Most people are prepared for a disaster at home, they have an evacuation plan, a point of contact for the family, an emergency kit, and a home inventory for insurance purposes. Have you ever given any thought to creating a similar plan for your business?
Businesses aren’t immune to disaster, so it is critical that you have a plan – just in case the worst happens. You will need to take a few steps to formulate your plan depending on the disaster, and make sure that you share these plans with your employees so that everyone knows how to respond in case there is an emergency.
Evacuation Plan
If there is ever an emergency during business operations, your employees should know how to evacuate safely. Post evacuation maps through the building, and practice emergency drills throughout the year. If your business hosts customers, instruct employees on how to help them evacuate in a safe and calm manner.
Communication Plan
Disasters don’t always happen during regular business hours. If a disaster happens when no one is working, you will need to inform all employees about what has happened, and the steps that they need to take, including whether they will be expected to work from home or an interim location. Your communication plan may involve an email blast or a phone tree – or both!
Physical Property
If your business were affected by a fire, would you know exactly what was destroyed? Probably not. This is why it is critical to have an inventory of the physical property in your business. List everything that your business owns. This will include things like your furniture, electronics, décor, and even inventory. Then it will be up to you to keep this inventory up to date as you upgrade or purchase new items. Ask your Massachusetts business insurance agent what details they recommend recording about each item.
Keep a copy of your business’s full inventory list in an offsite location, which could be a safe deposit box, your personal property, or even in the cloud. This ensures that you will have access even if something happens to your business’s location. You may even want to keep an updated copy on file with your Vargas and Vargas Insurance agent for safe keeping!
Digital Data
Many businesses nowadays rely on digital data. If a disaster affected your computers, would you be able to recover? Make sure that all of your critical information is backed up to a secure location in the cloud so that losing your computers wouldn’t cripple your business. You can also ask your business insurance agent about digital liability insurance and equipment breakdown insurance for your digital business.
Off-Site Disaster
Your business would certainly be affected by a fire or flood, but think outside of the box: what if a disaster affected one of your suppliers, or an important client? Think about the possibility of losing each of these parties and create a back-up plan in the event that something happens. Being prepared ahead of time will greatly cut down on your response time if an issue arises.
Insurance Prep
Having the right Massachusetts business insurance is a crucial part of disaster recovery. If your business is affected by a fire, flood, theft, etc., your business insurance will help to put you back on track to getting back to normal – but only if you’re carrying the right types of coverage.
Talk to your insurance agent about whether your business is prepared to deal with the aftermath of potential disasters. A Vargas and Vargas Insurance rep can help you evaluate your commercial insurance coverage to ensure that you have all of the coverage that you need.
This means something else for every business, which is why we tailor business insurance policies to each of our clients. You may want to consider building coverage (including flood insurance), property and inventory coverage, tenant’s improvements coverage, coverage for extra expenses, and additional coverage to rebuild a damaged or destroyed building in compliance with building codes. As discussed above, digital liability insurance may also be something to consider. For added protection, our Massachusetts insurance experts may recommend an umbrella insurance policy for your business, especially if you are at an increased risk for liability issues.
Preventing a Disaster
Make sure that your business is prepared for the worst, but also take steps to minimize your risk of an emergency. For tips on how to make your business safer, stay tuned to our blogs for tips!
You never plan to be affected by an emergency – that’s what makes your disaster response plan so critical. Make sure that part of your plan is contacting your Vargas and Vargas Insurance agent. During business hours, call us at 617-298-0655. If you have an emergency outside of our normal hours, you can always call our 24/7 line at 617-322-5289. Program both of these numbers in your phone now for easy access if you ever need to reach us! We can help you get the best business insurance for your Massachusetts business.
