KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of Jamaica is renewing its call for small and medium-sized businesses to utilise its Trade Credit Insurance scheme, in order to expand to new markets and increase capacity for growth.

Chief Officer of Loan Administration, Charles Lewis, in an interview with JIS News, said businesses, which avail themselves of this service will undoubtedly see significant benefits.

“We have been encouraging the small and mostly medium-sized businesses to take up this insurance because a lot of them will not be able to absorb too many shocks in terms of non-payment against invoices,” he said.

The EXIM Bank’s Trade Credit Insurance offers commercial risk coverage to Jamaican businesses against the non-receipt of payments from both foreign and domestic buyers due to bankruptcy, insolvency and even payment default, for up to 85 per cent of the gross invoice value.

There are currently between 30 and 40 policyholders on the scheme, which are mainly larger export customers.

“Trade Credit Insurance is a product that seeks to provide insurance cover against receivables. In other words, if you sell your goods to a third party and the third party did not pay you, trade credit will insure against that risk of non-payment. It is an important tool for businesses, particularly when they are embarking into new markets, either domestic or export, or they are engaging new clients,” Lewis explained.

Noting that some businesses may engage buyers without knowing their financial strength or capability, he said the Bank, through the Trade Credit Insurance programme conducts investigations on the prospective buyer to determine their credit worthiness and provide independent, recognisable information to enable its customer to make a decision.

Lewis said the product serves to drive economic growth as it facilitates expansion in trade and has tremendous impact on increasing export and sales into new markets.

Trade Credit Insurance is available to business entities registered in Jamaica. It is applicable for export sales of goods and services; domestic sales of Jamaican manufactured goods; third country sale of goods supplied by subsidiaries of Jamaican companies; and sale of goods only supplied by subsidiaries of Jamaican companies located and operating within the Caribbean Community.

The policy can also allow entities to access competitively priced short -term working capital loans from the Bank using the policy as collateral.

Under a specially designed financing programme, Insurance Policy Discounting Facility (IPDF), policyholders can access up to 80 per cent of the value of their receivables for approved buyers.