We’d all like to think that your day to day lives can always go according to plan, especially in business, but this not the case — as most of us know by now. Since it’s your job to protect your business no matter what, you’ll want to have a solid plan B for every emergency or disaster that could create a problem for your day to day — as well as longer-term — business actions.
Natural disasters
From floods and hurricanes to tornados and wind damage, natural disasters work on their own schedules and none of them are ever convenient for business owners. You’ll want to be prepared with checklists, safety tips and the numbers to your insurance broker (and other officials) when it comes to phoning in claims and other details.
It’s also a good idea to make sure that all of your insurance policies are up to date and you have confirmed coverages for floods, hurricanes & windstorms, cyber security, liabilities and more. It’s also important to know what the limitations of your coverage are! Harbour Insurance Services is well versed in all personal and business insurance coverage, so if you need help understanding your coverage, limitations or what coverage you need, we are here for you.
Power outages and damages to your buildings
Since we’re now more digital than ever, you’ll want to ensure that you’ve got proper back-ups in place specific to power outages. Is all of your data backed up in paper copies or (preferably) in the cloud? Do you have a backup of your backups? How often do you backup? Do you have back-up generators that will take over without a blip in case of a power outage? Do you have surge protection if needed?
Making sure that you are prepared to power and surge-related damages to your buildings and data is important since we are now relying on more digital and sensitive devices than ever. Don't forget about hacking and cyber liabilities to protect your data too!
Health pandemics and employee protection
Since all businesses have been impacted by the recent global pandemic, COVID-19, it’s important to have a plan B in place for your business for situations such as these. Do you have money aside to get you through rough months? Do you have insurance in place to help pay the wages of your deserving employees if you have to shut your doors for a bit? Do you have a safe way to operate while maintaining social distancing regulations? These are all things you can plan to help you make the most out of a sticky situation. Hopefully you had some sort of plan already in place, but if not, start planning now so you'll be prepared should something else happen later.
The bottom line: be prepared
When it comes to all emergencies and disasters that you may find your business wrapped up in, consider being as prepared as possible using a variety of checklists to help. Boiling everything down to scannable lists and safety tips to help you keep your commercial space (and employees) safe, this can make all of the difference when dealing with any and every kind of disaster or emergency.
It’s better to prepare ahead of time than to look back and wish you had prepared better beforehand. And having a plan B (and even C and D) is going to help you do that on your schedule and with all details factored in. Business life is hard enough as it is, so make it easier by having a solid and launch-ready plan B in place.
Harbour Insurance Services may not be able to help you plan out your plan B, but we can certainly help with the aspect of risk with regard to your business insurance. Let's have a chat, virtual meeting or in person and get your business covered properly. Contact us at (281) 520-4090 today.