Matthew Otoijagha
Against the backdrop of incessant demise of small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria, Linkage Assurance Plc is planning a survival strategy for SME operators through the evolution of a comprehensive insurance product tagged: ‘SME Comprehensive Insurance Plan’.
With the product, the company said it is committed to helping small and medium enterprises survive business challenges and grow into the future. The company, through the SMEComprehensive Insurance Plan’ provides financial protection to small and medium sized businesses against an array of insurable risks in order to ensure their continuity.
Explaining the relevance of the product, Managing Director of Linkage, Dr. Pius Apere, said: “Linkage Assurance Plc’s SME comprehensive Insurance allows business owners to run their companies without having to worry about unexpected events that can slow them down or bring them to a complete halt.
“Whether it is water damage from leaking pipes, money lost in transit theft, or a fire at a warehouse, these are liabilities that cannot always be anticipated. Linkage Assurance Plc. provides you the confidence you need to keep moving with the knowledge that your assets are covered from loss and other legal liabilities. The Plan is available with five different optional sections and flexible enough to cater for the insurance needs of SMEs across diverse sectors of the market,” he said.
According to Apere, Linkage Assurance understands that Nigerian SME businesses operate in a tough, rough and often fast changing harsh economic environment.
“SME businesses are still held to the same standards of corporate governance, employee welfare and liability as the larger companies and they often have to manage their risks with fewer resources and less time to spare on distresses other than those relating to day to day business.”
Apere, said SMEs require affordable, well packaged insurance policy, which will protect their assets, liabilities and employees from the risks associated with operating a business.
He said Linkage Assurance PLCSME Comprehensive plan covers a wide spectrum of SME customers from a small single office premises for self-employed business owners to a multi-dimensional retail companies with a material damage or business interruption exposure spread across multiple locations.
According to him, the cover is for hotels, hospitals, water bottlers, publishers and printers, dry-cleaners, haulage, furniture, logistics and cottage manufacturers.
He listed Features of the SMEComprehensive plan, saying it includes damage to buildings as a result of fire; theft of contents, with the following options to cover; occupier’s liability; personal accident for employees; professional indemnity and motor.