Insurance, loans and compensation: The Ministry of Economy has expanded business support

The Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine, together with the European Business Association, presented updated state support programs to entrepreneurs. These include war risk insurance, compensation for insurance premiums, and soft loans for the restoration of critical and production infrastructure damaged by Russian aggression.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the changes by Resolutions No. 1541 and No. 594. New business opportunities were discussed during an online seminar attended by more than 300 representatives of Ukrainian companies.

Deputy Minister of Economy and Environment Yegor Perelygin noted that currently, war risk insurance costs 5–15% of the insured amount on the market. For many enterprises, this is too expensive, and in front-line regions and certain industries, such insurance is generally unavailable.

What has changed in insurance?

Kyiv and Kyiv region have been added to the high-risk areas. The terms of compensation for property located in or transported through these regions have also been clarified.

Insurance coverage for the fuel sector has been expanded. It now covers not only gas station buildings and equipment, but also tanks, fuel, and vehicles used to transport it.

In addition, the list of property that can be insured was expanded and various forms of ownership were taken into account.

Loans up to UAH 1 billion

The updated Resolution No. 594 allows enterprises to receive preferential loans not only for the restoration of damaged facilities, but also for measures to protect them. In particular, funds can be used to build underground tanks and deepen equipment.

The program covers:

• • distributed generation facilities;

• • fuel and warehouse logistics;

• • processing industry enterprises;

• • replenishment of working capital of trading enterprises to restore lost stocks.

The maximum loan amount is UAH 1 billion per business entity, including related parties. The minimum is UAH 100 million, and for projects in areas of possible or active hostilities, UAH 30 million.

The state will compensate 5.5 percentage points per annum of the bank’s base rate, which cannot exceed 18%.

At the same time, the Ministry of Economy believes that these measures are not enough. The Ministry has proposed creating a separate budget fund for business recovery and compensation for losses from war risks.

The seminar also surveyed 79 participants about further business support. 81% of respondents said that the current limit of UAH 30 million is insufficient. 63% supported increasing the coverage to USD 10 million, and another 24% to USD 5 million.

Regarding financing the future fund, 52% of respondents supported using VAT as one of the sources. At the same time, 87% favored a model in which financing would also be provided by contributions from businesses themselves.