Trade credit insurance or pay-per-check: what suits an SME better

In short: trade credit insurance and the pay-per-check of a customer do two different jobs and do not replace each other. The policy transfers to an insurer, within limits per customer, the risk of unpaid invoices; the check shows, before granting payment terms, the signals from public data on a customer. Veryfy is not an insurance and compensates nothing.

What is trade credit insurance?

It is a policy that protects a company from non-collection of receivables from other companies. Allianz Trade describes it as an insurance service directed at protecting commercial transactions between companies; the page indicates that the policy covers the commercial and political risks that may prevent the collection of sums due, such as the insolvency or the failure of the customer to pay within the terms. Coface also describes its policy in a similar way: it provides a preliminary analysis of the reliability of the insured company's customers and the assignment of a credit limit, within which the cover applies, with limits updated through regular monitoring.

In general terms, trade credit insurance works with four recurring elements (the precise conditions depend on each insurer and product):

• The policy, an insurance contract taken out by the selling company, with terms specific to each insurer and each product.
• Assessment of customers: the insurer analyses the reliability of the company's customers and assigns each one a credit limit, within which the cover operates.
• Monitoring: the situation of customers is followed over time and, if solvency changes, the insured company receives a notice.
• Compensation: if the customer does not pay and the policy conditions apply, the insurer compensates part of the loss. How much, and after how long, depends on the product and the contract.

What, instead, does a pay-per-check on a customer do?

It collects, in a report paid per single request and without a subscription, the public data on a customer, to decide whether and how much credit to grant them. It does not insure the credit and does not reimburse unpaid invoices.

With Veryfy, for a company customer you can choose between:

• Rating and operating credit line (€9.90): credit rating and estimated operating exposure limit, the number used to calibrate the payment terms.
• Negative items and insolvency proceedings (€5.90): protests and insolvency proceedings under way, with source and date.
• Check (€19): complete check with beneficial owner, shareholders and directors, protests and signs of insolvency, estimated operating credit line and comparison with the sector.

The credit line is always an estimate calculated on public data, never a certainty that the customer will pay.

What are the differences between a policy and a customer check?

The policy acts after non-payment, with compensation; the check acts before the sale, with information. The timing, the type of protection, the object (the whole customer portfolio or a single customer) and the way of paying all differ.

• When it intervenes: the policy after the non-payment; the check before granting credit.
• What it gives: the policy a compensation, under the terms of the contract; the check a set of signals with source and date.
• What it works on: the policy on a portfolio of customers with a limit for each; the check on one customer at a time, when needed.
• How it is paid: the policy at the insurer's economic terms; the check at a fixed price per request, visible before paying.

How much does trade credit insurance cost?

There is no single price: the public page of Allianz Trade, consulted in October 2026, indicates that the premium is defined as a percentage of the value of sales, "usually less than 1%", and that it may vary from year to year based on past losses, customers and sectors. The actual cost is established only by a quote.

For cost and conditions (percentage compensated, deductibles, timing of compensation, reporting obligations) a quote from the insurer or a broker is needed, to be compared with your figures: credit turnover with B2B customers and the number of customers to cover.

When is it worth evaluating a credit policy?

It is worth evaluating it when a loss on receivables would be heavy for the company's accounts and credit customers are too numerous to be followed one by one. There is no verified turnover threshold that makes the policy "mandatory" or "advantageous": the decision depends on how your receivables are structured.

• A few very large customers: if a single unpaid invoice would put liquidity under strain, the risk is concentrated and the policy may be an option to quote.
• Many customers and many invoices on credit: following each one by hand becomes impractical, and the monitoring done by the insurer moves this work outside the company.
• Sales abroad or to customers about whom you know nothing: the policy is designed also for these cases, and the insurer analyses the customers for you.

When is it enough to check the individual customer before granting payment terms?

As a rule, it is enough when credit customers are few, of contained amounts relative to your accounts, and you can decide case by case. The check before delivery reduces the probability of an avoidable unpaid invoice; it does not eliminate it, and if it happens nobody reimburses you.

The method is simple: you estimate the credit that will remain open with the requested payment terms (roughly the monthly amount times the months of payment terms) and compare it with the customer's estimated operating credit line. If it is close to or above, you have contractual tools: a deposit, split deliveries, guarantees, shorter payment terms. The steps are in the guide on how to check the creditworthiness of a new B2B customer; the formulas to set the ceiling are in how to calculate a trade credit line.

Can a policy and a check be used together?

Yes, and in many cases it is the most sensible choice, because they cover different moments. The policy does not make it useless to know who you are dealing with: a new customer, or one who requests more credit than the insurer has granted, still requires your own assessment.

To compare the pay-per-check with the subscriptions of the major commercial information providers read pay-per-report or subscription: which to choose; for the signals to monitor after the first supply, the insolvency signals of a customer.

The limits of this guide

This guide is not insurance advice and does not recommend any insurer: it describes in general terms how the policy works. Conditions, exclusions and prices are those of the contract offered by the insurer. The decision to sell, and with which guarantees, remains yours.