Entrepreneurs getting sleepless nights over downturn worries

New research suggests that one in six small business owners suffer sleepless nights as a result of stress - roughly 750,000 people in total.

The stats, released last week by Norwich Union, show that the main causes of stress are the market downturn (46% cited this as a main concern), and customers defaulting on payments (30%). An additional 23% of those surveyed said they were concerned about rising utility bills.

As anxiety over market conditions intensifies, managers are increasingly looking to negate those risks that are within their control. As a result 45% of respondents now have some form of business protection insurance covering, amongst other things, the salary or life of a key employee. This compares with only 38% who have their own life insurance and 20% with health or dental insurance. 61% of respondents have cover for premises or equipment.

When asked to rate the most important insurance product for their business, nearly five times as many managers of SMEs thought it was more important to protect against the loss of a key employee than insure their own life. 15 times as many owners believed business protection insurance was more important than health/dental insurance - although less than half have actually taken out Business Protection cover.

Trevor Bailey, director of protection at Norwich Union, said:

"The recent growth in demand for business protection is impressive, but the potential is extraordinary: the market for life cover alone is estimated to be in excess of £500bn*. But confusion reigns with nearly 75% of those surveyed admitting to a lack of understanding about business protection cover and products."