National Credit Insurance

What National Credit Insurance does

National Credit Insurance (NCI), founded in 1985 and headquartered in Adelaide, is a specialist trade credit insurance broker operating across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and, more recently, the United Kingdom through an investment in EFCIS Limited. The company arranges trade credit insurance policies on behalf of approximately 4,000 clients — ranging from SMEs to multinational enterprises — earning commissions from a panel of major carriers that includes Atradius, Coface, Allianz Trade, QBE, Unity Trade Credit and Bond & Credit Company. NCI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Steadfast Group (ASX: SDF), Australia's largest general insurance broker network, and is the only Australian member of the International Credit Brokers Alliance (ICBA).

NCI's revenue model blends brokerage commissions on premiums (typically 0.10%-0.35% of insured turnover), outcome-based commercial debt collection fees (capped at $6,500+GST per matter on a no-success-no-fee basis), tiered subscription pricing for its NCIRadar debtor-monitoring service ($75-$195+ per month depending on portfolio size), and fees on adjacent services including surety bonds (2-4% per annum), premium funding, and credit training and advisory work. The platform is anchored by NCILink, a proprietary client portal that integrates policy management, credit applications (Credential), AR automation (easyAR), debtor monitoring (NCIRadar), PPSR registrations and collections into a single workflow. NCI's go-to-market combines direct field sales through 10 physical offices across the APAC region with carrier and alliance partnerships, while also producing proprietary thought leadership such as its quarterly Trade Credit Risk Index.

In FY26, NCI's claims team settled more than $44 million in client claims, and the easyAR product has demonstrated a 43% reduction in outstanding debts for users. NCI is led by Group Managing Director Kirk Cheesman (with the company since 1990) alongside a regional MD structure covering Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and holds structural advantages through its Unity Trade Credit shareholding and ICBA membership. Recent strategic emphasis has been on expanding the surety franchise, internationalising via the UK EFCIS investment, and productising software revenue on top of the core brokerage business.

Name

National Credit Insurance

Legal name

National Credit Insurance (Brokers) Pty Ltd

Website

https://nci.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

National Credit Insurance is an Australian-founded specialist trade credit insurance broker, serving 4,000 SME and enterprise clients across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and the UK via carrier partnerships and its proprietary NCILink platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Credit Insurance Broking

NAICS

Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242), Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Trade Credit Insurance Brokerage (FSAEADAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty Insurance Brokerage (Marine, Aviation, Cyber, Professional Lines) (FSAEADAJ)

Keywords

• Trade credit insurance
• Credit risk management
• Commercial debt collection
• Surety bonds broker
• Debtor monitoring services

Headquarters

HQ city

Adelaide

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Trade Credit Insurance Broking: NCI arranges trade credit insurance policies on behalf of clients, earning commissions from insurers. Premium rates are typically between 0.10% – 0.35% of insured turnover. The company acts as intermediary between clients and insurance partners including Atradius, Coface, Allianz Trade, QBE, Unity Trade Credit, and Bond and Credit Company.
2. Commercial Debt Collections: No success, no fee commercial collections service. In most cases, NCI collects commission from the debtor rather than the client. Fees capped at $6,500 + GST per collection matter.
3. NCIRadar Subscriptions: Monthly subscription packages for debtor monitoring: Red ($75/month for up to 50 monitored clients), Yellow ($115/month for up to 100), Silver ($195/month for up to 200), Black (custom pricing for over 200 clients).
4. easyAR Software: Accounts receivable automation platform with automated reminders, payment reconciliation, and escalation capabilities to improve debt collection efficiency.
5. Credit Risk Management Services: Credit assessments, credit limit recommendations, business reports ranging from basic credit checks to comprehensive investigation reports, and ongoing monitoring services supported by NCI's extensive information database.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

National Credit Insurance is a specialist trade credit insurance broker that arranges trade credit insurance, export credit insurance, surety bonds, commercial debt collections, credit risk management, and PPSR registrations for businesses. It distributes these products on behalf of leading global insurers including Atradius, Coface, Allianz Trade, QBE, Unity Trade Credit, and Bond and Credit Company, and supports clients with proprietary digital tools including NCILink, NCIRadar, easyAR, and Credential.

Product overview

National Credit Insurance operates as a trade credit insurance broker offering a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core product is Trade Credit Insurance, supported by a suite of integrated services including Credit Risk Management, Commercial Debt Collections, Export Credit Insurance, and Specialty Risk products (Structured Credit Insurance, Political Risks). NCILink serves as the central online client portal tying together all services—policy management, credit applications via Credential, PPSR registrations, debtor monitoring via NCIRadar, and collections. easyAR is a standalone accounts receivable automation module that integrates with accounting software to handle invoice delivery, payment reminders, and automatic reconciliation. The company also offers Surety Bonds, Premium Funding, and consultancy services. All services are interconnected through NCILink, allowing clients to access their complete trade credit ecosystem from a single platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NCILink: Online portal connecting clients to everything trade credit related including trade credit insurance policy, Credit Risk Management team, PPSR register, Credential, and Commercial Collections team.
• Credential
• easyAR
• NCIRadar
• Specialty Risk

Products and services

• Trade Credit Insurance

Quantifiable outcome

• 43% reduction in outstanding debts for businesses using easyAR
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Surety AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 November 2024NCI joined the Surety Alliance in November 2024, an exclusive network of leading construction and commercial surety brokerages from around the globe. Provides access to broader resources, enhanced industry insights, and innovative approaches to managing surety needs for construction and commercial sectors.
• EFCIS LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024NCI invested in local specialist broker EFCIS Limited in the UK. NCI/EFCIS UK supports cover and information for UK and European markets. UK office has been operational for over a year.
• AtradiuscoreTechnology or IntegrationAtradius provides trade credit insurance, surety and collections services worldwide through strategic presence in 50 countries. Access to credit information on 200 million companies worldwide with 3,300 staff in 160 offices.
• CofacecoreTechnology or IntegrationCoface has 70+ years of experience and finely-meshed network serving as a reference in credit insurance, risk management and the global economy. Experts work with 50,000 clients in 100 countries.
• Allianz TradecoreTechnology or IntegrationAllianz Trade is the global leader in trade credit insurance and specialist in surety, collections, structured trade credit and political risk. Present in 52 countries with 5,500 employees. Proprietary intelligence network analyses daily changes in +80 million corporates solvency. AA credit rating backed by Allianz.
• QBE InsurancecoreTechnology or IntegrationQBE Insurance Group is an Australian-based general insurer providing services mainly to Asia Pacific region, also America and Europe. One of top 25 global insurers with offices in 49 countries and over 14,000 staff.
• Unity Trade CreditcoreTechnology or IntegrationUnity Trade Credit is an underwriting agency backed by Markel (A rated by S&P) designed specifically for mid-market business. Shareholder of Unity Trade Credit is NCIB.
• Bond and Credit CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationBond and Credit Company (BCC) is a boutique trade credit insurer acquired by Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co Ltd in April 2019. Acts as Authorised Representative of Tokio Marine with A+ insurer financial strength rating by S&P.
• International Credit Brokers Alliance (ICBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCI is the only Australian member of ICBA, the world's third largest team of independently owned specialist trade credit insurance brokers. ICBA comprises 900 experts managing 30,000 contracts across 68 countries. Provides local service with global coordination for multinational companies.
• National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA)minorOthersNIBA has been driving force for change in Australian insurance broking industry since 1982, developing and promoting high standards of professional practice for insurance brokers.
• Australian Institute of Credit Management (AICM)minorOthersAICM is Australia's leading professional member body for commercial and consumer credit management professionals across all industries and sectors, and the only credit industry-specific Registered Training Organisation in the country.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Allianz Trade (formerly Euler Hermes): Global leader in trade credit insurance and the specialist parent of NCI-partner Euler Hermes; present in 52 countries with 5,500 employees and EUR 3.3bn turnover. Provides NCI with capacity while also offering direct underwriting that competes with broker placement for enterprise accounts.
• Atradius: A Netherlands-based global trade credit insurance specialist with presence in 50 countries and credit information on 200 million companies. As NCI's largest insurance partner, Atradius is also the most plausible direct competitor should it choose to bypass brokers in ANZ markets — making it the closest functional peer.
• Coface: French-headquartered trade credit insurance specialist operating in 100 countries with 4,100 employees and a finely-meshed broker network. Like Atradius, Coface is simultaneously an NCI partner and a structurally comparable competitor offering the same product category.
• Howden Group: Independent global insurance broker with a specialist trade credit insurance practice serving multinational clients. Most closely comparable to NCI in terms of broker-led business model focused on specialty credit risk placement.

Broad incumbents

• Marsh: One of the world's largest insurance brokerages with a dedicated trade credit specialty practice competing for ANZ and global enterprise accounts. Provides comparable TCI placement services but as part of a much broader risk and advisory portfolio.
• Lockton: World's largest privately held independent insurance brokerage with significant trade credit specialty practices serving mid-market and enterprise clients globally. Independent broker ethos and specialty depth make it comparable to NCI's positioning.
• Aon: Global insurance and reinsurance brokerage with a credit solutions practice offering trade credit insurance placement and related analytics. A diversified incumbent competitor that competes with NCI particularly on multinational accounts.
• Willis Towers Watson: Global advisory, broking, and solutions firm with trade credit insurance capabilities inside its broader Risk & Broking segment. Competes with NCI for enterprise and specialty placements but does not focus on this niche.

Others

• Steadfast Group: ASX-listed parent of NCI and Australia's largest general insurance broker network. While a related party rather than a competitor, Steadfast's broader broker network distributes adjacent commercial insurance products to overlapping SME and mid-market customers, making it a strategically relevant comparison.
• QBE Insurance: Australian-headquartered global general insurer with strong APAC presence that underwrites trade credit insurance capacity for NCI's brokerage. Functions primarily as a product partner, but QBE's captive underwriting capability makes it an adjacent comparison in the credit insurance value chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NCIbrokers

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Credit Insurance