Open for Business Disaster Planning

A Disaster Protection and Recovery Planning Toolkit for the Small to Mid-Sized Business Owner

Though many disasters are more or less predictable, some, like earthquakes, are totally unpredictable. And as we learned September 11, 2001, there is no telling when human-caused disasters might happen.

IBHS, a nonprofit initiative of the insurance industry, developed Open for Business specifically for small to mid-sized businesses. The threat of a disaster-related closure is especially great for these businesses because they usually lack the financial resources for recovery, ability to spread their risk across several geographic locations, ready access to alternative suppliers, and other advantages that most large organizations possess. Large firms also have an advantage by possessing the resources and expertise necessary to engage in professional disaster and recovery planning.

Thanks to Open for Business, your firm can follow many of the disaster planning and recovery processes used by much larger companies. But as you’ll see, you won’t need a large company budget to accomplish the planning and protection basics. You’ll also find that ease of use is a key feature of Open for Business. There is no need for you or your staff to have a background in construction, property protection or business continuity planning.

Each year disasters such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires force thousands of businesses to close. But even more common events, such as building fires, cause the same result. Our research shows at least 25 percent of those businesses that close following events such as these do not reopen. Many that do struggle to stay in business. We hope you find Open for Business to be a valuable tool to protect your company, your employees, and your customers from disaster loss.

Click here to download the Open for Business Disaster Planning Kit