Independent research amongst brokers commissioned by Allianz Insurance found that regulation is the biggest risk currently facing SMEs.
Brokers were asked what their SME customers were reporting as the most worrying risks for their business and they said the top five are:
- Regulation (59%)
- Cyber (56%)
- Data Loss (36%)
- Brexit (32%)
- Business Interruption (27%)
Allianz’s broker research found that in addition to looking for traditional insurance risk expertise from Brokers almost half (45%) have been asked by SME clients for advice on non-insurance challenges such as recruitment and training.
According to brokers, based on their discussions with clients they believe the top business challenges currently facing SMEs are cash flow (57%), competition (54%), increasing operational expenses (45%), recruitment (31%) and IT capability (27%).
Helen Bryant, director of SME markets, Allianz Insurance, said: “SMEs continue to operate in a very uncertain environment and our research emphasises the wide range of issues that they are facing.
“New regulations, such as GDPR, are clearly a top concern and the insurance industry can play a key role by sharing the huge amount of expertise we hold in this area. We are keen to work in partnership with brokers by providing technical expertise and knowledge for them to share with their customers.”
She added: “Our research clearly shows that SMEs see brokers as a source of advice and information that goes beyond traditional insurance risk management expertise. In addition to the wealth of expertise available on our new Allianz Risk Management website, we have also shared advice on general business challenges in our Supporting SMEs to Prosper report, which offers some really valuable insight for our broker partners and SME customers.”