Vero releases Issue 2 of the 2017 New Zealand SME Insurance Index

30 August, 2017

The research has uncovered that there are significant differences in how SMEs under 50 view brokers and advisers, and insurance in general compared, to those over 50 years

“People under 50 are creating and establishing businesses that will become the future of our economy,” said Campbell Mitchell, Executive General Manager Customer Experience.

“And our latest research has found that they want to do business in a different way to the over 50s who have dominated the business world for so long. It’s important for insurance brokers to understand and respond to the generational change that’s currently underway.”

Similar behaviour, but very different attitudes

The research showed that purchasing behaviour for SMEs under and over 50 is not markedly different. In fact, slightly more SMEs under 50 reported purchasing insurance through their broker or adviser.

But there is a significant difference in attitudes between the two age brackets.

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.

SMEs under and over 50 - the differences

Issue 2 also highlights pro-active strategies for brokers and advisers to engage, attract and retain SMEs under 50. These include:

• Embracing and integrating digital capabilities
• Reinforcing the unique benefits you bring to customers

For details on these strategies, insights and more, check out issue 2 of the Vero SME Insurance Index. 

Read the full report

About the research

This report is based on research involving more than 1,000 business owners and decision makers of small to medium sized businesses around New Zealand. The research was conducted in two stages:

1. Quantitative Survey

A nationwide online survey of 999 business owners and insurance decision makers was conducted, covering a range of business types, locations and sizes. The survey was conducted during November 2016 and the data was weighted by region and organisational size to current Statistics New Zealand data. The survey covered:

• general business sentiment
• attitudes towards insurance
• insurance purchase process
• purchase channel (broker or direct)
• attitudes towards insurance brokers
• expectations and impact of price changes
• demographics.

2. In-Depth Qualitative

A series of interviews was conducted with eight SME respondents representing a mix of business sizes, types, attitudes to insurance, insurance purchasing channels and demographics. These sessions were held at respondents’ workplaces during February 2017.