PREPARING FOR DISASTER
in disaster preparedness will rely on the close collaboration of
various employees or teams within your organization, so it’s best
to get their buy-in on the importance of this type of business
planning beforehand.
3.
Any qualified insurance agent will tell you that the first step in
recovery is having the proper insurance in place to handle the
majority of disasters. If you haven’t already, start a conversation
with your agent about your company’s susceptibility to both
natural and man-made disasters and whether you have the right
policies in place to help protect you. Perhaps you have general
liability coverage, for example, but
not insurance to cover floods or
earthquakes, even though you may
conduct business in areas prone to
these problems. Be aware, of course,
that even if your business is not
situated in a disaster-prone area,
your key suppliers or manufacturing
facilities may be. Other types of
policies to consider may provide
special coverage for your building,
property improvements, business
interruptions, relocation expenses,
and other aspects of your operation.
USING THE CLOUD
The cloud provides the advantage of being able to store
large amounts of information on the internet rather than
on your own servers. Most companies are already storing
their data — or at the very least, data backups — on the
cloud so they have the confidence of knowing that their
data is protected using sophisticated technologies, even in
the event of a major disaster. Cloud services are generally
much less expensive than purchasing your own storage
hardware, so using the cloud is usually a win-win situation.
4.
“THE BOTTOM LINE IS
THAT THE MORE PREPARED
A BUSINESS IS, THE MORE
LIKELY IT CAN BOUNCE
BACK FOLLOWING A
CATASTROPHE RATHER
THAN GO OUT OF
BUSINESS ENTIRELY. ”
A large part of your disaster
preparedness plan will center
around protecting your company’s
data, including customer
information, employee files,
and financial records. Many
small businesses have not
taken adequate steps to protect
their sensitive information,
and at the very least, need to cover the basics. These
data protection steps include the following:
1.
2.
CYBER INSURANCE
Cyber insurance is absolutely mandatory in today’s business
climate, with companies collecting highly confidential
data from customers, employees, and vendors. The market
for cyber insurance is growing rapidly and the long list of
companies revealing data breaches explains why. You may
think that hackers target mostly large corporations, but
that is no longer the case. Every company needs protection.
Policies vary, but coverage can include items like business
interruption, crisis management, credit monitoring
services, forensic analysis, and third-party actions.
DIGITIZING RECORDS
If you operate a small office, you may operate just fine
on a paper file basis — but not in the event of a disaster.
While the vast majority of businesses have computer
systems in place to manage their information, some
may have certain data repositories digitized but not
others. Plan to convert essentially all your information
to electronic form, including financial and accounting
data, documentation, customer orders, inventory levels,
and employee and vendor contact information.
5.
INCORPORATING REMOTE
OPTIONS
Many companies are tied
to a physical office. This is
understandable if you run a
service business, like a pet
grooming company or restaurant.
However, even in those situations,
it is usually worthwhile to give
key employees the ability to work
from home or otherwise off-site.
If you haven’t done this already,
look into technology solutions
that will allow these employees to
access the data they need without
compromising security. This
may allow your basic operations
to continue even if employees
cannot make it to the office.
TRAINING AND TESTING
Train designated employees, for example, on how to
respond to crises such as a power outage, a burst pipe, or
a fire, and then test them periodically to be sure they are
up-to-speed. Make certain that key employees can connect
to company systems remotely and that they are familiar
with conferencing technology, if necessary. Every business
will vary, so make an assessment of your needs to help stay
operational and follow through with implementation.
Your insurance professional is a valuable resource and should be
an important part of the conversation when it comes to disaster
preparedness. Contact me at 715-858-9865 ext.5014 or kim.
[email protected] to learn more about
how to develop a plan to protect you in the event of a crisis. +
BY: KIM SCHERMETZLER
SAFETY AND RISK MANAGER
Kim Schermetzler is a Risk
Manager at Spectrum
Insurance Group. Kim
specializes in safety and
OSHA related services.
29