Disaster Recovery Plans
By Kristi Vaughan
All the preparation in the world still won't prevent natural disasters. If the unwanted happens and the hurricane hits your store or the wildfires sweep into your valley, will your business survive financially?
The Insurance Information Institute and the Institute for Business and Home Safety recommend that you develop a disaster recovery plan for your business. The following checklist is one place to start.
- Emergency response plan - Detail who should be notified of the disaster and what steps are needed to protect employees from physical harm and the business property from damage.
- Emergency supplies - What kind of emergency supplies should you have on hand? Do you need drinking water, batteries, food or back-up communications?
- Clearly assigned responsibilities - Make sure employees know who is responsible for each aspect of the plan. Practice emergency responses during regular drills.
- Accessible list of contacts - Develop a list of contacts, including emergency personnel and insurance carriers. Keep it in a safe place that will be accessible after an emergency.
- Communication plan - Know how you will communicate with employees, family, customers and, potentially, the media. Designate a spokesperson.
- Duplicate records - Make sure critical business records are duplicated and stored in a safe location away from the main place of business.
- Maintain insurance - Is your insurance adequate to cover potential losses? You should review your insurance coverage regularly to ensure they are keeping up with your growing business and new threats that may arise. In addition to property and casualty insurance, consider flood insurance and business interruption insurance.
- Consider operating your business from another location - If your business cannot operate from its normal location, can you operate from another location? Take steps in advance to identify that location and have equipment in place to reopen as soon as possible.