Planning For The Unexpected This Hurricane Season

Written by: Margo Herget, Insurance Repair Specialist, Inc.

Did you know when disaster strikes 43% of businesses never reopen?23% of companies close within a year?17% of companies close within two years?Many businesses today have developed a written disaster pre-plan that deals with various issues in the event of a hurricane or other disaster, such as the evacuation of an occupied building and the prevention of lost data.Why is such a document important? When a business is affected by a disaster there are suddenly a number of critical issues that must be dealt with and pressing decisions to make very quickly. How much damage has occurred? Will data be damaged or lost? How will the business be affected? Will revenue be severely impacted? Can anyone rebuild the damaged property? How long will it take to get the business up and running again? A disaster pre-plan can answer these questions and will give the building or business owner peace of mind.A disaster pre-plan is essentially a guide for what to do when something happens that can impact either the continued operation of a facility or a tenants business or occupancy. It is a condensed policy book for facility managers and business owners that clearly outlines what to do in case of a loss. It is also a quick, easy reference for those who need to be notified in the event of a disaster, complete with their contact numbers and who to call immediately for emergency service.The types of disasters covered by pre-plans can be anything from vehicle impact damage or water damage arising from any number of causes, from an ice maker waterline leak to a major sprinkler malfunction .Other types of damage could include fire damage, ranging from equipment smoke odor to a major structural fire, or a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, or flood.A disaster pre-plan is needed by any facility that has customers or tenants that may be lost because a facility is closed down, or by any business that would be adversely affected by a protracted interruption caused by a natural or man made disaster. Essentially, a disaster plan is needed at every owned or managed facility, and by extension, any insured facility.If a business facility is shut down, it means loss of service, production, and/or rent and that means the loss of customers. In addition, most insurance policies require that the business owner or tenant do everything possible to minimize the loss and prevent further damage from occurring.

A key element to any written pre-plan should include pre-selecting a multi-faceted restoration contractor. A full service restoration company should offer facility managers and business owners a complete solution for disaster pre-planning and emergency response and should have all the experts necessary at their immediate disposal to keep a catastrophe from causing a major interruption to one's business.A highly qualified emergency response contractor will be able to provide business continuity planning, along with performing the technical restoration services required resulting from any damage situation. This includes the capability of providing all essential pre-planning to minimize business interruption and/or the loss of data, and ensuring that post-disaster recovery is addressed effectively and quickly.