SME owners lack income protection

The insurer is launching its first life SME insurance index, looking at the insurance purchasing landscape for SMEs and their attitudes towards advisers.

“97% of New Zealand businesses have 20 or fewer employees, which means that SMEs represent a significant market for insurers and brokers,” said Trevor Longbottom, acting executive manager of life distribution at Asteron Life.

“This research is the first step towards helping advisers understand the unique challenges faced by SMEs, and identify ways to tailor their offering towards them.”

“The uptake of personal insurance products shows there is a significant opportunity to talk to SMEs about covers like income protection insurance, particularly in the context of their business ownership and how that might affect their cover,” Longbottom said.