| Link(s): | Premium Credit Insurance Index 2025 One in 10 SMEs plan to boost insurance cover in the year ahead |
Context
PCL has published its 2025 Insurance Index, alongside commentary in relation to the use of premium instalment facilities by the SME community. The specific issues examined in the 2025 Index are:
- How credit is being used to pay for insurance
- The cost of underinsuranceWhat is driving borrowing
- Attitudes to paying for insurance on credit
- SME tax worries
Key points to note and next actions
- More than one in four insurance customers would cut cover or switch to cheaper policies if they couldn’t utilise premium finance.
- Two fifths of customers surveyed said they would be affected if they were unable to pay in instalments.
- One in 10 SMEs plan to boost insurance cover in the year ahead, with vehicle, property and public and product liability insurance most likely to be increased.Underinsurance remains an issue for SMEs as nearly one in five firms say they expect it to get worse.
- 7% of SMEs questioned said their firm is likely to cancel and not replace policies in the year ahead.
- Around 15% of SMEs questioned this year have switched to monthly payments for insurance, continuing the trend from last year’s index which saw 15% move away from lump sums.
- 76% of consumers use some form of credit to pay for insurance. That compares to 71% last year.
- 56% use credit to pay for car insurance and 56% for home insurance. That’s up from 48% for both car and home insurance last year.
- 54% of SMEs use some form of credit to pay for insurance, compared to 55% last year.
- 43% use credit to pay for vehicle insurance and 31% for property insurance. That’s up from 39% for vehicle insurance but down from 33% for property insurance last year.
- 51% of SMEs say the cost of their business insurance has increased in the past 12 months with 10% saying it has increased dramatically.