Natural disasters can strike with little to no warning, and when they roll through, they often leave a trail of devastation in their wake. If your business is hit by a natural disaster, it can lead to massive losses in the form of both damages and lost working time. While you cannot prevent natural disasters from happening, there are several ways you can help to protect your business in the event a disaster strikes. When preparing a business for natural disasters, it is essential that you cover all your bases to ensure you are not left with regret down the line.
Get Prepared Before Disaster Strikes
If a disaster has already occurred, it’s too late to start preparing a business for natural disasters. Instead, it’s vitally important that you take a proactive approach to business preparation for hurricane season or other disasters. The first step to protecting your business is preparing your facility in the event the disaster strikes while the facility is occupied and you cannot safely evacuate. This means keeping a stock of disaster supplies, including both nonperishable foods and medical kits.
Have a Plan in Place
A natural disaster is usually a chaotic occurrence. It can be very scary, and if you and your employees don’t have a plan in place already, it can lead to mistakes when judgments are made in the middle of the stressful situation. Instead, you should develop contingency plans to cover how your company and employees should respond in the event of various possible disasters. This can include general systems for any disaster that causes the office to be shut down as well as specific plans for certain types of disasters or for long-term issues such as the loss of your facility. Creating a plan when preparing a business for natural disasters makes it easier for you and your employees to stay on track, even in the worst of all situations.
Invest in Property Insurance With Disaster Coverage
Many business owners make the mistake of thinking they are covered for events which they are not. Many policies require you to purchase disaster coverage in order for damages to be covered, which means getting disaster coverage is a vital part of preparing a business for natural disasters. Disaster coverage can cover a wide range of costs related to the damage a natural disaster causes. Speak with your insurance broker about your coverage and discuss if you need additional coverage.
Don’t Neglect Business Interruption and Extra Expense Coverage
While it’s easy to look at the losses of a disaster in terms of how much damage is done to your facility, don’t overlook potential productivity lost as well. Two excellent options you should know if you are wondering how to prepare your business for a natural disaster are a business interruption and extra expense coverage. As the name implies, business interruption insurance covers you for money lost due to the need to halt operations after a disaster. If damages don’t require a total shutdown but do result in some extra costs to keep running, such as renting additional space, extra expense coverage can help.
Perform Regular Reviews of Your Insurance
Insurance is an integral part of preparing a business for natural disasters, so don’t simply set your coverage then forget about it for years. You should always conduct an annual review of your policy and your company’s current needs to make sure you have adequate coverage. If you are still on a policy you began before years of growth, it is likely insufficient to truly protect your company in the event of a disaster, so a yearly audit is a must for staying protected.
