Businesses may struggle to pay for insurance and other essential running costs due to cash flow problems caused by Brexit

• 45% of SMEs are ‘very concerned’ about managing their cash flow

Premium Credit, the UK’s leading premium finance company, is warning a poor Brexit outcome could create major cash flow problems for businesses, and many could find it harder to pay for their running costs, including insurance.

It warns that a no deal Brexit could lead to a surge in businesses with no insurance, and in some cases they could be breaking the law by not having compulsory cover.

Adam Morghem, Strategy and Marketing Director at Premium Credit said: “We lend around £3 billion a year to help UK businesses spread the cost of their insurance. Our research reveals that 61% of SMEs claim to use credit cards, loans and premium finance to pay for their insurance, but this could increase dramatically if their cash flow is damaged as a result of a No deal Brexit."

“SMEs could see the goods they buy becoming more expensive, they may have to spend more on stockpiling, and the cost of storing this could also increase. All of this could make it harder to pay for the essentials needed to run their operations – from paying staff salaries, rent and insurance.”

New research(1) from Premium Credit reveals 45% of SMEs are ‘very concerned’ about managing their cash flow next year. A further 34% are ‘fairly concerned’ and only one in five (21%) are not worried.

When it comes to paying for business insurance, 47% of SMEs say that this has a ‘very significant’ impact on their ability to successfully manage their cash flow, and a further 24% describe its impact here as ‘significant’. Only one in ten described it as insignificant.

For a small charge, a premium finance loan allows you to spread the cost of your cover monthly instead of paying for it all in one go.

Adam Morghem at Premium Credit added: “SMEs already face huge challenges and a poor Brexit outcome could make many of these worse. If this happens, there could be growing demand for premium finance. This can be a very cost-effective way for SMEs to spread the cost of their insurance, and our research shows that of those businesses that have heard of it, 62% have used it for this purpose."

“However, a key challenge is that the majority of SMEs have not heard of it. The premium finance industry, along with insurers and brokers, need to do more to highlight its benefits to clients.”

Premium Credit is the market leader in the UK and Ireland and the only premium finance provider accredited by BIBA.


Notes:
(1)The research company Consumer Intelligence conducted research with 335 SMEs in the UK. Interviews were conducted online between 13th and 19th November 2018.