NORTHBROOK, Ill., Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- No
entrepreneur ever expects it to happen. You close up shop after a
decent day's work. Then in the wee hours of the morning you get the
call. The severe storm that passed through the community overnight
slammed into the area housing your small business. What took you
years to build is in ruins. How do you begin to recover?
Last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency made 78 major
disaster and wildfire declarations.[1] The Small Business Majority
reported one-third or 34 percent of American small businesses have
personally seen extreme weather impact their business.[2]
Allstate's own survey on "What Keeps Small Business Owners Up at
Night," uncovered at least 25 percent of businesses that close due
to a disaster, never reopen.
"Our survey found the fifth biggest risk small business owners
fear is the inability to do business because of physical damage to
a building or structure," said Mark
McGillivray, senior vice president, Allstate Claims. "No one
expects the unthinkable to happen. But the severe weather hitting
most parts of our county is real. It can happen anytime and
anywhere. Business owners must be prepared for a disaster so they
can rebuild, repair and reopen their doors as quickly as
possible."
The American Sustainable Business Council says 57 percent of
small businesses have no disaster recovery plan.[3] As September is
Disaster Preparedness Month, now is as good a time as any to start
planning. Allstate Business Insurance offers the following tips to
help small business owners prepare:
- Create an Emergency Response Plan to dictate the actions
you and your employees should take when a disaster occurs.
- Make Sure You're Covered. Once you have an idea of your
potential risks, you can determine the best business insurance
coverage to meet your needs.
- Have a Disaster Recovery Plan that details how you can
restore operations and get your business up and running as quickly
as possible.
- Establish a Crisis Communications Plan to inform
employees and update customers of your company's status after the
disaster.
There is another way small business owners can prepare. This
year, Allstate Business Insurance unveiled cool, new technology –
an app called Commercial Locker. The free app is available from the
Allstate Commercial Locker website and helps small business owners
create an online inventory of their business possessions. The
cubicle-by-cubicle, digital inventory list allows a business owner
to snap pictures, take video and record the images along with the
brands and serial numbers of office equipment, supplies, furniture,
even artwork on the walls. You don't have to be an Allstate
customer to download the app. Check out how it works in this
video!
"Innovation is a critical element of our effort to provide a
complete customer experience that emphasizes service,
connectedness, safety, preparedness and security," said
McGillivray. "Through cutting-edge offerings such as Drivewise,
QuickFoto Claim and now Commercial Locker, Allstate is connecting
consumers to better their lives. We're making it easy for people to
do business with us anytime, anyway and anywhere."
Additional disaster preparation information can be found on the
Allstate Business Insurance website, Are You Prepared?
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest
publicly held personal lines insurer, protecting approximately 16
million households from life's uncertainties through auto, home,
life and other insurance offered through its Allstate, Esurance,
Encompass and Answer Financial brand names. Allstate is widely
known through the slogan "You're In Good Hands With
Allstate®." The Allstate brand's network of small
businesses offers auto, home, life and retirement products and
services to customers in the United
States and Canada. In the
20 years since Allstate became a fully independent public company,
The Allstate Foundation, Allstate, its employees and agency owners
have donated more than $405 million
to support local communities.
[1] FEMA:
http://www.fema.gov/disasters/grid/year/2014?field_disaster_type_term_tid_1=All
[2] Small Business Majority:
http://www.smallbusinessmajority.org/small-business-research/downloads/062513-Extreme-Weather-Poll-Report.pdf
[3] American Sustainable Business Council:
http://asbcouncil.org/news/press-release/report-small-business-impacts-climate-change-extreme-weather
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SOURCE Allstate Insurance Company