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Insurtech startup Credable is expanding the geographical coverage of its invoice insurance offering to cater for a large demand from exporting SMEs.

Credable, which was launched in Sweden in March, is the first stand-alone brand that has come out of the Euler Hermes Digital Agency. Using the latest insurance technology (insurtech), its fully digital platform offers Swedish SMEs an on-demand insurance option that covers against late or unpaid invoices on a single invoice or buyer.

During the pilot phase, which started in September 2017, Credable focused on insuring SMEs’ business in the four Nordic countries, but added another 13 European countries, including Italy, France and the UK, at the product launch. Now, adding another seven countries, Swedish SMEs can get coverage in 24 jurisdictions across Europe.

Speaking to GTR, Credable’s managing director Richard Garnier says this geographical expansion was only planned for later in the year, but the firm decided to “accelerate” its efforts in direct response to feedback from existing and potential clients.

“We’re continually talking to our users and prospects to understand their real-world experiences. One theme that kept emerging time and time again is how concerned SMEs are when they trade internationally, and how having the support of Credable and Euler Hermes is of interest to them,” he says.

Of the new countries covered by Credable are Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, which Garnier describes as “significant additions to the portfolio”.

He adds that export is a “particularly good use case for our customers”, as the product provides reassurance to companies that their clients in distant territories are trustworthy financial partners and their payments are protected if any problems arise.

This is done through the platform’s two main features: first, it provides an instant “traffic light” risk calculator for an SME’s potential customer. Once a Swedish SME has been accepted onto the platform, it can search a database and see the creditworthiness of a firm it is about to do business with. For this, the platform uses an API (application programming interface) to access Euler Hermes data on millions of companies around the world in real time.

Secondly, the user can automatically get a quote for insurance coverage of an invoice, and instantly buy it. The platform calculates the premium cost, based on the invoice size, the payment terms offered and the credit rating of the buyer.

Apart from the geographical expansion of the platform, today’s announcement also includes the addition of new features, one of which allows SMEs to retroactively insure their invoices.

Credable now has more than 400 registered SME users, many of whom are now repeat customers. But the insurtech company believes there is much space for growth, noting in a statement that Swedish SME exporters represent “a huge market opportunity”, as most trade credit insurance today does not cater for SMEs’ need for easy and flexible insurance.

As such, Garnier says the quick growth is partly due to Credable creating more awareness around its product.

“Trade credit has been largely contained for a large-corporate audience,” he says. “Here we are taking a new market on a journey, and quite often that starts with explaining the concept, and perhaps the initial transaction being local, with a known supplier, and as we explain the application’s ability and as their trading grows, they look to use it internationally.”

Going forward, Credable will continue to add more countries in which Swedish SMEs can insure their exports. Garnier says countries outside of Europe are “on the agenda”, but can’t comment on the specific timing.

What he can say is that, by the end of the year, the firm will start expanding beyond Sweden to countries in which SMEs can buy Credable’s insurance.