Small Business Owners Report High Trust in Agents, Survey Reports

Small business owners trust their independent insurance agents and commercial insurance carriers more than other financial services businesses, a new study reports.

The study, commissioned by The Hanover Insurance Group Inc., found that trust is the single most important consideration for small business owners when choosing an insurance provider, with 86 percent of the survey respondents rating trust as “very important.”

“In a time of considerable economic uncertainty, small business owners want to know they are working with an agent and a carrier they can count on,” said Michael Keane, president, small commercial at The Hanover.

Keane says it’s critical for companies to establish and maintain trust and confidence of those they serve, especially in today’s market where trust and confidence in the financial services industry are at an all-time low. The finding that independent agents and carriers are perceived as having a higher level of trust is important, even as thousands of protesters host “Occupy Wall Street” events across the country to force change within the financial system, is important, Keane adds.

The study also found that small business owners have a higher level of trust in independent agents than they do with professionals in other financial services industries. The majority of small business owners reported that they consider independent agents as being trustworthy.

Keane says the trust that small business owners place in independent agents is one of the reasons why Hanover chooses to distribute its small business products and services through a selective group of professional independent agents.

This study was conducted by The Pert Group, a third party independent consulting and research firm with broad experience in financial services industries. Results for this survey are based on online interviews conducted Sept. 14-23, 2011, among 501 small business owners with less than 30 employees.

Source: The Hanover