FLORIDA/TEXAS, May 2023—Whether your business is a small or big operation, there are always some risk factors that will affect its development and daily operations when a disaster strikes.
Most big companies have appointed a management team in charge of assessing risk areas, and responsible for creating emergency/recovery plans. For small businesses with limited resources, owners/operators will assume that responsibility.
The following are some easy steps to set up an effective disaster management plan for your business:
- Make sure to have your plan in writing on hand.
- Make a list of all phone numbers and addresses that are important to continue running your business.
- Have a pre-established external communications policy to contact your clients and prevent any possible migration.
- Determine what will be needed to keep your business running such as an alternate communications system, a generator, etc.
- Protect your human resources—Your employees are your most valuable assets. As a responsible employer, you must protect them against potential injury.
- Keep an eye on your physical resources, and installations or vulnerable areas and anticipate the kind of damages it may suffer.
- Estimate the effect of any given disaster to the community around your business, and whether your distribution could be affected, or the type of services you offer.
- Make sure to back-up all of your files—Be it digitally or hard copies of contracts, property documents, and any other important documents.
- Designate a “skeleton team” that can manage the most critical activities of your business, and minimal resources required to continue operations for any given time.
- Evaluate the need to establish an alternative location for your operations.
- Protect your computer systems.
Insurance is an important part of your emergency plan
Every business should be able to minimize the direct impact from a disaster on its operations. In order to obtain the best protection possible, the owner should obtain enough insurance coverage to pay for the costs of business interruption caused by a disaster. Also, the costs to rebuild or repair related damages.
The vast majority of business insurance policies do not cover damages caused by flood or earthquakes, so a separate policy must be added. For business owners it is important to know in detail, the extent of of their current insurance coverage, especially its limitations and deductible, to minimize the impact of any loss.
For businesses of less than one hundred employees, it is highly recommended to have a Business Owner Policy or BOP. This one provides a wider coverage while keeping its cost efficiency.
BOP’s are typically a package of various minimum coverages that every business needs, but it is designed to cost less than purchasing those coverages individually.
BOP’s don’t include:
Those particular coverages must be purchased in addition to your BOP.
Some basic coverages we encourage you to explore are:
- Building and Personal Property
- Personal Effects and Property of Others
- Business Interruption
At Garzor Insurance we care about your business. Our experienced professionals are dedicated to
providing commercial and personal insurance options in Florida as well as Texas, and now many other states across the U.S. If you also have questions about truck or other commercial vehicles insurance, or any other business insurance aspects, please do not hesitate to visit us online at Garzor Insurance, or you may want to call us directly at (321) 206-8035.