COOPERATION AGREEMENT

With the internationalisation of production systems and increasingly frequent use of foreign sub contractors and providers, a single project can involve exports from several countries. For that reason, export support agencies have developed several forms of cooperation (joint insurance, co insurance, reinsurance) aimed at serving French exporters involved in a given project or contract in a third country.

Thus, when certain contracts include a significant foreign content that make them ineligible for State support, insurance can be obtained through one of these mechanisms. Bpifrance Assurance Export has signed framework agreements with the majority of its peers. Where it does not already have a framework agreement with a given partner, a cooperation agreement may be entered into on a special purpose basis.

REINSURANCE

Reinsurance is the most common form of cooperation used today. It consists in insuring the entire deal under a single policy issued by the credit insurer of the main contractor. That credit insurer then asks the insurer of the subcontractor’s country to reinsure it up to the subcontractor’s share of the contract. The terms and conditions of reinsurance are set forth in an agreement signed by both parties, based on the principle that the reinsurer observes the conditions set by the principal insurer (particularly on the premium).

JOINT INSURANCE

A joint insurance policy may be arranged when the sub-contractor is paid “if and when” the main contractor is paid, or when the sub-contractor is designated in the main contract but does not have a right to direct payments and is not a signatory of the contractual documentation (it bears a risk on the foreign buyer without being entitled to recourse against the final debtor). Each insurer issues a policy to the insured party and applies its own terms and conditions.

Bpifrance Assurance Export has signed joint insurance framework agreements with the majority of its peers. This form of cooperation is now used less frequently.

CO-INSURANCE

Co-insurance is generally used where several companies of different nationalities sign the same commercial agreement or belong to a group that is party to a contract. Under a co-insurance policy, each credit insurer covers its own share and issues its own policy. The main purpose of the co-insurance mechanism is to exchange information and manage claims.