Polish export credit agency KUKE has launched what it describes as the European Union's first dedicated reinsurance scheme for companies operating in Ukraine, covering risks that standard commercial policies typically exclude – from war and terrorism to property confiscation.
The reinsurance facility is available to all domestic insurers in Poland and is intended as a safety net for Polish businesses active across the border. PZU, Poland's largest commercial insurer, is the first carrier to sign on.
Coverage extends across war, terrorism, sabotage, and property confiscation, alongside transport insurance including cargo, third-party liability, and casco for road and rail operations. KUKE, Poland's state-backed export credit agency, is the country's sole provider of state-guaranteed export insurance and operates under the Polish Development Fund Group.
The commercial backdrop is substantial. Poland is Ukraine's largest EU trading partner, with Polish exports to the country reaching $15.2 billion in 2025, per Eurostat.
Polish hauliers, who carry roughly one-quarter of all EU road freight according to Statista, have a particularly acute stake – road carriers accounted for 81% of Ukraine's imports from the bloc, per Eurostat data.
The facility is a €1.5 billion (PLN 6.4 billion) program, cleared by the European Commission in a decision dated April 4, 2025. Under the approved structure, KUKE assumes 80% of participating insurers' risk in exchange for 80% of the premium, with insurers retaining the remaining 20%.
The Commission justified its approval on the grounds that "no purely private market solutions are available," with the scheme scheduled to run until June 30, 2027.
"The reconstruction of Ukraine is a massive opportunity for Polish entrepreneurs, but it comes with obvious risks," Finance Minister Andrzej Domański said. The program is "not just protecting trucks; we are securing the entire supply chain and paving the way for Polish businesses to lead in the post-war recovery," he added.
KUKE president and CEO Janusz Władyczak said the facility marked the first time an EU export support agency had made such a tool available to domestic insurers. He said it enables the agency to "offer protection to Polish carriers, ensuring their full operational capacity in the Ukrainian market."
The launch lands amid broader momentum in Ukraine-linked war risk coverage. Law firm Dentons, in a March report, observed that the market has been shifting from pilot-stage initiatives toward more structured cross-border arrangements.
On the public side, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved Resolution No. 1541 effective January, establishing a national framework to subsidize war risk premiums, with support capped at UAH10 million per business for direct property damage in high-risk regions.
Private capacity is also expanding. McGill and Partners renewed its Ukraine war risks reinsurance facility in February, doubling the maximum line per risk to $100 million and lifting total aggregate commitments to $250 million, with carrier participation more than doubling to 14 insurers.
The renewal was structured around the World Bank's latest Ukraine reconstruction estimate of approximately $588 billion over the next decade.
