Berne Union data and business lines

Berne Union data are the aggregate statistics that Berne Union members report on their export credit and investment insurance business, released after the association's Spring Meeting and Annual General Meeting cycles. Members report twice annually, at half year and year end. Aggregate statistics are released following the annual Spring Meeting (around May) and AGM (October). The series covers risk exposure, commitments, claims, recoveries and related business metrics by provider type, business line, country, sector and obligor type.

The Berne Union is the leading international organisation for the export credit and investment insurance industry. Its membership spans official export credit agency programmes, private credit and political risk insurers, and multilateral providers. Berne Union data are therefore an industry aggregate across public, private and multilateral spheres rather than a single national ECA series.

How Berne Union data are collected and published

Berne Union DataReports materials state that members report data on their export credit and investment business twice annually at half year and year end, with aggregate statistics released after the Spring Meeting and AGM. In addition to business trends, the association publishes research and reports on industry developments. The annual State of the Industry report presents top-level trends based upon analysis of Berne Union data, including risk exposure, commitments, claims and recoveries by region, sector and obligor type.

Members can access Berne Union data through member tools. Non-members rely on published aggregate reports such as the State of the Industry series. The Business Confidence Index provides quarterly survey snapshots of members' assessment of demand, risk appetite and claims, distinguishing short-term from medium to long-term business in line with industry norms.

The data architecture therefore has three public faces: semi-annual aggregate business statistics, the annual State of the Industry analytical report, and the Business Confidence Index survey series. All rest on member reporting across the association's business lines.

Business lines in Berne Union data

Berne Union product materials organise export credit products into short-term trade credit, medium and long-term export credit, investment and political risk insurance, and other export support products.

Short-term trade credit insurance focuses predominantly on merchandise trade and commodities, with tenor under 12 months in Berne Union data, and comprehensive cover against non-payment and buyer default. Short-term credit insurance usually takes the form of supplier credit insurance between the exporter and the foreign buyer. Cover may be whole turnover, key accounts only, or single risk transactions.

Medium and long-term credit insurance focuses on capital goods exports, with tenor greater than 12 months up to 20 years, covering commercial and political risks. Policies mainly take the form of buyer credit insurance involving banks, supporting projects in power generation, large scale infrastructure, transportation and natural resources.

Investment and political risk insurance focuses on protecting equity and debt investments, with tenor up to 20 years, covering political and sovereign non-payment risks. Listed perils include expropriation, political violence, currency inconvertibility, embargo, forced abandonment and breach of contract.

Other export support products reported by members include working capital, internationalisation, bond insurance for exporters and banks, sole manufacturing risk cover, bond issuance and cover for pre-paid deliveries. Working capital support is described as mostly pure cover, meaning insurance or guarantee of loans, with direct lending in some cases.

2025 aggregate volumes in the State of the Industry

The Berne Union State of the Industry 2025 report records new trade supported of USD 3,714 billion, up 12% year on year. Short-term trade insured reached USD 3,345 billion, up 11% year on year. Medium and long-term new business reached USD 231 billion, up 17% year on year. Total claims paid reached USD 11,107 million, up 17% year on year.

Short-term business continued to dwarf other product lines, with ST policies supporting USD 3.3 trillion of trade. Activity remains highly concentrated, with 82% of total cover provided by the four largest providers. Overall ST cover increased 14% year on year. After adjusting for foreign exchange effects, growth in ST revolving credit cover slowed to 8%.

New MLT commitments rose to a record USD 230.9 billion in 2025, a 17.7% increase on the previous year. MLT export credit cover reached a record high at USD 222 billion, driven by large cruise ship and defence transactions alongside mega-projects in the energy transition space. Private insurers and multilaterals expanded new MLT and PRI business by USD 13.6 billion year on year to USD 78.2 billion. The private commercial and political risk insurance market accounted for around one quarter of total MLT business during the year.

ECA medium and long term general new business rose 33% year on year to USD 32 billion as some ECAs sought broader mandates to cover untied support. Political risk insurance new cover contracted 18.4% year on year to USD 34.5 billion overall, while private insurers and multilaterals reported smaller but more resilient volumes. Bond support exposure remained more than double 2019 levels. Domestic credit support reached USD 82 billion of new business, with short-term domestic up 28% and medium and long-term domestic up 51%.

Claims, recoveries and institutional reading

Claims paid breached USD 11 billion, the highest on record, but the report states that this does not reflect a broad deterioration in credit. Claims paid values were dominated by large outliers, including a spike in Zambian MLT claims, ongoing sanction-related claims to Russian entities and a significant expropriation claim. Recoveries increased by USD 523 million to USD 3.3 billion.

Berne Union data therefore function as an aggregate industry gauge across short-term comprehensive non-payment cover, medium and long-term commercial and political risk export credit, and investment political risk insurance. The series is an association aggregate of member reporting. It is not a substitute for Arrangement premium rules, national ECA ordinances or individual policy wordings. It is the shared statistical map of how public, private and multilateral providers report volumes, concentration, claims and recoveries across those business lines.