Recovering from Disaster: How Commercial Insurance Brokers Have Helped Businesses After Natural Hazard Events
Posted on December 17, 2024 | by | Posted in Insurance
When you run a business, you don’t want to think about the worst happening. Business owners put their heart and soul into their company, and with any luck, they won’t have to face the consequences of a natural disaster. However, should the worst happen, having commercial insurance can be a lifeline for your business. Depending on your policy, it can cover things from your building to the contents inside, including inventory and equipment. Here’s how commercial insurance brokers can help your business should a natural disaster strike.
Understanding Commercial Insurance
Commercial insurance is there to protect your business assets and to help your business recover in case of a disaster. This can be something natural, like a hurricane or earthquake, or even something man-made, like vandalism to your property or a cyberattack.
The right commercial insurance policy will help bridge the gap when your business is not operational. It may cover things like staff salaries during downtime or your expenses as you relaunch your business. It doesn’t just cover physical things like buildings and contents. It’s also there to ensure you have financial help at a difficult time and that you’re not at a disadvantage because of disaster.
Types of Disaster-Related Insurance Policies
There are four types of commercial insurance that could be helpful in the event of a natural disaster. They are:
- Property insurance – this covers damage to the physical structure of a commercial building, covering things like floods, fires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. Some policies also cover contents such as your inventory and equipment, in case this is also damaged or destroyed.
- Liability insurance – natural disasters can lead to your business being held liable for damages or an injury to a third party. For example, if people are on your premises during a natural disaster and get injured. Liability insurance can help cover legal costs and pay compensation.
- Cyber insurance – in the wake of a natural disaster, you may find yourself more vulnerable than usual to cyberattacks. This could include data breaches or ransomware attacks. Cyber insurance can provide coverage for losses in the event of this happening.
- Business interruption insurance – this type of coverage can help you cover lost income and ongoing expenses during downtime caused by a natural disaster. For example, it can help you pay your bills and cover staff salaries until your business is back up and running.
Role of Commercial Insurance Brokers
Commercial insurance brokers are there to ensure you get the right policy for your business, with the right level of coverage in case the worst happens. They specialise in risk assessments and identifying which types of cover your business might need. For most businesses, simply taking out a one-size-fits-all policy isn’t sufficient to cover everything in the event of a natural or manmade disaster. Brokers can help you identify the different policies that will match your business needs, ensuring you have comprehensive coverage. This will also be reviewed regularly over time so that as your business grows, you can feel confident that you are properly covered in the event of a disaster. Most importantly, a good broker will ensure you’re not paying over the odds for commercial insurance and you get the right coverage level for the right price.
Should the worst happen, it’s great to have a reliable commercial insurance broker to help with your claim. The claims process can be complex and involve a lot of paperwork, which is not something you’ll want to do when you’re busy dealing with business recovery. Your broker can take care of the insurance claim, giving you more time to focus on your business.
Steps to Ensure Adequate Coverage
There are several steps you should take to ensure your business has adequate cover in case of a disaster and also to prepare yourself for unexpected events.
Firstly, it’s worth doing a risk assessment to identify potential hazards and any vulnerabilities that are common within your industry and also within your business in particular. Every business will have certain risks attached. For example, if it’s a customer-facing business, third-party liability from injuries might be one of the biggest issues you need coverage for.
Regular reviews are important. Even if your business hasn’t changed much in size or scope, there could be new threats or vulnerabilities you need to cover. For example, with changing weather conditions globally, there may be increased risks of floods in your area. A broker will be able to help you with this.
It’s also important to arrange additional coverage as soon as possible if you need it. If your commercial insurance broker recommends a certain type of insurance, for example, cyber insurance for a new website you’ve launched, don’t delay. The sooner you set it up, the less likely you’ll face a disaster without coverage.
As part of the review of your insurance, it’s worth thinking about business continuity plans. If a disaster struck tomorrow, how would you get your business back up and running as quickly as possible? Some important things to include in business continuity plans are:
- Computer backups – if your current IT system were destroyed, is your data securely backed up, and is it going to be easy to recover?
- Alternative locations – could your business operate from a different location in the short term? If so, what would you need to run basic operations while your usual location is inaccessible?
- Emergency communications – how would you inform staff of a negative event and communicate your plans?
Having these plans in place is a good way of helping you identify where you might have insurance gaps and also ensures you’re ready if any disasters strike.
Conclusion
Commercial insurance is essential for businesses of all sizes and in all industries to ensure they’re protected from the worst. It ensures that they have the coverage needed to rebuild their business and have help while this is in progress. To ensure you have the right level of coverage and have all risks and vulnerabilities covered, it’s worth working with a commercial insurance broker who can ensure you have the right policies in place. Matrix Insurance specialises in working with all sorts of businesses to help them find the right coverage. Simply contact us today, and we can find commercial policies for your business.
