Luxembourg-based Fineon Exchange has appointed Aon as credit insurance broker and advisor for its newly-launched online export finance platform.

Under a multi-underwriter marketplace model, the collaboration with Aon will allow platform users, including exporters, banks and funders, access to bespoke credit insurance solutions to mitigate risk and facilitate the financing of cross-border trade.

“The convergence between insurance and funding is becoming more apparent and is increasingly the direction of travel for our business,” says Stuart Lawson, CEO at Aon Credit Solutions. “More than 50% of our new business enquiries are linked to a financing motivation and objective. Our collaboration with Fineon Exchange fits perfectly with this trend. Through the Fineon platform we will see the further coming together of credit insurance and funding.”

Fineon’s export finance marketplace platform uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to match exporters with funders and credit insurers in order to access new sources of export finance and securely execute cross-border trade. According to Fineon, this collaboration with Aon is part of a broader, industry-wide initiative to promote the merging of insurance, finance and technology as a force for driving greater productivity in the market.

“Credit insurance is a strategic component within our export finance platform as it provides both risk mitigation for exporters and capital relief for funders, thereby enabling us to produce blended optimised export finance solutions for our European exporter client base,” says Michel Kilzi, managing partner of Fineon.

Speaking to GTR, Kilzi explains that the new agreement will include the provision of early indicative capacity and pricing for both single risk and portfolio transactions.

“As Fineon Exchange’s insurance broker, Aon will exclusively handle all of the Fineon Exchange marketplace credit insurance requirements, and thus act as a conduit to access a large number of credit insurers,” says Kilzi. “Aon will provide advisory and underwriter placement services as well as provide quality service delivery to Fineon Exchange’s clients. The collaboration will support and enhance the marketplace ecosystem and tap into the new strategic joint development of the marketplace’s future-proof data analytics offering, market intelligence and artificial intelligence capabilities.”

This is the latest in a string of initiatives that seek to bring together finance and insurance on one digital platform. Earlier this year, LiquidX launched its Trade Credit Insurance Marketplace, in collaboration with insurance broker Marsh and two underwriters, Euler Hermes and Atradius. Meanwhile, last year saw Liberty Specialty Markets launch Toredo, a solution which similarly gives access to insurance capacity online and is available to insurance brokers and their clients.