Protect Your Business From Hurricane Damage

NJ Business Insurance | Hurricane Damage Protection

NJ Business Insurance | Hurricane Damage Protection

It’s easy to relax and feel very little, if any threat from a hurricane when your business isn’t directly on the coast. But just because major hurricanes don’t hit your area of NJ often, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared when it does.  All it takes is one, and in Bergen County NJ it’s not if we will have to deal with a hurricane, but when. With that in mind there are steps to protect your business from hurricane damage and get the most out of your NJ business insurance.

The best way to recover from a disaster smoothly is to have a plan in place ahead of time. Performing a business impact analysis is the first step to a solid recovery plan. Considered the impact to every department and every process of your business that has the potential to be disrupted should your area be hit by a hurricane. Does your NJ business insurance cover all your vulnerabilities?

Once you have your business impact analysis set, then perform a pre-loss assessment. This will keep you from being caught off guard by the potentially high costs of being hit by a hurricane or any natural disaster. This will also help you to not rush to any poor decisions in the heat of the moment like getting price gouged by unscrupulous contractors. Calling a professional restoration company to perform the pre-loss assessment for you can get you solid estimates for different repair scenarios. This ultimately allows you the ability to know exactly how much, and what kind of NJ business insurance you really need.

One of the best pieces of advice we could give you on steps to protect your business from hurricane damage, is to partner with a contractor you trust ahead of any weather events. Establishing a trusting relationship with a contractor allows you to save time and money. They know if you are hit with a hurricane that they are already hired to do the restoration work. You already know what they will charge. With these details already in place you will be on the road to opening your doors back up in much less time than if you had to go through a hiring process. You are also guaranteed an experience restoration expert will be on the job.

One final piece of advice on steps you can take to protect your business from hurricane damage, is to create a response plan, and practice it with your employees. Set up a system of communication so you are easily able to reach employees, customers and emergency services. It is important to your business to be able to have the lines of communication open as soon as possible. If nothing else, you will want to check and make sure everyone is okay. Once that is established, you can then get down to planning out when employees will be able to get back to work. A phone, text or email chain work best in these situations. Also plan a meeting place in the event all lines are down. It is important that every employee understand the response plan and are able to follow all the steps.

There is nothing you can do to avoid your business being hit by a storm like a hurricane. But when you think ahead and follow steps to protect your business from hurricane damage, you can limit the loss and stress in the days and weeks to follow.