Small and micro enterprises (SMEs) are the “nerve endings” of the economic body and the “main force” in absorbing employment. Their stable operation is crucial for overall development and the well-being of people’s livelihoods. However, the inherent “small” and “micro” characteristics of SMEs mean they naturally face the challenge of relatively weak risk resistance capabilities.
As a professional force in risk management, the insurance industry has played an irreplaceable role in providing risk protection for SMEs and helping them achieve stable and long-term development. A notable feature of the insurance industry’s recent practice in serving SMEs is the continuous enhancement of the pertinence and inclusiveness of product innovation. By deeply understanding the actual needs of SMEs, insurance institutions have tailored insurance products with low premiums, full coverage, and flexible application requirements, initially solving the predicament of SMEs being “unaffordable” and “inadequately covered.”
The insurance industry has made solid progress in serving SMEs, which is commendable. However, to further promote insurance as an indispensable risk “shock absorber” and development “booster” in the daily operations of SMEs, the key lies in ensuring that SMEs “get the value of the purchase, use it well, and truly benefit from it.”
How to Make SMEs Truly Feel the Benefits of Insurance
To make SMEs truly feel that “the purchase is worthwhile, the use is good, and the benefits are genuine,” the insurance industry should address three questions from the perspective of SMEs: Do insurance products truly “quench thirst”? Are insurance services really useful? Has the insurance claims settlement achieved “timely help”?
Quenching the Thirst of SMEs with Tailored Products
Insurance product design must move away from being overly simplistic and towards being small but exquisite, specialized, and refined. SMEs have a wide variety of business forms and different risk points. Insurance institutions should increase their research efforts to solve the actual difficulties of SMEs. For instance, in response to food safety risks in the catering industry, logistics disruption risks in e-commerce, and intellectual property protection for start-up technology enterprises, scenario-based, modular, and affordable insurance products have been launched. Additionally, in light of the demands of SMEs and their employees, individual business owners, flexible employees, and other groups in terms of production and operation, health, and elderly care, appropriate insurance products should be developed and promoted.
Providing Useful Services with a Comprehensive Risk Management System
The significant value of insurance services lies in helping SMEs build a solid “firewall” against risks. On the one hand, the risk data and professional talents accumulated by insurance companies can provide customized risk assessment and diagnosis services for SMEs, helping them identify potential risk points in their operations and propose practical and feasible improvement suggestions. On the other hand, through technologies such as big data and the Internet of Things, insurance companies can more accurately analyze risk trends, issue early warning information to SMEs, and remind them to take good risk prevention measures. Additionally, insurance institutions can collaborate with security service providers, legal consulting agencies, financial advisors, etc., to offer a package of risk solutions to SMEs, helping them establish and improve their internal risk management mechanisms and enhance their overall operational resilience.
Ensuring Timely Assistance with Efficient and Fair Claims Settlement
Every successful claims settlement is the most direct proof of the value of insurance. The prerequisite for achieving successful claims settlement is to enable SMEs to consume with full knowledge and clearly understand the scope of protection. In the clause design stage, efforts should be made to make it easy to understand. During the promotion and sales process, product information, claims procedures, and service standards should be made public. It is essential to clearly inform SME owners of what can be compensated and emphasize what cannot be compensated to reduce claims disputes caused by information asymmetry. In the claims settlement process, insurance companies should start by simplifying claims settlement procedures and improving claims settlement efficiency. They should utilize big data to analyze the business data, credit records, and other information of SMEs and enhance the level of digital services. In light of the reality that SMEs have relatively weak risk-resistance capabilities, efforts should be made to achieve “instant compensation” for small cases and advance compensation for large cases without disputes, helping SMEs quickly resume production and operation.
Conclusion
Serving SMEs in the insurance industry is a systematic project that requires meticulous cultivation. It requires insurance institutions to break away from the traditional product sales mindset, truly stand from the perspective of SMEs, take enhancing their sense of gain as the entry point, and aim to stimulate their intrinsic purchasing motivation. Ultimately, by improving their risk management capabilities, they can become trustworthy “risk partners” on the development path of SMEs.
This is not only an inherent requirement for the insurance industry to fulfill its social responsibilities and serve the real economy but also an inevitable choice to open up new blue oceans and achieve high-quality development in the era of competition for existing stock. When insurance truly integrates into the “blood” of SMEs and safeguards their steady progress, the vitality and resilience of the economy will also be more solidly supported.
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