IQumulate Premium Funding has introduced a product to provide assistance for SMEs hard-hit by the continuing impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The product offers 10 monthly premium payments, but with reduced costs through changes to settlement arrangements, and is provided without an application fee.

As insuranceNEWS.com.au has previously reported, assistance measures from leading insurers which involve deferment of premium payments for six months have not been well-received by many brokers, who have expressed concern about the impact on their own cashflows.

While one aim of the insurers’ deferment program is to help keep SMEs using the intermediary channel, take-up of the offer has reportedly been slow, with small companies wary about having a large payment waiting further down the track.

CEO Raj Nanra told insuranceNEWS.com.au that IQumulate had consulted with a number of brokers and received positive feedback ahead of launching its product last week.

“We believe this product will help brokers in their role and provide clients with some options to work through this challenging period,” he said.

Steadfast-owned IQumulate works with more than 600 brokers to provide funding to more than 60,000 businesses in Australia and New Zealand.