The International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers (Berne Union) is an international not-for profit trade association, representing the global export credit and investment insurance industry. Our mission is to actively facilitate cross-border trade by supporting international acceptance of sound principles in export credit and foreign investment. This is achieved by providing a forum for professional exchange, sharing of expertise and networking among members, as well as through engagement in collaborative projects with other stakeholders from across the wider trade finance industry.

Our 84 members include government-backed export credit agencies, private credit and political risk insurers and multilateral institutions from across the globe who provide insurance products, guarantees, and, in some cases, types of direct financing in the support of cross-border trade - providing a vital link in the flow of goods, services and investment capital world-wide.

The insurance products members provide offer protection for exporting companies, investors and financial institutions against losses as a result of commercial credit risks (buyer default) and political risks (currency inconvertibility; political violence; confiscation or expropriation of foreign assets). Collectively, members provide payment risk protection for approximately 13% of world annual cross-border trade in goods and services (amounting to $2.5 trillion in 2018) and since the start of the global financial crisis in 2008, have paid out more than $50 billion in claims.