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EXIM’s Direct Express Select is export credit insurance for qualifying U.S. small businesses that sell to international buyers on open-account terms. It can help protect eligible receivables if a buyer does not pay; it is not a grant, a loan to the buyer, or automatic coverage for every sale. EXIM currently advertises 95% coverage and no deductible, but the policy, buyer approval, country eligibility, and transaction determine what is actually covered.
What Direct Express Select does
With open-account terms, an exporter ships goods or provides services and lets the overseas buyer pay later. That can make an offer more attractive to a buyer, but it leaves the exporter waiting on payment and exposed to nonpayment risk. Direct Express Select is designed to insure eligible export accounts receivable arising from those sales.
EXIM describes possible benefits such as reduced nonpayment risk, improved competitiveness, and the possibility of borrowing against insured international receivables. These are potential uses, not guaranteed increases in sales, financing, or cash flow. The product does not itself lend money or ensure that a lender will advance funds.
Published features—and what they do not guarantee
EXIM’s Direct Express Select product page, accessed October 3, 2026, lists the following features:
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- 95% coverage and no deductible.
- No application or policy issuance fees.
- Dedicated in-house servicing.
- Premiums described as payable as shipments occur.
These are EXIM’s published product-page terms, not a promise that 95% of every loss will be paid or that every transaction qualifies. Coverage depends on the issued policy and the covered buyer, country, receivable, and sale. Confirm current pricing, exclusions, reporting duties, and claim requirements with EXIM before offering terms or shipping in reliance on insurance: EXIM Direct Express Select.
Who may qualify
EXIM’s published Direct Express Select checklist is aimed at SBA-defined small businesses with verified underserved-business status. Its listed requirements include:
- Verification of minority-, women-, rural-, veteran-, or disability-owned status.
- Qualification as a small business under Small Business Administration standards.
- Active registration in SAM.gov, including a Unique Entity ID (UEI).
- A DUNS number.
- No previous use of other EXIM insurance products.
Meeting a public checklist is not the same as approval. EXIM’s separate short-term credit standards also describe screening that includes at least three years in the same line of business, a favorable DUNS-based credit report, an active UEI, and no more than five years of export-credit experience. Treat these as additional underwriting context and ask EXIM which current standards apply to your case: EXIM short-term credit standards.
Country, buyer, and U.S.-content rules
Eligibility is not determined by the exporter’s qualifications alone. The Direct Express Select application says buyers, guarantors, and end users must be in countries where EXIM can support transactions under its Country Limitation Schedule. The form also requests information about U.S. content, so the goods or services and transaction details matter. Check the applicable country limitations and content rules with EXIM before agreeing to payment terms; do not assume that an overseas destination or a particular sale is eligible.
How to prepare and apply
- Describe the transaction. Identify the international buyer, the open-account terms being considered, what will be shipped or provided, and the receivable you want protected.
- Check the qualification list. Confirm your underserved-business status verification, SBA small-business qualification, active SAM.gov registration and UEI, DUNS number, and EXIM insurance history.
- Speak with EXIM. EXIM invites businesses to request a free consultation. Use it to clarify underwriting, buyer approval, country eligibility, U.S.-content treatment, current policy terms, fees, and what evidence will be required.
- Complete the current application. EXIM’s forms directory lists Direct Express Select Insurance application EIB 23-02. The application asks for company and financial information, export-credit history, export sales and losses, foreign-buyer details, requested limits and payment terms, receivables, and U.S.-content information. Confirm that you are using the current form and follow EXIM’s submission instructions: EXIM forms directory and EIB 23-02 application.
- Wait for written terms before relying on coverage. Confirm which buyer and transactions are approved, applicable limits and conditions, premium and reporting obligations, and how claims work. Do not treat an application or consultation as insurance approval.
The linked EIB 23-02 form is revised March 2024 and displays an Office of Management and Budget expiration date of March 31, 2027. That date is printed on the form; it does not establish that every program term will remain unchanged until then.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How it differs from other EXIM short-term policies
EXIM’s comparison chart dated 2024 places Direct Express Select alongside other short-term insurance options, including small-business multi-buyer and standard multi-buyer policies. It compares target markets, base coverage, discretionary credit limits, deductibles, premiums, reporting, policy periods, claim timing, and issuance fees. The chart describes Direct Express Select as intended for SBA-defined small businesses with underserved-business verification and limited export-credit experience. Because that comparison is dated 2024, use it as orientation rather than as a current quote or definitive statement of present policy terms: EXIM short-term policy comparison chart (2024).
Rank #4
The 95% headline alone is not enough to choose a policy. The relevant fit depends on your eligibility, buyer and receivables, payment terms, export experience, geography, and the current underwriting decision. EXIM’s underserved-businesses information and Direct Express Select page provide the appropriate starting points for questions and consultation.
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