QBE says it has held pricing on SME and commercial motor insurance as it continues to offer support to brokers and clients during the coronavirus pandemic.

As insuranceNEWS.com.au has reported, most of Australia’s major insurers unveiled measures to help struggling SMEs when COVID-19 took hold in March.

In a video update, QBE Australia Pacific GM Sales & Relationship Management Elliot Hill says holding pricing was part of a wider effort to be flexible and supportive at a time when many businesses are under pressure.

“We’ve really tried to respond to COVID and tried to be as practical as we can be and a big part of that has been around looking at things like ‘what do our customers and brokers need’,” he said

“People have had to change so quickly and I think it’s so important for brokers and insurers to work together to look at those clients and to really understand how quickly they’ve pivoted and how quickly we need to pivot in order to be able to provide them with the type of insurance that they need.

“It’s so important that we stay communicating around this, and we know that it’s not over and the impacts will go on for a long time and what we need to be able to do is keep that flexibility, keep that communication going in order to assist and maintain those clients if we can.”

QBE, Suncorp and Allianz are part of an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approved support scheme that has been extended until the end of the year.

Measures include deferring premium payments for up to six months and refunding unused premiums on any cancelled policies without being charged administration or cancellation fees.

Other insurers including IAG, Zurich and Hollard have developed their own initiatives.