The first New Zealand
'Vero SME Insurance Index' has recently been released to furnish brokers and advisers with relevant and useful insights to enable them to better understand and meet the needs of their SME customers.
According to
Cris Knell, executive general manager of
Suncorp New Zealand (which includes the
Vero brand),
Vero is providing information and tools to its brokers based on its research to help them optimise their SME offering.
“Vero has developed protections that offer SMEs support in the event of an incident that results in damages caused by identity theft, extortion demands and fraudulent hacking into systems for financial gain or a malicious attack by a hacker,” he said.
“Five years ago SMEs were not worried about these risks but that has changed, and Vero… has kept abreast of the risks, the best way to safeguard against them, and the need to support customers’ emerging requirements.”
This is just one of many actions Vero undertakes behind the scenes to improve the overall value proposition of the insurance industry, Knell emphasised.
“Only recently we’ve been lobbying through the Insurance Council of New Zealand as to how fire service levy obligations should be met in the fairest way for policyholders, not to mention trying to facilitate collaboration and transparency between the customer, broker and insurer through shared insights in the interest of problem solving, developing and evolving products for the future, and fostering deep, strong and long-term relationships,” he said.
He added that Vero has also shown itself to be first on the ground when catastrophes happen.
“Just take Kaikoura and Edgecumbe where our response team was first on the ground, using technology to get an immediate picture of the damage caused to properties, which enables us to get on with the job of handling customer claims.
“These situations assist us to really understand what people need and value from insurers and thereby facilitate a better overall service.”
Knell remarked that of interest in the Vero SME Index is that nearly 20% of SMEs believe their broker underwrites their insurance.
“That actually represents an opportunity because if a customer believes that a broker is just trying to sell their product they are less likely to understand and realise the real benefit of the insurance advice that a broker can offer,” he said.
When questioned about this statement, other insurance professionals admitted they were not aware of this, with
Zurich motor underwriting manager Matt McEneaney’s response of “Oh, that’s interesting but not something I’ve come across,” being indicative of most replies.
As to when customers are most satisfied when they use brokers, Knell pointed out that Vero’s research shows a collaborative and business-partner style relationship that entails frequent contact does the trick.
“For example, respondents indicated they want to hear from their broker a couple of times a year, even if they’re just checking in to see if anything has changed,” he said. “Those regular check-ins also provide an opportunity for brokers and advisers to better understand their customer’s business.”
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