If you're thinking about getting a trade credit insurance quote in Malaysia, the proposal form is the first real piece of work, and what you put into it shapes the price, the buyer limits and how quickly you get an answer. Before they quote, insurers usually ask for 7 main things: your credit sales history, a list of your major buyers with their registration numbers and the limits you want, an aged debtor analysis, your recent bad debts, how you manage credit, where your buyers are, and whether you already factor your receivables or hold a credit policy.
This guide walks through a real trade credit insurance proposal form used in Malaysia (one insurer's 2025 version) section by section, so your finance team can pull the numbers together before speaking to anyone. Forms differ between insurers, but the questions below are typical of what credit insurers ask. If you're new to how the product works, start with our guide to trade credit insurance in Malaysia.
By the end you'll have a working checklist, you'll know why each question is asked, and you'll know which answers tend to slow a quote down.
Want someone to check your numbers before an insurer sees them?
Send us your approximate credit sales and a list of your top buyers, and we'll tell you whether trade credit insurance is likely to make sense and which parts of the proposal form will matter most for you. You can read how the cover works on our trade credit insurance guide.
What does a trade credit insurance proposal form ask for?
Each section of the form helps the insurer answer 2 questions: how likely is it that your buyers won't pay, and how well would you spot trouble early? That's why the form is detailed, and the table below shows where each answer usually comes from inside your business.
| Section of the form | What the insurer asks | Where it usually comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Company and existing arrangements | Company details, what you want to insure, any existing credit insurance policy and its renewal date, any factoring arrangement and with which bank | Company secretary records, finance director, bank facility letters |
| Credit sales | Gross credit sales by financial year, credit terms only and excluding intercompany sales, plus a forecast | Management accounts, sales ledger, budget |
| Major buyers | Registered name, registration number, address, country, credit limit wanted, payment terms, estimated annual sales, anything overdue beyond 90 days | Debtors ledger, customer master file, sales team |
| Aged debtors | Balances that are current, 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days overdue, plus a breakdown of debtors by size | Aged debtors report from your accounting system |
| Loss history | Bad debts for the last 3 years, the number of losses, the 2 largest defaults, the reasons and what you did | Bad debt write-off records, audited accounts, credit controller |
| Credit management | Contracts, DSO, retention of title, internal limits, buyer financials, reminders, when you stop supplying, collection agencies | Credit policy document, credit controller |
| Countries and goods | Sales by country, and whether any goods are dual-use or military items that need export authorisation | Export documentation, sales analysis |
| Declaration | A duty of disclosure notice under Schedule 9 of the Financial Services Act 2013, included in the form you sign | Director or authorised signatory |
Company details, existing cover and factoring
The first section looks routine, but 2 questions in it matter more than they seem. The insurer asks whether you already have a credit insurance policy and when it renews, because that tells them whether they're quoting a new risk or competing for an existing one, and an existing policy comes with a claims record they're likely to ask about.
The insurer also asks whether you have a factoring arrangement and with which bank. Banks and factoring companies sometimes ask for a credit insurance policy to be assigned to them, so that claim payments are made to the bank, and the insurer needs to know about that relationship before it writes the policy. If you factor or discount invoices today, have the facility details ready.
How should you report your credit sales?
Report gross sales made on credit terms for each financial year, and leave out cash sales, sales paid upfront and sales to your own group companies. The insurer usually uses this figure as the base for pricing, so an inflated number costs you money and an understated one can cause problems when you declare actual sales later.
| Include | Leave out |
|---|---|
| Invoices to business customers on credit terms (for example 30, 60 or 90 days) | Cash sales and sales paid in advance |
| Domestic and export credit sales, shown separately if you sell both | Intercompany sales to subsidiaries, parents or sister companies |
The form asks for your credit sales for each financial year as well as the forecast, because the insurer wants to see whether your sales are growing, shrinking or steady. If sales jumped or dropped sharply, a short explanation (a new major customer, a lost contract, a new export market) saves a round of questions.
What details does the insurer need on your major buyers?
For each major buyer, the insurer wants enough information to identify the company exactly and check its finances. That means the registered name, the registration number, the address and country, the credit limit you want, your payment terms with that buyer, your estimated annual sales to them, and anything owed for more than 90 days with the reason.
The registration number is easy to leave blank, but filling it in speeds things up. For a Malaysian buyer this is the company's SSM registration number, and for an overseas buyer it's the equivalent in that country. Trading names and group names are easy to mix up, and a limit approved on the wrong entity may not protect you.
This is the same buyer-by-buyer checking that credit insurers do worldwide. ICISA, the international association of private credit insurers, notes that multinational credit insurers have local teams evaluating buyers' financial positions every day and monitor the whole buyer portfolio on an ongoing basis, and the details you give are what let them find and follow the right company.
How much credit limit should you ask for?
Ask for the highest amount you expect that buyer to owe you at any one time, rather than your annual sales to them. A credit limit covers the balance outstanding, so the right number depends on your monthly sales to the buyer and how long they take to pay.
| Illustrative buyer | Figure |
|---|---|
| Annual sales to the buyer | RM6,000,000 (about RM500,000 a month) |
| Payment terms | 60 days from invoice |
| Balance usually outstanding | About 2 months of sales, around RM1,000,000 |
| Peak balance in a busy month or when payment slips | Closer to 3 months of sales, around RM1,500,000 |
| Sensible limit to request | Around RM1,500,000 |
Illustrative scenario, not a specific case. Your own peak balance should come from your debtors ledger.
Asking for your full annual sales as a limit is likely to be questioned or cut, because it suggests you might let the buyer owe a year's worth of goods. Asking for too little leaves part of your real exposure uninsured, since claims are generally paid only up to the approved limit.
What does the insurer read from your aged debtor analysis?
Your aged debtor analysis shows the insurer how your buyers actually pay, as opposed to how they're supposed to pay. The form asks for balances split into current, 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days overdue, along with a breakdown of how many debtors fall into each size band.
| What the insurer looks at | What it tells them |
|---|---|
| How much sits in the over 90 days column | Whether you tolerate long delays, and whether some of these debts are already likely losses |
| How the overdue columns compare with your terms | Whether your stated credit terms match what really happens |
| The size band breakdown | How concentrated your risk is, and whether a few large buyers carry most of it |
| Named buyers with old overdue balances | Which buyers may be refused a limit or excluded until they catch up |
Explain large old balances rather than hoping they go unnoticed. A buyer that's 120 days overdue because of a documented dispute that's being settled looks very different to an insurer from one that has simply stopped paying, and the insurer can only tell the difference if you say so.
How do you present 3 years of bad debts?
The form asks for your total bad debts in each of the last 3 years, the number of losses, the 2 largest defaults, the reason for each and the action you took. A loss history doesn't rule you out, because insurers expect businesses that sell on credit to have some bad debts, but a clear explanation of what happened and what you changed afterwards makes a real difference to how the insurer sees you.
| For each large default, note | Example of a useful answer (illustrative) |
|---|---|
| Buyer and amount | A regional distributor, RM420,000 written off in 2024 |
| What happened | Buyer went into liquidation after losing its main contract |
| What you did | Filed a proof of debt with the liquidator and stopped supplies once payments passed 60 days overdue |
| What you changed | Introduced internal limits reviewed every 6 months and a rule to stop supply at 45 days overdue |
Illustrative scenario, not a specific case.
Not sure how your loss history or overdue balances will look to an insurer?
Talk to Emerge before you send anything out. We'll go through your numbers with you, point out what an insurer is likely to question, and help you explain it properly the first time. You can also read our guide to trade credit insurance in Malaysia for how a policy runs once it's in place.
What credit management questions will you be asked?
Insurers ask about your credit control because the policy relies on it. You keep managing your buyers day to day, and the insurer relies on you to spot trouble early and act on it, so this section often carries as much weight as the numbers.
| Question on the form | Why the insurer asks |
|---|---|
| Do you have written contracts or terms with your buyers? | Clear terms make disputes less likely and debts easier to recover |
| What is your average collection period (DSO)? | Compared with your stated terms, it shows how disciplined your collections are |
| Do you use retention of title? | Keeping ownership of goods until paid can improve recoveries if a buyer fails |
| Do you set internal credit limits? | Shows you already control how much each buyer can owe |
| Do you get buyers' financial statements? | Shows whether you check buyers before extending credit |
| Do you send reminders before the due date? | Shows whether you contact buyers before payments fall due |
| How many days overdue before you stop supplying? | Shows how quickly you limit a growing loss |
| Is your accounting computerised? | Affects how reliably you can produce aged debtor reports and declarations |
| Do you use a third-party collection agency? | Shows how you handle debts your own team can't collect |
Answer these based on how you actually operate day to day, even where that differs from your written credit policy. If there's a gap, for example your policy says you stop supplying at 60 days but in practice you've kept supplying key customers at 90, say so and explain why, because the policy conditions you agree to may be based on these answers.
Why do insurers ask about countries and dual-use goods?
If you export, the form asks for your sales broken down by country, because export cover adds country and political risk and the insurer prices each country differently. It also asks whether any of your goods are dual-use or military items, meaning products that could have a military as well as a civilian use and may need export authorisation, which exporters of electronics, chemicals and similar goods may need to check carefully.
What is your duty of disclosure when you apply?
When you apply for trade credit insurance for your business, you have a legal duty to disclose any matter you know to be relevant to the insurer's decision to accept the risk and to the rates and terms it applies. For business policies this comes from Schedule 9 of the Financial Services Act 2013, which sets out pre-contractual disclosure rules, including for non-consumer (business) insurance contracts, and the proposal form will usually include a notice explaining it.
In practice, this means a buyer you know is in difficulty, a large disputed debt or a loss you're expecting has to be mentioned even if the form doesn't ask about it directly. The disclosure notices used by Malaysian insurers also typically ask you to tell the insurer promptly if information you gave on the proposal form becomes inaccurate or changes after the policy starts, is varied or is renewed. These notices warn that leaving out something relevant may lead to the policy being avoided, a claim being refused or reduced, or the terms being changed, so when in doubt, disclose it.
What slows a trade credit insurance quote down?
Delays often come from incomplete or unclear information, and these are the gaps that usually lead to a second round of questions.
| Common gap | How to avoid it |
|---|---|
| Buyers listed by trading name without registration numbers | Pull registered names and numbers from your customer master file or SSM searches |
| Credit sales that include intercompany or cash sales | Filter your sales ledger to credit-term sales to external customers only |
| Limits requested at annual sales instead of peak balance | Work out each buyer's highest likely outstanding balance |
| Old overdue balances with no explanation | Add a short note on each large overdue item and its status |
| Loss history given as a single total | Break it down by year, with the 2 largest defaults explained |
| Credit control answers that don't match the aged debtors | Check that your stated stop-supply point matches what the report shows |
The same information drives the price, which is why a well-prepared proposal tends to get better terms as well as a faster answer. Our guide to how much trade credit insurance costs in Malaysia explains which of these answers move the premium most.
FAQ
What documents do I need for a trade credit insurance quote?
You'll typically need credit sales figures for recent financial years excluding intercompany sales, a list of your major buyers with registration numbers and the limits you want, an aged debtor analysis, 3 years of bad debt history, and answers on how you manage credit. Some insurers also ask for your latest financial statements, especially for larger policies.
Do I have to list all my customers on the proposal form?
No, you name your major buyers individually, with their details and the limit you want, while the rest are usually shown as a breakdown by size band in your aged debtor analysis. The insurer may ask about more buyers later, and during the policy you request limits on buyers as you need them.
Does filling in a proposal form commit me to buying a policy?
No, a proposal form is an application for terms, and you can decide not to go ahead once you see the quote. If you do buy, the insurer relies on what you declared when it sets the terms, so it needs to be accurate.
What if one of my buyers is already overdue when I apply?
Disclose it, with the amount, how long it's been overdue and why. The insurer may exclude that buyer or that debt, or ask for it to be brought up to date before covering new sales, but hiding it can put claims at risk later under your duty of disclosure.
Why does the insurer want my buyers' registration numbers?
The insurer needs them to identify each buyer exactly and check the right company's finances. Group companies and trading names are easy to confuse, and a limit approved on the wrong legal entity may not cover the company you actually invoice.
Will a history of bad debts stop me getting trade credit insurance?
Usually not on its own, because insurers expect some losses from businesses that sell on credit, and they look closely at the size, cause and frequency of past defaults and what you changed afterwards. A clear explanation often matters as much as the numbers.
Emerge Conclusion
The proposal form is where your trade credit insurance terms are really decided, because the insurer prices and sets limits on what you show it. A finance team that prepares clean credit sales figures, correct buyer details, sensible limit requests and an honest loss history usually gets a faster and fairer answer.
If you'd like help preparing yours, Emerge can go through your numbers with you before any insurer sees them and tell you plainly whether a policy is likely to make sense for your business.
Talk to Emerge about preparing your trade credit insurance proposal
Disclaimer: This article provides general information about trade credit insurance proposal requirements in Malaysia as of September 2026, based on one insurer's 2025 proposal form and Schedule 9 of the Financial Services Act 2013. Proposal forms, underwriting requirements and policy terms vary between insurers, and illustrative figures are examples only. Nothing in this article is a quote, an offer of cover, or a promise that a buyer limit or claim will be approved. Always review the specific proposal form and policy wording, and consult qualified insurance and legal advisors before making decisions.
