Anthony Miller, CEO of Simply Financial Services. Cape-based insurtech Simply Financial Services, a Hollard Group company, believes business leaders in the SME market do not adequately consider the value of providing risk benefits to their staff. The 11-year-old firm says the segment, which consists of around 14 million employees and contributes roughly 40% towards the country’s GDP, is largely unserved outside of industries where bargaining council funds are grudgingly utilised. With household budgets stretched and business margins tight, an unplanned absence or a key person out of action can tip a family, or a business, over the edge.Anthony Miller, CEO of Simply, explains: “The question every employer should be asking is: if one of my people can’t work tomorrow, what happens to them, and what happens to my business? That’s a risk assessment conversation, not just a benefits conversation.”Miller adds that while group risk cover – life, disability, funeral, critical illness and income protection – is standard in large South African companies, it remains the exception among smaller employers.“Products in this category were built for corporates with dedicated HR teams, stable headcounts and the administrative capacity to manage complex benefits. Inflexibility of benefits and high minimum sizes have compounded the problem, placing group risk cover even further out of reach for SMEs and even mid-sized corporates. The result is a structural protection gap that the current economic environment is leaving impossible to ignore."Simply is focused on closing this gap with digital products designed to remove the cost and administration constraints that have historically locked smaller employers out of coverage. “Businesses of every size are feeling the pressure right now, from fuel costs to higher borrowing rates. But meaningful staff cover does not have to be complicated or out of reach.”Simply has adopted an organic approach to solution development, opting to develop technology in-house to strengthen its back-end functionality, while relying on Google's ecosystem for its web tools, data storage and software development.The company engages the market mostly via its broker network, which provides strong national coverage, but can also serve customers directly via tied agents or online.Miller adds that while SA is Simply’s sole focus currently, the company is considering expansion into other Africa markets, such as Botswana, Kenya and Namibia, likely in collaboration with Hollard.Miller believes that with the ever-increasing cost of living, South African organisations will be increasingly hard-pressed to protect and retain their employees.“South African employers are facing one of the sharpest cost squeezes in recent times – there has seldom been a more pressing need for business leaders to protect their staff and thereby their businesses.”