How much does trade credit insurance cost for a small business?
In short
For a small business in Germany, trade credit insurance (Warenkreditversicherung) usually costs whatever the minimum premium is: guides quote about EUR 500 to 6,000 a year. The rate is roughly 1 to 3 per mille of insured turnover, plus credit check fees of about EUR 5 to 100 per customer. With EUR 1 million of invoiced sales you should expect around EUR 2,000 to 4,000 a year.
Published ranges from German language guides. There are hardly any fixed tariffs for trade credit insurance, because every premium is set after the insurer has reviewed your customer list.
Example
Typical range
Rate on insured turnover
about 1 to 3 per mille
Minimum premium per year
about EUR 500 to 6,000
Credit check per customer
about EUR 5 to 100, foreign buyers more
Maximum annual indemnity
often 20 to 50 times the annual premium
Research as of October 2026, the ranges come from a German guide updated in May 2024.
The worked example is a guide value from our quoting practice;
the real premium is only fixed after your customer list has been reviewed.
Worked example
Wholesaler with EUR 1 million of invoiced sales
A small wholesaler supplies 40 business customers; 15 of them are above the discretionary limit and need their own credit limit.
Insured turnover
EUR 1,000,000
Premium at 1 to 3 per mille
EUR 1,000 to 3,000
Assumed minimum premium
EUR 1,500, applies at the low end
Check fees, 15 customers at EUR 30 to 60
EUR 450 to 900
Around EUR 1,950 to 3,900 a year in total, roughly 0.2 to 0.4 percent of turnover.
The three parts of the price
Trade credit insurance has no fixed list price. The premium is made of a rate per mille on insured turnover, fees for checking your customers' creditworthiness and a minimum premium that is due in any case.
You pay whichever is higher, the rate based premium or the minimum premium, and the check fees come on top. Comparing only the rate is therefore often comparing the wrong thing.
Component
Typical range
What matters
Rate on turnover
about 1 to 3 per mille
your sector, your buyers, export countries
Minimum premium
about EUR 500 to 6,000 a year
often the real price for small turnover
Check fee per customer
about EUR 5 to 100
only for buyers above the discretionary limit
Retention in a claim
10 to 40 percent
a lower retention means a higher premium
Why the minimum premium decides for small firms
A small business with EUR 300,000 of invoiced sales would pay EUR 600 at 2 per mille. If the minimum premium for its trade credit insurance is EUR 1,500, it pays EUR 1,500, which is effectively 5 per mille.
German insurers therefore offer flat rate policies (Pauschaltarife) with a fixed annual premium and simplified checks. These suit firms with many customers owing small amounts, where applying for a separate credit limit for each buyer would not pay.
What pushes the rate up or down
The rate on a trade credit insurance policy depends mainly on your customers' sectors, your payment terms and your bad debts in recent years. Construction and low margin trading cost more, deliveries to large, solid buyers cost less.
Exports to countries with political risk, payment terms over 60 days and a low retention raise the rate. Good credit control and clean documents on your buyers lower it.
Costs that are not on the invoice
Trade credit insurance comes with paperwork: reporting turnover, applying for credit limits and notifying overdue invoices on time. Miss a deadline and you may have paid the premium for nothing.
The retention in a claim and anything you deliver above the approved limit are also your own cost. That excess stays with your business however good the policy is.
The premium compared with a loss
According to the Federal Statistical Office, 24,064 company insolvencies were filed in Germany in 2025, 10.3 percent more than the year before. For suppliers selling on invoice, the risk of a bad debt has gone up, not down.
At a 5 percent profit margin, a business needs EUR 1 million of extra sales to make up for a EUR 50,000 bad debt. Seen against that, a premium of a few thousand euros for trade credit insurance is easy to justify.
When you do not need it
If you sell mainly to consumers or against prepayment, you do not need trade credit insurance: consumer debts cannot be insured and prepayment carries no credit risk.
With very many small customers, where no single default hurts, the minimum premium is often higher than the loss you would expect. Credit reports, short payment terms and firm dunning are then enough.
Step by step
Add up last year's invoiced sales to business customers.
List your ten largest open balances and the customers behind them.
Note bad debts of the last three years with amounts.
Ask for quotes showing rate, minimum premium and check fees separately.
Work out the total cost for your turnover instead of comparing rates.
Compare retention, waiting period for non-payment and notification deadlines.
Checklist
Minimum premium stated in the quote
Check fee per customer and discretionary limit known
Retention no higher than you can carry
Non-payment without formal insolvency covered after a few months
Maximum annual indemnity enough for several defaults
Someone in charge of notification deadlines
Common mistakes
Comparing only the rate and missing the minimum premium
Submitting every small customer for checks and paying needless fees
Choosing the lowest retention although a higher one cuts the premium
Underestimating turnover and paying extra later
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
How much does trade credit insurance cost per month?
For a small business usually between EUR 40 and 500,
because a minimum premium of about EUR 500 to 6,000 a year sets the price.
Is there a policy without a minimum premium?
Yes, some insurers waive it, mainly in flat rate policies.
In return cover or limits per customer are often narrower.
Is the premium tax deductible?
Yes, it protects business receivables and counts as a business expense.
Your tax adviser (Steuerberater) can confirm the details.
Does the premium go up after a claim?
It can.
Insurers adjust the rate at renewal according to the loss ratio, often after one to three years.
Is it worth it below EUR 500,000 turnover?
Only if one customer makes up a large share.
Otherwise the minimum premium is usually higher than the loss you would expect.
What does a broker cost?
Nothing for you.
Norman Nammert arranges cover as an insurance broker (Versicherungsmakler);
the commission is paid by the insurer out of the premium.
