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The basics of trade credit insurance, insurance-backed financing, reinsurance and captives, from an insurance broker's perspective. Articles focus on Japanese practice.

取引信用保険

What Is Trade Credit Insurance? — How Cover Works, Credit Limits, Policy Types and Cost

Trade credit insurance covers losses when receivables cannot be collected because a buyer becomes insolvent or pays late. This article covers what is insured, credit limit reviews, how claims are calculated, policy types, cost and the conditions to follow after binding, based on public material from credit insurers and non-life insurers.

キャプティブ

What Is a Captive? — How It Works, Costs and Prerequisites from a Japanese Company's Perspective

An overview of captives (insurance subsidiaries that take on their group's own risks): how the reinsurance captive common among Japanese companies works, the three elements it needs, structures, costs and results, which companies it suits, and how to decide, based on public material from the FSA, the General Insurance Association of Japan and domicile regulators.

取引信用保険

Trade Credit Insurance vs. Guarantee Factoring — Choosing Buyers, Percentage Paid, Cost and When to Use Each

Trade credit insurance and guarantee factoring are often compared as protection against bad debt. This article compares how buyers are selected, the percentage paid, how limits work, the unit of contract and cost, based on public material from credit insurers and bank-affiliated factoring companies, and explains when to use each and how to combine them.

再保険

Reinsurance Basics for Small-Amount, Short-Term Insurers — Treaty Types, Ceding Commission and Comparing Terms

Reinsurance basics for Japan's small-amount, short-term insurers: regulatory constraints, why reinsurance is used, treaty types (quota share, excess of loss, etc.) with worked examples, ceding commission, what to compare, and how renewals proceed, based on public material from the FSA, the Local Finance Bureau and reinsurers.

企業保険

What Is Political Risk Insurance? — Political Risks in Overseas Investment and Trade, and Public vs. Private Cover

Political risk insurance protects against losses caused by conditions in the host country, such as expropriation, war and transfer restrictions. This article covers the risks insured, how Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) overseas investment insurance works, how it differs from private cover, and what to check, based on public material from NEXI and METI.

企業保険

Insurance for Korean Companies' Japanese Subsidiaries — Global Programs and the Basics of Insuring in Japan

When a Korean company sets up a subsidiary or branch in Japan, should insurance be covered under the head office's program or arranged separately in Japan? This article covers master and local policies, the restrictions under Japan's Insurance Business Act, and the insurance to check in Japan, based on insurers' public material and Japanese law.

資金調達

What Is Insured ABL? — Receivables-Backed Financing and the Policy Terms Lenders Check

How trade credit insurance is combined with receivables-backed lending (ABL): the differences between ABL, factoring and securitization, Japan's public guarantee scheme, the policy terms lenders check, how advance rates are thought about, and the assignment process, based on public material from the FSA, the SME Agency, the Ministry of Justice and credit insurers.

取引信用保険

Insolvencies Set to Rise for a Fifth Year — Reading Allianz Trade's Global Insolvency Outlook (April 2026) from a Trade Credit Insurance Perspective

Allianz Trade's Global Insolvency Outlook 2026-27, published in April 2026, forecasts a fifth consecutive year of rising business insolvencies worldwide. This article summarizes the report and what trade credit insurance policyholders and prospective buyers should check on limits, policy administration and renewal.

取引信用保険

When the Credit Limit Falls Short — Why Limits Are Reduced or Declined, and Five Things Policyholders Can Do

When a trade credit insurer will not grant the limit you want on a key buyer, or reduces it mid-term, what is the insurer looking at, and what can the policyholder do, step by step? Based on public material from credit insurers and financial institutions.

共同保険・再保険

Why Corporate Insurance Price and Capacity Are Constrained — Reading the GIAJ's December 2025 Paper

Why corporate insurance premiums are rising and lines are shrinking in Japan: the main points of the paper the General Insurance Association of Japan submitted to a METI/FSA study group in December 2025, the link to the reinsurance market, risk financing tools, and what companies and agencies can prepare before renewal.

企業保険

Earthquake Cover for Businesses in Japan — Fire Insurance, Types of Cover and Setting the Limit

Business buildings and equipment in Japan are not eligible for the household earthquake insurance scheme; companies cover earthquake by adding an endorsement to their fire policy. This article covers the types of cover, how to set the limit, why capacity is limited, and how insurance combines with other tools, based on public material from the General Insurance Association of Japan, insurers and the Ministry of Finance.

共同保険・再保険

When Capacity Falls Short: Using Coinsurance and Facultative Reinsurance

How coinsurance and facultative reinsurance are used when a single insurer lacks the capacity for a large risk: the difference between the two, how they are combined (with a worked example), how facultative reinsurance is placed, and what to check to keep terms aligned, based on public material from the FSA, the General Insurance Association of Japan and reinsurers.

企業保険

Cargo Insurance Basics — Open Policies, Single-Shipment Cover and Incoterms

An overview of marine cargo insurance for goods in international trade: open policies versus single-shipment cover, the scope of the Institute Cargo Clauses (A), (B) and (C), the period of cover, how Incoterms decide who arranges insurance, and what to do when a loss occurs, based on public material from JETRO, the ICC and insurers.