Close to a third of members of an industry body representing key companies involved with income protection believes financial incentives are needed to encourage take-up among small businesses.
The recommendation comes from a poll of the Group Risk Development (GRiD) group which found the main barriers to SMEs offering group income protection were actual and perceived costs rather than the value offered.
Of the survey 42 percent backed better education, awareness and simpler products to get SMEs on board while 31 percent thought financial incentives would be necessary.
The group emphasised stress management, counselling and legal helplines as benefits of income protection that need to be better emphasised to small employers.
Katharine Moxham, a spokesperson for GRiD, said: "We need to move the conversation on from cost and talk about value.
"Employers that make use of group income protection can’t sing its praises highly enough, and the findings show us that as an industry we need to do more to talk about the great value that group risk financial protection provides."
Helen Howcroft, a director of Equanimity IFA, believes income protection is essential for small employers, particularly executive income protection.
"It is essential that business owners review who their key staff are because if they are unable to work, this could have a detrimental impact on business," she said.
"Sometimes that staff member needs replacing by a more expensive contractor during that period of ill health and income protection would pay an income to enable the business to fund that additional cost."
