UK SME Insurance 2011

UK SME Insurance 2011 - The small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market is very competitive and is currently evolving as the commoditized personal lines market starts to influence and shape it with the development of electronic trading and online distribution channels. This report explores the issues affecting the market and highlights the leading insurers.

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Features and benefits
• Detailed SME research into buying behaviour, insurance needs, and industry differences.
• Data on the top insurers per line of business and distribution channel was used.
• Analysis of how e-trading is evolving in this market.
• Estimated market size and five year forecast.

Table Of Contents
OVERVIEW
Catalyst
Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Total SME market is estimated at GWP of £5.2bn
Companies that employ 1–49 employees form the largest part of the SME segment
The number of enterprises grew in 2009 and 2010 after a flat 2008
In 2010, the number of enterprises grew by 2.6% to 4.4 million
More than 99.8% of UK companies are small or medium-sized businesses
What insurance do SMEs buy?
SMEs buy a range of covers
Most SMEs choose to purchase through a broker
57.5% of SMEs approached a broker for their insurance
Price comparison sites are targeting SMEs
The four main comparison sites all offer business insurance
Switching behavior is increasing
More SMEs are switching providers
Small commercial business insurance is now available online
The SME insurance market is showing signs of following the personal lines market
Over half of the brokers surveyed use a marketplace portal
Brokers also use insurers' extranets
Nearly 60% of those brokers that purchase through extranet sites use Aviva's site
Online portals will take off once there are more products on them
45.2% of brokers only need 6 products available
Brokers name Aviva as the leading insurer for small packaged business
17.8% of brokers surveyed place the largest single proportion of their business with Aviva
Total SME market will grow to £6.4bn in GWP by 2015
SME market to grow in line with total commercial market

MARKET CONTEXT
Introduction
Total SME market is estimated at GWP of £5.2bn
Companies that employ 1–49 employees form the largest part of the SME segment
The number of enterprises grew in 2009 and 2010 after a flat 2008
In 2010, the number of enterprises grew by 2.6% to 4.4 million
More than 99.8% of UK companies are small or medium-sized businesses
The number of new companies has grown in the past two years
The number of company liquidations has slowed
SME market by industry
Construction forms the largest part of the SME market
What insurance do SMEs buy?