Business Insurance for Natural Disasters

Don't Wait for Disaster to Hit. Business Insurance is a Must for Every Business.

You think it will never happen until it happens to you. That's exactly what happened to small businesses in five states this week. More than 150 tornadoes devastated people's homes and personal lives as well as many small businesses.

As soon as disasters like this happen, you start to see statistics popping up on blogs and news sites. Here's one that may resonate with business owners. Without the proper business insurance, 25% of companies are unable to resume operations after a major disaster, according to the Insurance Institute for Business Home & Safety.

Think about it. If the whole country was hit with a huge natural disaster, that would mean one quarter of all the companies in the U.S. would be wiped out. That's a lot.

As an entrepreneur, getting business insurance for natural disasters may not be at the top of your to-do list. But it should be. If a natural disaster hits and you have no business insurance in place, your business and overall finances could be severely affected by the lack of planning.

You don't want to become a statistic. You've put too much hard work and sweat into your business. So here are 3 things you should do to plan for a natural disaster.

1. Create a natural disaster recover plan

• Buy an emergency kit from red cross

• Be paperless / web based. Then if any of your documents are destroyed in a natural disaster, you will have a backup copy. If you are not paperless, store your important documents at a remote location.

• Have backup plan to conduct business somewhere else.

2. Get Business Interruption Insurance

• This business insurance reimburses your company for income it would have earned if it weren't for the natural disaster.

• Review how long the business insurance coverage is and how long the payout is.

3. Review your current business insurance policy. Call your insurance broker/insurer. See what is covered and what isn't. You may have to buy a stand alone policy that covers natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and tornadoes.

Business insurance is all about protecting your assets in the event of a catastrophe. How do you know if you need it? Do this what-if scenario. If a catastrophe could wipe you out financially, then you probably need business insurance. That way, you will be protected when the unexpected happens. Now that's some peace of mind, right?