Allianz research shows that SMEs have bigger priorities than price when buying insurance

Less than a third (31%) of SMEs consider the cheapest price as a priority when purchasing insurance, new research has revealed.

Allianz commissioned One Poll to survey 500 SME businesses to discover the top priorities for SMEs purchasing insurance.

SMEs’ top priority was the breadth of cover, which 75% of respondents said was important.

Claims handling was the second top-most priority. Over half (58%) of the senior decision makers surveyed said that they considered the claims handling process as a priority when buying insurance.

Insurer reputation additionally ranked in the top three, with just under half (47%) of those surveyed saying they considered this a priority.

David Martin, Allianz’s director of SME markets, said: “The results of the survey clearly show that when it comes to protecting their businesses, SMEs value breadth of cover over cost. Brokers can  be confident that SME’s recognise the need for good advice to ensure their business risks are appropriately understood and managed.”

Martin added that breadth of cover and use of data to build on its underwriting proposition is a priority for Allianz.

BIBA chief executive Steve White supported the research findings. He said it was “promising” that SMEs are prioritising factors outside of price at a time where underinsurance of 44% has been reported by loss adjusters.

White continued:  “We all want to ensure that claims are paid quickly and in full to help businesses recover and a simple way to ensure this, is to make sure that the correct levels of insurance are in place.  It is important for businesses to review their cover regularly and insurance brokers have the expertise and knowledge to advise them on purchasing suitable cover.”