In a survey conducted by Statistics Canada on business conditions, small businesses were less likely to have a positive future outlook – and over half of small businesses (53.6%) reported lower revenues in 2021 compared to 2019. By comparison, 41.4% of medium-sized businesses and 34.5% of large businesses reported lower revenues. This is juxtaposed with the fact that small businesses made up 98.1% of all employer businesses in Canada.
Small businesses evidently need a lot of support – which is why Westland Insurance Group’s recent development is so timely.
Earlier this month, Westland launched a new brand for small business clients. The new Westland Small Business Solutions brand will not only focus on supporting small businesses but will also provide them with insurance programs that are “unique to Westland.”
According to Westland CEO Jamie Lyons, the segmentation of Westland’s commercial brands – as was the case with the creation of Westland Small Business Solutions – allows the company to “focus on what makes each group of clients special.” What exactly does this mean?
To answer this question and more, Insurance Business approached Donna Barclay, Westland EVP of commercial & specialty.
We are excited to bring the full value of Westland to small business entrepreneurs across Canada.
Our new Small Business Solutions brand helps us better tell our story and convey our value proposition to small business owners and entrepreneurs. We’ve harnessed our expertise within teams of small business specialists who provide the framework for us to deliver a consistently exceptional client experience across Canada.
Our preferred small business insurance partners are increasingly specialized, too. The Small Business Solutions brand creates alignment with our partners to ensure the best outcome for our clients.
Westland enjoys a longstanding and enviable reputation as a market-leading advisor to small business clients, and we realized we needed a brand that would reflect our strength in this area. There are over one million small business owners in Canada and these businesses make up the backbone of our economy. We want to be their number one choice for insurance. Small business owners are Westland’s largest group of Commercial clients and deserved their own brand.
In addition, Westland has made a significant investment in a new technology platform which will transform the ease and speed with which our advisors transact small business.
Read more: Business insurance in Canada
Cyber risk.
All businesses, regardless of size, are dependent on technology and have data assets increasingly vulnerable to attack. However, a cyber event can have a particularly devastating impact on small businesses that lack the necessary expertise, capital, and team of cyber experts to respond to all aspects of an attack.
In addition, our top small business cyber partner provides clients with a vulnerability monitoring service as part of their insurance package with the aim to prevent cyber loss in the first place. If a cyber loss does occur, a robust cyber insurance policy provides peace of mind.
