International Credit Insurance & Surety Association

The International Credit Insurance and Surety Association (ICISA) is an international trade association for companies that provide private trade credit insurance, reinsurance and surety bonds. The organization has a coordinating role on the world market for private trade credit guarantees, a role that was critical in the post-war expansion of international trade. Its secretariat continues to publish reports and organize events that provide information and analysis about the state of the credit insurance industry and its role in the global economy.

International Credit Insurance & Surety Association
AbbreviationICISA
Formation1928; 96 years ago (1928)
TypeTrade association
Location
ServicesIndustry information and analysis
FieldsTrade insurance, surety, reinsurance
Membership
58
Executive Director
Richard Wulff
Websiteicisa.org
Formerly called
ICIA

History

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Eight companies founded the International Credit Insurance Association (ICIA) in 1928, as a result of the first international conference on trade and credit insurance, held in London in 1926.[1][2] Five of the founding members (Cobac of Belgium, Hermes of Germany, SFAC of France, SIAC of Italy and Trade Indemnity of the United Kingdom) were all eventually absorbed into Allianz Trade. The other three founding members are Crédito y Caución [es] from Spain; Eidgenössische (now Winterthur) from Switzerland and Nederlandsche Credietverzekering Maatschappij (NCM, now Atradius) from the Netherlands.

After World War II, international trade increased rapidly and trade finance became an important tool for export promotion. International coordination of the market for trade credit guarantees was a felt need.[3] ICIA fulfilled this role for private credit insurance providers and its membership increased steadily. In the 1950s, the association opened to companies providing surety bonds and changed its name to ICISA.[4] In 2000, it started to include companies providing reinsurance.[5]

Organization

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The ICISA Secretariat is headquartered in Amsterdam. The association acts as a platform for exchange among members, promotes collaboration between insurance companies and external stakeholders from finance industry, such as regulators and policy makers, banks, academia and other related associations. ICISA is member of the Digital Standards Initiative led by the International Chamber of Commerce and the Expert Group on Enhanced Coordination of External Financial Tools of the European Commission.[6][7]

Publications

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The ICISA secretariat publishes books and reports that provide statistics and analysis of the credit insurance industry and its role in the global economy.[8][9] For some publications, ICISA collaborates with the Berne Union, a sister organization for Export Credit Agencies.[10][11]

  • ICISA (2007), Catalogue of Trade Credit Terminology
  • ICISA (2015), A Guide to Trade Credit Insurance. Anthem Press[12]

Membership

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By 2024, the organization had 58 members.[13] In 2023, together they provided risk protection amounting to 16.3 billion euros.[14][15]

Current members
Company Trade credit insurance Surety bonds Reinsurance
Active Re  Y
Afianzadora Latinoamericana  Y
AIG  Y
Allianz Trade  Y  Y  Y
Antares Re  Y
Arch Re Europe  Y
Aserta  Y
Atradius  Y  Y
Aviva  Y
Axa Switzerland  Y  Y
Axa XL  Y
Axis Capital  Y  Y
Azuaga Seguros  Y
BTG Pactual  Y
CCR Re  Y
Cesce  Y  Y
China National Investment

& Guarantee Corporation

 Y
Chubb Limited  Y
CLAL  Y
Coface  Y  Y
Credendo  Y  Y
CGIC  Y  Y
Devk Re/Echo Re  Y
Exim Thailand  Y
Fianzas y Cauciones Atlas  Y
Green Stars BNP Paribas  Y
Groupama  Y  Y
Hannover Re  Y
ICIC  Y  Y
Insurety  Y  Y  Y
Intact Insurance  Y  Y
Interamerican  Y
KazakhExport  Y
Liberty Mutual  Y  Y  Y
Mitsui Sumitomo  Y  Y
MS Reinsurance  Y
Munich Re  Y  Y
Navigators Re  Y
Partner Re  Y
Peak Re  Y
PICC  Y  Y
Ping An  Y
QBE  Y  Y
R+V Re  Y
Renaissance Re  Y
S2C  Y
Sace BT  Y  Y
SCOR  Y
SGIC  Y  Y
Sofimex  Y  Y
Sompo  Y  Y
Sompo Re  Y
Swiss Re  Y
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions  Y  Y
Tokyo Marine  Y  Y
Travelers  Y
Tryg Trade  Y  Y
Zurich Insurance Group  Y  Y
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References

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  1. ^ "International Credit Insurance & Surety Association". Global Civil Society Database. Union of International Associations. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  2. ^ Gianturco, Delio E. (2001-06-30). Export Credit Agencies: The Unsung Giants of International Trade and Finance. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-313-00069-0.
  3. ^ Marx, Daniel (1963). "The United States Enters Export Credit Guarantee Competition". Political Science Quarterly. 78 (2): 246. doi:10.2307/2146125. ISSN 0032-3195. JSTOR 2146125.
  4. ^ Jus, Miran (2013-02-26). Credit Insurance. Academic Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-12-411505-7.
  5. ^ "Reinsurers join credit association for first time. - Insurance Post". www.postonline.co.uk. 2000-09-01. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  6. ^ de los Ríos, Javier Camacho (1996). "The New ICC Regulations on Contract Bonds". The International Lawyer. 30 (1): 1–29. ISSN 0020-7810. JSTOR 40707242.
  7. ^ "International Credit Insurance & Surety Association | lobbyfacts". www.lobbyfacts.eu. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  8. ^ Reporter, Staff (2023-11-20). "Global trade credit insurance market reaches $14b in 2022 – ICISA | Insurance Asia". insuranceasia.com. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  9. ^ Blackmon, Pamela (2016-08-07). "OECD Export Credit Agencies: Supplementing Short-Term Export Credit Insurance during the 2008 Financial Crisis". The International Trade Journal. 30 (4): 295–318. doi:10.1080/08853908.2016.1199983. ISSN 0885-3908.
  10. ^ "Berne Union - ICISA joint industry survey 2017". www.berneunion.org. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  11. ^ "BU-ICISA Regulatory Webinar". www.berneunion.org. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  12. ^ The International Credit Insurance & Surety Association, ed. (2015), "Introduction", A Guide to Trade Credit Insurance, Anthem Press, pp. ix–xii, ISBN 978-1-78308-483-8, retrieved 2024-11-19
  13. ^ "Members Archive". ICISA. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  14. ^ "Trade Credit Insurance Demand on the Increase | BIIA.com | Business Information Industry Association". www.biia.com. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  15. ^ "Trade credit insurance claims hit €3.2bn in 2023: ICISA". The Insurer. 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2024-11-14.