Do you remember where you were during the Northeast Earthquake on April 5, 2024? Did you chuckle at the conspiracies about the solar eclipse causing “the grid” to go down?
It’s fun to make light of these ideas when the real impact is minimal. Most people I talked to after the earthquake barely felt a thing. But the reality is that since a small earthquake did happen, a big earthquake could also happen. A major cyberattack on the Mid-Atlantic region could also happen. So could a damaging tornado or flooding hurricane. The world is unpredictable, which is the very reason insurance exists in the first place.
Business insurance is one element of an overall business disaster recovery plan that helps you prepare for this unpredictable world and protect your business within it.
What is A Business Disaster Recovery Plan?
The simplest definition of insurance is that it’s something that protects against a potential event or outcome. The insurance industry is made up of businesses that provide specific protections for different types of events and outcomes. There is also the idea of self-provided insurance, which simply means you take your own measures to prepare for things that might happen.
In that sense, a recovery plan is a type of insurance that a business creates in order to continue operations after some kind of major interruption. The plan is a series of steps, protocols, and actions you and your employees can deploy when a disastrous event takes place. The plan should account for different types of disaster:
- Physical disaster that makes your building unsafe for operations
- Cyber disaster that suspends communications and online work
- Electrical disaster that cuts power to your business operations
- Supply chain disaster that halts your production
- Health disaster that severely impacts your workforce
Each type of problem should trigger a specific protocol to follow. The plan should be accessible to everyone involved irrespective of the event, which means it needs to exist in print and electronic formats. Train employees on how to handle their responsibilities in each variation of the recovery plan, and run drills to get them comfortable with their responsibilities. At the very least, employees need to know how they will be notified and what to do if they cannot communicate with anyone at work.
How Do I Create a Business Recovery Plan?
We’re fortunate here in Southeastern PA to have experienced very few major disasters or catastrophic events. But that’s not true for the whole country. Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, California Wildfires, and the Mississippi Valley Cyclones are just a few examples of devastating events that impacted businesses.
As a result, there are many services today that help small businesses create emergency response and business recovery plans. They assist with documentation, identifying off-site storage and operation alternatives, and employee training.
If you are in the early stages of trying to figure out how your business would survive an event, give us a call to evaluate your circumstances. We have trusted referrals to help you get started on creating a solid plan.
Commercial insurance is just one of many important elements to your recovery plan. Your business should already have property and liability insurance. Next, consider those “what-if” scenarios and determine if you truly have the right coverage. Based on individualized circumstances, some insurance recommendations might include:
- Business Interruption Insurance – recover lost income while your business operations are shut down
- Key Employee Life Insurance – keep the business running and cover important costs if an owner or other key employee should die
- Cyber Liability Insurance – cover the legal costs of dealing with a cyberattack or data breach
- Commercial Flood Insurance – cover the costs of cleanup and property replacements after a flood
- Commercial Umbrella Insurance – extend the financial and coverage limits of your property and liability policies
Not every coverage is right for every business. It’s important to review your individual risks with your local agent so they can show you the options that fit your budget and comfort level. As your business grows, review these policies to make relevant updates.
Surviving the Unpredictable Takes Proactive Planning
Your business disaster recovery plan is one of the best resources you can invest in for your business. While it can’t cover every possible business interruption, it does give you and your employees a framework to take the right steps forward.
If you aren’t sure where to start with planning for an emergency, give us a call. Smyrl Insurance has been helping small businesses with insurance, and many other important aspects of ownership, for over 65 years. We educate, nurture, and empower owners through insurance to make sure they can protect their company, their employees, and their reputation through any difficulty. We serve clients for commercial property, liability, workers compensation, auto, and other insurance needs in Hatfield, Lansdale, Souderton, Harleysville, and throughout the region in Montgomery County and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
