When a small business experiences catastrophic damage or loss due to a natural disaster such as fire, flooding, extreme weather or other causes, the first question is often, “When will we be able to get our business back up and running again?” Unfortunately, statistics show that 40 to 60 percent of small businesses never reopen after being affected by a natural disaster.1
Help boost the odds that your business will be able to reopen and thrive after the unexpected should occur, by taking precautions to ensure your company can recover from major damage or loss. This includes having proper insurance coverage and a pre-loss disaster restoration and business continuity plan in place before a disaster happens.
REVIEW YOUR INSURANCE COVERAGE
Ensuring you have adequate small business insurance in case of a natural disaster is crucial. Review your insurance policy to know what your deductibles are and what specific types of disasters you're covered for. Double checking your insurance plan should be the first step you take in preparing for the worst.
- Learn which natural disasters are most likely to impact your area. If your basic plan doesn't include coverage for floods, fires, tropical storms, or other types of disasters common in your area, you will need to purchase additional insurance.
- Review the dollar amounts to ensure they are up to date and will be enough to get your business up and running again should you lose everything and need to rebuild.
- Update your plan immediately if you require higher coverage or additional plans. It's much better to be prepared than to be at a loss after the disaster.
HAVE A PRE-LOSS RESTORATION AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN
Loss or damage to your small business due to a natural disaster can occur without warning and disrupt your operations or shut down your business completely. Therefore, it’s important to be prepared with both a pre-loss business disaster restoration plan. Having these plans in place prior to a disaster will limit your losses and the severity of disruption to your operations.
Planning ahead will help your company get up and running again as soon as possible and give your staff peace of mind, knowing in advance what protocols are already in place if a disaster happens.
ServiceMaster Restore provides pre-loss planning services to help you be prepared for the unexpected and able to resume operations faster following loss or damage to your business due to natural disaster. With 70 years of experience in commercial restoration we are specialists in pre-loss business disaster and business continuity planning.
Our work includes all aspects of disaster restoration services including:
- Water damage restoration and mitigation
- Flood damage restoration
- Fire damage restoration (including smoke damage)
- Building drying and dehumidification
- Building sanitization
- Document drying and recovery
- Inventory and disposal
- Malicious damage restoration
- Restoration project management and consultation services.
Should a natural disaster affect your business, our team of experts are here to help you— from pre-loss planning through to crisis resolution. Prepare today to protect your tomorrow.