Tips for Preparing Your Business for an Emergency Situation

8/2/2021 (Permalink)

How to Prepare Your Business for an Emergency. If you own your own business, you understand the importance of planning ahead to set yourself up for success—but have you considered the need to plan ahead for an emergency scenario? The frequency with which disasters occur continue to rise, and being prepared for any scenario is the best defense business owners have against them.

Understanding how to prepare your business can help you recover far more quickly after an emergency and get your doors reopened faster after a disaster.

Review the details of your insurance policy. The average commercial insurance policy provides many standard coverages, but it also leaves quite a bit of scenarios out requiring business owners to purchase additional coverage for situations such as floods, income interruption and gaps in your policy. It is smart to review your insurance policy through the lens of disaster preparedness planning to learn about any gaps in coverage you may have.

Make sure your documents are backed up and stored well. Having the right documentation on hand after a disaster will make the recovery process much easier, but have you considered the correct way to store them? Many files are digital now, so you should make sure you have a cloud backup or hard copy in case your computer gets damaged in a disaster. If you have physical documents you may need, make copies of those and store them securely in a secondary location.

Be sure you have an evacuation plan. If a flood or other natural disaster is incoming, officials will normally recommend a rapid evacuation so that everyone can get to safety. Be sure you have an evacuation plan that includes well-marked evacuation routes and a headcount system to make sure everyone is accounted for, and make certain that you have rehearsed often with staff. This serves to reduce panic in the moment as well as your overall liability, and equips everyone to move to safety calmly and quickly in an emergency.

If your business is damaged due to a disaster or an emergency, we are here for you. You can contact us at any time to learn more about commercial restoration and how we can help.