Whether large or ‘small’, corporation or startup, running a business is no cakewalk.

There’s the back-end, the media, the marketing, the product, the branding, internal teams and managers, cash flow, legal systems, etc.- a myriad of things to take care of. A slip-up in any of them can cost the business untold amounts in time, money, and energy.

The MSME sector alone contributes almost 29% to the Indian economy, does over 50% of exports, and employs a whopping 11 crore people. Despite the strength and expansion of this sector, MSME businesses are still not close to reaping the benefits of insurance. This is because the penetration of insurance is low in the SME segment! ^*Source

The diverse roles of a Businessman

Looking at a businessman’s life, one doesn’t have to look far to know how their days involve wearing multiple hats. A few of these (and in a way the most important of these) are:

Owner of a business

As the owner of the business, it is his/ her responsibility to expand the business. This involves brainstorming new ways to grow, strategizing, meeting with potential partners and/ or franchises, and looking into new ways of marketing. All of these incur costs of all forms.

Employer

As an employer, it is the responsibility of the businessman to employ the right people and managers. The responsibility for their motivation and retention also falls in the businessman’s shoulders.

Breadwinner in the family

Family economics have changed and now, a single person isn’t the one feeding all the mouths. Wives, daughters, and even college-going adults now step up to contribute to household expenses. Still, there are traditional setups where the businessman is the sole provider of savings, life goals, and protection for the spouse, children, dependent elder parents.

Each of the above 3 roles requires the businessman to show up differently. Seen through the lens of insurance, each of these call for different plans and solutions. All of the following are highly desirous:

• Business expansion and protection
• Employee retention through solutions like gratuity
• Health, savings, and child education plans when it comes to family
• Protection of family assets from business liabilities
• Loan protection

Most businessmen and SMEs, however, are unaware of these needs. This ignorance can lead to unforeseen losses and difficult situations that could have been avoided. And the time to act and remedy this is n-o-w.

The way forward

Just as no business is similar to another, there are no business needs that are identical. Thus, we don’t recommend one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we recommend finding your unique business needs and aligning your actions to meet them so your business can thriive.

This is why, after looking over the market, we felt there was a gap.

This is why, we felt, businessmen might be facing puzzling obstacles.

This is why we came up with SME Assist.

Assistance tailored to Businessmen

Aviva SME Assist is a specially designed financial planning tool. It is meant to not only educate SME business owners but to help them understand their needs and properly plan for them to ensure the protection of his family, business, and employees.

Based on the 3 roles mentioned above, the businessman answers questions in the SME Assist portal. On the basis of his answers, he gets a customized report to help him bridge his financial planning gaps. In addition, it also recommends the most suitable insurance solutions.

This makes SME Assist a first-of-its-kind product among the ones that Aviva has to offer!!

In summary, it helps by:

1. Assessing your business and individual/ personal profile
2. Evaluating your financial needs
3. Charting a plan and recommending the best solution

The insurance solutions mentioned can vary from group insurance to life insurance to company insurance. Each time, though, they will be tailored to the real-life information that you provide the SME tool with.

AN Feb 70/20

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