Vero has confirmed that it will release the second edition of the SME Insurance Index in April 2018, following the successful New Zealand launch of the Index last year.
“After we released the research last year, we surveyed 250 brokers and found that 21% said the Index had helped them attract new clients,” said Michael Dunning. “The purpose of the research was to help brokers target SMEs and tailor their offerings to provide solutions for them, but those results exceeded even our expectations for the first year.”
Half of the brokers surveyed believed that the SME Index had assisted them to understand their SME clients better, and 68% said they looked forward to learning more from future Indexes.
“SMEs represent 97% of businesses in New Zealand, so understanding that market and meeting their needs is a huge opportunity for brokers,” said Dunning.
“We know the insurance market is changing, and it’s important to arm brokers with the insights and tools they need to add value for customers.”
One of the surprising insights to come from the 2017 Index was that there was no real difference between the attitudes and behaviours of SME owners in their 30s, 40s or 50s.
“We were expecting a more diverse split between age groups, but instead we found just one big generational divide between baby boomers (roughly characterised as those aged between 50 and 71), and everyone else,” said Dunning.
“The generation over 50 have dominated the business world for so long, but people under 50 are now creating and establishing the businesses of the future and it’s important for brokers to understand the generational change that’s currently under way.”
This year’s research will begin to benchmark aspects of the SME insurance purchasing landscape and the challenges they face, to track changes in things like broker use over time. It will also deep dive into some aspects of the landscape including online purchasing behaviour, to find opportunities for brokers to add value.
