Vero Finds SMEs under 50 Understand Price Better Than Value

Earlier this year, New Zealand’s general insurer Vero has released what it refers to as the ‘Vero SME Insurance Index’, which explored the insurance landscape for small to medium sized businesses and delved into how age affects the attitudes and behaviors of these businesses towards agents and brokers. The findings were based on responses from 999 SMEs. 

In general,

– 58% (of SMEs) use a broker to save time so they can focus on their business

– 45% rely on a broker or adviser’s expert knowledge and advice

– 39% get added piece of mind by using a broker to find the right insurance

– Value is more important than price – only 22% of SMEs say they use a broker to get cheaper prices

– Over half of broker clients scored their satisfaction with their broker as 8 out of 10 or higher

However, there are significant differences in how SMEs under 50 view brokers and advisers, and insurance in general compared, to those over 50 years . While the purchasing behavior for SMEs under and over 50 is fairly similar, the attitudes between the two age brackets are significantly different. SMEs under 50 were much more price conscious, more cynical about the value they are getting from insurance companies and generally less satisfied with their broker or adviser. Most importantly, SMEs under 50 increasingly want to research and do business online, and their expectations of a digital service offering are being set by other industries. For instance, SMEs under 50 years are far more likely to go to peers for advice than accountants, financial advisers or lawyers.