The state of the 2013 SME protection advice market

• Pensions and protection are the top advice areas for advisers with SME (small and medium sized enterprises) clients in 2013
• Share Protection, Relevant Life Plans, Loan Protection, Group Life Insurance and Group Income Protection make up the top five protection areas for SME advisers
• Advisers surveyed with micro business (2-9 employees) clients and small business (10-49 employees) clients outnumber those with medium business clients (50-249 employees) almost 2:1
• Yet misconceptions over the relevance of protection policies for SMEs continue to exist

• Legal & General and unbiased.co.uk highlight the importance of SME protection as part of their ‘Every Business Matters, Every Employee Matters’ campaign #everybizmatters

New research from the Legal & General / unbiased.co.uk ‘Every Business Matters, Every Employee Matters’ campaign reveals that pensions and protection are the most common areas advisers are focusing on with their SME clients in 2013.

Over 80% of SME advisers surveyed have micro business (2-9 employees) clients or small business (10-49) clients, compared to 44% of advisers who have medium business clients (50-249 employees).

The research reveals that over four in five (81%) advisers in the SME market currently advise their clients on group pensions, followed by auto-enrolment (74%), business insurance (64%) and employee benefits (63%). 

Looking at business protection, the top three products advised on in 2013 are Share Protection, Relevant Life Plans and Loan Protection.

Protection products currently advised for SME clients: 

But when it comes to the finer details of these products and the types of business they are targeting, some misconceptions still exist within the adviser market.  One in five (21%) advisers weren’t aware that Relevant Life Plans have no minimum number of employees, while almost a third (32%) of advisers didn’t know all Relevant Life Plans are written in a trust.  Almost 40% weren’t aware that Group Income Protection policies can include Employee Assistance Programmes and 32% weren’t aware of the rehabilitation support which may be provided.

Clare Harrop, Head of Specialist Protection at Legal & General:  “It is encouraging to see that advice on protection products is an important area for advisers within the SME market and that these advisers are considering a wide range of different protection products available.

“However, there are still some misconceptions in the market that we need to tackle to make sure more advisers are having these important discussions with their clients.

“Legal & General has seen strong demand for protection products from small businesses.  Products such as our Relevant Life Plan can be a great choice for smaller businesses.  Group Protection provides much more than just an insurance policy, it can help small and medium sized businesses attract and retain quality staff.”

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk, comments: “Professional financial advice is something that is extremely valuable to SMEs and it is good to see that advisers are using this opportunity to talk to their clients about topics such as pensions and protection.  

“Our ‘Every Business Matters, Every Employee Matters’ campaign raises awareness of the growing SME protection market and the important discussions advisers should be having with business clients.”

To find out more about the ‘Every Business Matters, Every Employee Matters’campaign go to: www.unbiased.co.uk/every-business-matters or follow the campaign on Twitter using #everybizmatters

To find a local professional adviser go to: www.unbiased.co.uk.

Legal & General’s Business Protection adviser site: www.legalandgeneral.com/business    

Legal & General’s Group Protection adviser site: http://www.legalandgeneral.com/workplacebenefits/advisers/protection/

ENDS

Notes to editors:

‘Every Employee Matters’ is a joint campaign by Legal & General and unbiased.co.uk, which aims to raise awareness about the UK’s employee protection gap and highlight the importance of employee benefits for businesses. 

Research conducted through unbiased.co.uk’s database using a sample of 100 advisers.

For more information contact:

Anna Schirmer/ Lisa Grando Lansons Communications: 020 7294 3682

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About unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website

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