When you trade or invest across borders, your balance sheet is at risk. In commodities, where pre-payment is common as a means of financing production and guaranteeing long-term supply, non-payment or non-delivery can have a devastating commercial effect. We help you protect yourself against these sorts of risks with our political and credit risk insurance team.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Political and Credit Risks

Get in touch (opens a new window)

We focus on the risks associated with cross-border trades and investments

When you trade or invest across borders, your balance sheet is at risk. In commodities, where pre-payment is common as a means of financing production and guaranteeing long-term supply, non-payment or non-delivery can have a devastating commercial effect. We help you protect yourself against these sorts of risks.

We also help you manage political risk. Foreign government actions like war, trade embargoes and expropriation can affect your bottom line, costing you tens or hundreds of millions. They can even cause you to write off your investment completely. The longer your trade or investment agreement, the greater the uncertainty – and the more you need cover.

We arrange insurance coverage that protects you against political and counterparty risks in trade transactions. We work with commodity traders and the banks that finance them, as well as with equity investors who have subsidiaries or physical assets abroad. Clients include the leading banks, construction companies, international commodities traders,  industrial companies, miners, oil producers and exporters.

What we cover

We’re more than an insurance broker – we’re a partner helping you protect your balance sheet.   We investigate the insurance market to find counterparties who’ll take on your political and trade credit risks at a premium you’re comfortable with.

We’ll advocate for you and negotiate hard on your behalf. As well as this, we’ll:

  • Analyse your risk and identify areas where a government action may threaten your investment

  • Study your contracts and recommend changes if needed to make them insurable

  • Suggest ways to structure your risk to reassure underwriters, such as obtaining collateral or guaranties

  • Get underwriters more closely involved with you and your risk to develop a true partnership

  • Advise you on the best way to manage your risk, not just the best insurance to buy

Our Political & Credit Risk Insurance Team

Placeholder image

David Coupland

Senior Vice President
david.coupland@lockton.com
+44 207 933 2445

Placeholder image

Chris Wetherell

Head of FPR Europe Specialty
chris.wetherell@lockton.com
+44 207 933 2658

Placeholder image

James Gearing

Producer Europe Specialty
james.gearing@lockton.com
+44 207 933 1479

News and Insights

As part of a global push towards a decarbonised grid, renewable project developers and investors are navigating increasingly complex risks, often beyond what standard project planning and contractual counterparty negotiations can manage. Proactive risk framing and insurance partnership strategies can help project developers and investors to better manage uncertainty and make their assets more bankable and tradable.Why risk needs to be part of your renewable project narrative

Lockton Surpasses $4B in FY2025 Revenue

Lockton surpasses $4.0B in FY2025 revenue, driven by industry-leading organic growth and relentless focus on client.Lockton surpasses $4.0B in FY2025 revenue, driven by industry-leading organic growth and relentless focus on client.

Cyber-physical risk in the marine sector: a wake-up call from the MSC Antonia

The recent grounding of the MSC Antonia near the Eliza Shoals off Jeddah on 10 May 2025 has brought into sharp focus the real-world consequences of cyber-physical attacks in the maritime sector – and particularly within the MENA region. Analysis by respected maritime intelligence firms such as Pole Star Global and Windward indicate that the vessel's navigational systems were likely compromised by GPS jamming, leading to incorrect positioning data and ultimately to the grounding incident.

This event underscores the growing cyber threat to vessel movement in the region – one with potential outcomes including groundings, collisions, and environmental harm. For MENA, where critical trade routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal are lifelines of global commerce, the implications are particularly serious. Regional security dynamics, increased reliance on digital systems, and proximity to cyber-capable nation-state actors elevate both the frequency and severity of these risks.

Despite this, in our work with marine clients across the Middle East and North Africa, we continue to observe a significant disconnect between emerging cyber threats and existing risk transfer arrangements. That gap must close before the next incident occurs.
The recent grounding of the MSC Antonia near the Eliza Shoals off Jeddah on 10 May 2025 has brought into sharp focus the real-world consequences of cyber-physical attacks in the maritime sector – and particularly within the MENA region. Analysis by respected maritime intelligence firms such as Pole Star Global and Windward indicate that the vessel's navigational systems were likely compromised by GPS jamming, leading to incorrect positioning data and ultimately to the grounding incident.

This event underscores the growing cyber threat to vessel movement in the region – one with potential outcomes including groundings, collisions, and environmental harm. For MENA, where critical trade routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal are lifelines of global commerce, the implications are particularly serious. Regional security dynamics, increased reliance on digital systems, and proximity to cyber-capable nation-state actors elevate both the frequency and severity of these risks.

Despite this, in our work with marine clients across the Middle East and North Africa, we continue to observe a significant disconnect between emerging cyber threats and existing risk transfer arrangements. That gap must close before the next incident occurs.

Ensuring the right cargo cover amid tariff uncertainty

The recent US import tariff changes have created significant trade disruption in the cargo market: goods were expedited prior to expected tariff increases, or after the announcement, diverted to other destinations, or held in storage awaiting improved tariff conditions.The recent US import tariff changes have created significant trade disruption in the cargo market: goods were expedited prior to expected tariff increases, or after the announcement, diverted to other destinations, or held in storage awaiting improved tariff conditions.
See all news and insights

We're here to help

We bring creative thinking and an entrepreneurial spirit to the insurance business and are uniquely positioned to help you succeed.

Talk to our team
culture-quote-tiernan