Do You Have a Business Interruption Plan?

If your business burned to the ground, would you be prepared to face the aftermath? Apart from the obvious expenses of rebuilding the physical structure and replacing destroyed equipment, you must also suffer the consequences of an interruption of revenue generation. In fact, business interruption losses can be more than 30 percent higher than property losses, making business/supply interruption a top business peril.

Discovering that your workplace has been destroyed is devastating, but even during the difficult recovery process, you still must pay employee salaries, rent, loan payments, taxes, and more. If you are unable to conduct business and no money is coming in, how will you ever be able to catch up and reopen the doors?

While the chance of this occurring is slim, it’s still a possibility that must be prepared for. Every business should create, document, and train employees on a business interruption plan, which often includes:

• Notifying employees
• Next steps for everyone
• Notifying customers of changes, including a temporary location if applicable
• Backup suppliers if a primary supplier experiences such a loss
• Storing copies of records on a cloud drive or somewhere accessible at another location

Another important part of your plan is purchasing business interruption insurance, which helps cover lost income during times of crisis. This coverage provides the means to keep paying the bills that roll in during the recovery process, giving you a much better chance of landing on your feet after a disaster.

Call Crawford-Butz at 314-752-2500 for more information.