Purbeck Insurance Services, the provider of personal guarantee insurance for the owners and directors of small businesses has expanded its business development team.

Debra Deane has been appointed business relationship manager to further strengthen Purbeck’s dedicated intermediary team with existing business development manager, Mike Crilly.

Deane brings over 20 years working in the accountancy and insurance sectors, serving the SME market and understands the dynamics of SME finance and the impact a personal guarantee can have on a business’s ability to access finance.

She will work with financial intermediaries and brokers across the UK to extend awareness of personal guarantee insurance as a business contingency solution for SMEs taking out new finance, as they recover and rebuild from the impact of Covid-19.

Purbeck says that demand for SME finance looks set to heighten as cash reserves run dry and the Government’s support measures scale back in Q4 2020. At the same time, Purbeck believes the appetite to lend to SMEs may fall as an outcome of the pandemic. With lenders become increasingly risk averse, finance may become more costly and more dependent on the owners or directors signing a personal guarantee, the firm said.

Todd Davison, managing director of Purbeck Insurance Services, said: ”Many SMEs are going to need access to finance as we reach the latter part of the year. The likelihood is that many loan products will have a personal guarantee attached so it is vital we work with our partners to extend awareness of personal guarantee insurance so that small business owners and directors know they can mitigate the risks, and access finance with improved confidence.

“We are delighted to have Debra on board to work with Mike. They will become key allies to our partners over the coming months as we work together to support recovery, resilience and rebuilding of businesses in the SME community.”