BALTIMORE, August 7, 2007 — Atradius Trade Credit Insurance, Inc., announced it is now providing trade credit insurance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) — companies with $2 million to $15 million in annual revenue.

Trade credit insurance has long been available to large companies. It protects commercial accounts receivable from loss caused by the insolvency, default or non-disputed slow pay of buyers, assuring sellers that they will be paid for their goods. Having such coverage also allows a company to sell more goods on credit terms, take advantage of peak and cyclical selling periods, and safely expand into new product lines or territories worldwide.

Previously, because Atradius’ policies were tailored for larger businesses, they were often cost prohibitive and too broad for many SMEs. According to Brett Halsey, CEO of Atradius Trade Credit Insurance, Inc., SMEs need the protection of trade credit insurance as much or more than their larger counterparts because they often operate on narrower margins. “It doesn’t take much of a loss to derail a smaller enterprise. One bad debt can cause a domino effect and put the company’s future in jeopardy.

“Our new policies for SMEs are flexible, and can be customized to fit the need of the business — the industry, buyers, margins, geographic locations. With this coverage, small to medium-size companies can now effectively protect themselves against non-payment and have confidence they’ll get reimbursed for the goods or services they sell.

“In addition to the pure protection aspect of trade credit insurance,” Halsey said, “coverage allows SMEs to confidently go after business with new trading partners, or via expansion of credit limits with current accounts, allowing sales growth that previously would have been deemed too risky. A relatively small investment in credit insurance — usually a fraction of a percent of sales — can give a company the security to make financial decisions faster, improve its cash flow and expand sales.

“Plus, SMEs that use trade credit insurance to insure their receivables will usually enjoy increased borrowing power and obtain better terms from their banks. For many companies, carrying credit insurance can make the difference between standing still and experiencing good, solid growth.

“For the small to medium enterprise with a commercial account base, trade credit insurance offers a new freedom to do business and grow business with far less risk,” Halsey concluded. “People put a tremendous amount of blood, sweat and tears into their businesses — it’s a tragedy when a customer defaults and brings the whole thing down.”

For more information about how trade credit insurance can help protect your small to medium-size business and allow for more growth, please contact Kathy Farley at 1-410-246-5584, or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

About Atradius

Atradius is a leading credit insurer with total revenues of around $1.77 billion and a 24% share of the world credit insurance market. It insures more than $546 billion of world trade annually against non-payment and provides a comprehensive range of risk transfer, financing and trade receivables management services. With 3,500 staff and more than 90 offices in 40 countries, Atradius has access to credit information on 45 million companies world-wide and makes more than 12,000 credit limit decisions daily. It is "A" rated by Standard & Poor's (outlook stable) and A2 by Moody's (outlook stable).