With the day-to-day responsibilities of running a company, it is easy for a business owner like you to put off properly planning for a natural disaster or other emergencies. However, failing to thoroughly prepare for such a disaster puts your business, employees and other stakeholders at significant risk.
As you consider how best to protect your organization from the unexpected, avoid these emergency planning mistakes that many business owners make.
Not having a plan at all
Though disasters are typically uncommon events, they have the potential to leave your business unable to recover from their effects. Despite this, many entrepreneurs fail to understand the potential risk, or they may not know where to start with the planning process.
Fortunately, there are many resources available to help you set up your plan. For example, the U.S. government’s Ready campaign provides toolkits to guide you through preparing for different kinds of natural disasters.
Not understanding your insurance policy
While most companies carry some type of insurance, many owners do not understand what is in their policy. If you are one of these people, you may assume that your policy covers disasters like flooding, fire and other emergencies. However, standard coverage often will not compensate you for damage related to these events.
You should speak with your insurance agent to ensure you fully understand what is in your policy. Your agent should be able to help you determine what additional coverage you need.
While you cannot prevent a disaster from occurring, you can mitigate the impacts on your business. Proper planning will help to protect your livelihood.
