Natural disasters can overwhelm small business owners. In addition to costly property losses, there's also the danger of permanent business closure. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports that about 40 to 60 percent of small businesses never reopen after a disaster strikes. To increase the chances of your small business surviving unexpected events, ServiceMaster by Reed has compiled some tips to help business owners prepare and make recovery fast after severe disaster damage.
Check Your Insurance Coverage
- Learn about the natural disasters that often visit your area. If your place of business often experiences earthquakes, floods, fires, storms or other types of disasters, it would be for your best benefit to secure coverage for these events.
- Review your existing policy. Having the right policy will help you rebuild your business as quickly as possible after a disaster. Check if your dollar amounts are high enough to get your business running again after catastrophic losses.
- Update your policy. If you need additional coverage, have it added long before a disaster happens.
Create a Disaster Preparedness Plan
- Gather all employees' emergency contact information.
- Determine the best evacuation routes and spaces.
- Create a communication plan for staff members to keep in touch with one another.
- Create communication guidelines for customers. Include ways they can reach you.
- Determine how to access important business documents and information.
- Specify if there will be an off-site location where employees can work until the business is back to normal.
- Determine how to protect your company's data, including the backing up of files to a reliable storage device and a cloud-based platform.
- Create an emergency preparedness kit.
- Disseminate copies of the plan and practice it with employees and emergency response teams regularly.
Schedule an Appointment for Reconstruction Services in Dania Beach, Florida
- We offer FREE estimates for all insurance claims
- We bill insurance directly, so you don't have to
- 100% guaranteed work with years of industry experience
Don't know what to do next? We do. Contact us today!