agricultural commodities. In exceptional cases, these exports may be covered on terms up to 360 days.
Multi-Buyer Policy
This policy allows exporters to insure all sales to eligible international buyers on “open account” credit terms.
Features include:
- Provides 90-95% commercial, 95-100% political coverage against buyer payment defaults.
- Allows for assignment of exporter’s receivables to a lender for immediate funding. (See Lender Referral List for lenders participating in our insured accounts receivable funding.)
- Premium rates are paid only on actual shipments. The premium rates are a composite rate based on tenor, type of buyer, and country of buyer.
- Exporters with international credit management experience may receive “discretionary” credit limits under the policy to qualify and approve buyers for coverage without Ex-Im Bank review based on good payment experience or favorable credit information.
Small Business Multi-Buyer Policy
For qualifying small businesses, we offer enhanced coverage. To qualify as a small business, the U.S. exporter (together with affiliates) must meet the U.S. Small Business Administration’s definition of a small business and have export credit sales of less than $5 million.
Features include:
- No first-loss deductible
- Simplified premium-rate schedule
- Enhanced assignment (for qualified exporters), an attractive financing feature that allows your lender to advance on the insured receivables with limited risk.
Single-Buyer Policy
This policy provides credit protection for short-term credit sales made by an exporter to a single international buyer during a 12-month policy period. Premium rates are based on tenor, type of buyer, and the buyer’s country.
Features include:
- Supports single or multiple shipments to a single international buyer.
- Provides 90% coverage against buyer payment defaults with no first-loss deductible.
- Contains a “lock-in” feature to commit Ex-Im Bank coverage over a 90-day period (useful to present to a buyer while a sale is being negotiated).
- Increases borrowing base by allowing for assignment of an exporter’s receivables to a lender. (See Lender Referral List for lenders participating in Ex-Im Bank’s insured accounts receivable funding.)
Lender Policies (Short-Term)
Lenders may request assignment of proceeds of multi-buyer policies (described above) by exporters. Enhanced assignment to lenders is available with our small business multi-buyer policy.
In addition to exporter insurance policies, Ex-Im Bank also offers several policies for financial institutions.
Bank Letter of Credit Policy
This policy protects U.S.-based banks against losses (i.e., the failure of a foreign issuing bank to make payments or reimbursements) on irrevocable letters of credit opened to finance U.S. exports.
Benefits to Lender:
- Provides authority to selectively insure letters of credit
- Discretionary credit limit coverage available
- Coverage available for refinancing payments by issuing bank under a sight irrevocable letter of credit policy
- Pre-presentation agreement available
Features include:
- Coverage is 95% for private sector, 100% for sovereign banks, and 98% for bulk agricultural goods.
- Premium rates are based on a fixed-fee schedule based on the tenor of the letter of credit, type of buyer, and country of the buyer.
- Interest is covered up to prime rate minus 0.5%.
Financial Institution Buyer Credit Policy
This policy protects lenders that finance purchases by international buyers of U.S. goods and services, generally on terms up to 180 days (exceptionally up to 360 days for bulk agricultural products and capital goods).
Benefits to Lender:
- May be used for a one-time sale or for a series of shipments from one or more exporters to the same buyer
- No first-loss deductible
Features include:
- Coverage is 90% for private sector buyers, 100% for sovereign obligors, and 98% on bulk agricultural products.
- Premium rates are based on a fixed-fee schedule based on the tenor of the letter of credit, type of buyer, and country of the buyer.
- Interest is covered up to prime rate minus 0.5%.
Medium-Term Insurance (Exporters and Lenders)
Ex-Im Bank’s medium-term insurance protects longer-term financing to international buyers of capital equipment or services, covering one or a series of shipments.
Benefits:
- Medium-term financing
- No first-loss deductible
- Documentary policy protection available for lenders
Financing under these policies can generally extend up to five years (up to seven years in exceptional cases) and for amounts up to $10 million.
Ex-Im Bank requires the buyer to make cash payment to the exporter equal to at least 15% of the net U.S. contract value. The insured portion is the lesser of 85% of the net U.S. contract value or the U.S. content of the exporter’s supply contract.
Frequently, a financial institution is the insured and will disburse funds to the exporter when the insurance cover is approved. Ex-Im Bank reviews the documentation only after a claim is presented. A claim will be paidonly if the relevant documents are submitted in complete form and are presented within the time allowed.
Premium rates are on a fixed-fee schedule based on the tenor of the credit, type of buyer, and country of the buyer.