Over half of UK SMEs don’t know whether their broker provides best quote to suit their needs

More than half (55%) of UK-based SMEs are unsure or don’t think their insurance broker provides the most competitive or best quote to suit their commercial needs, according to research by usage-based commercial insurance broker Hubb.

Its survey of over 1,000 senior decision-makers from UK SMEs also found that around 22% of respondents think they would benefit from better communication and engagement from their insurance brokers.

Furthermore, transparency was a key theme that emerged from Hubb’s findings, with 42% of respondents stating that full transparency is their most important benefit when engaging with an insurance broker.

Approximately 80% of SMEs felt transparency could be actioned by brokers disclosing all potential commissions or conflicts of interest when recommending a commercial insurance provider – this is even more pertinent considering 17% of respondents are unsure how their broker charges for their time and advice, with 23% thinking their broker doesn’t charge commission or a fixed fee.

Adopting self-service

When looking at the service provided by brokers, 42% of SMEs said they would move to an alternative insurance broker to save costs, whereas 26% would swap brokers to gain better quality advice.

Just under half (43%) of respondents agreed that they proactively review their commercial insurance requirements with their broker via telephone or email on an annual basis – a further 40%, however, complete the entire renewal process online without speaking to anyone.

Around two-thirds (67%) of SMEs, therefore, would be happy to renew and manage their commercial insurance policy via a self-service model, in a bid to save time and money.

Meanwhile, 68% think it would be fairer for insurance providers to only charge via a consumption model, meaning businesses only pay for what they use.

Commenting on the findings, Hubb’s chief executive Mark Costello said: “This research is extremely interesting and gives us more confidence than ever that SME customers are craving a new way to buy insurance, based on greater transparency and reduced costs.

“What’s more, the fact there was such an overwhelming response to both usage-based models and self-servicing fits perfectly with the Hubb model and our plans to disrupt the commercial broking market.”