(In an attempt to maintain our goal of providing a helpful resource for industry professionals (not just a marketing tool) we will occasionally have guest authors from individuals in parallel industries that can provide information that we feel may be useful to our readers.)

How many times have you heard the story that the fire was around the corner, or the flood was the next town over?

Does your current disaster or contingency plan include “its not going to happen to me”? We often think that it’s NOT going to happen to us; however, in today’s world we all should be prepared in our personal and business life for any type of disaster.

The plan to recover from a disaster doesn’t have to be as big as the new health care reform bill but should address the coordination of corporate and municipal emergency resources.  For example…whom do you call when???  Some insurance carriers will require that a “Disaster Planning and Contingency Plan” be in place.  If you’re insurance carrier offers a plan tool at no cost…..take advantage of it.  Do you know that insurance carriers may offer discounts on your annual premium if you have a disaster and contingency plan in place?

Whenever you have any type of peril that causes your business or your personal life to come to a screeching halt; ice, snow, wind, rain, fire and flood to name a few, its imperative that everyone in your organization or household know how the plan works inside and out!

For example, TLC Restoration Inc. had the privilege to work with a client during a recent loss. Luckily this business owner prepared one aspect of his disaster and contingency plan without even realizing it. Over the years, his family business with 30+ employees grew by leaps and bounds. He, his wife, and two sons subsequently purchased buildings on the block of the current business, as they became available, to keep up with the demand for his superior work.

In July of 2010, he experienced a fire in the main building where the office and framework were being performed.  Business came to a STOP, turning new customers away. He knew that he had space available in his other buildings but was concerned that his insurance carrier was not going to pay to restart his business at the other sites.

As a team, in a conference room, the Insurance Agent, Business Owners, TLC Project Manager, and myself accomplished the first phase of the contingency plan; determining the critical needs to get their business back in operation. This included immediately confirming coverage of the business owner’s insurance policy and communicating to the carrier the intent of the next phases of the business contingency plan. Next we prioritized the remaining phases: recreating office space and a greeting area for customers (including electrical, HVAC and plumbing upgrades), setting up designated areas for the necessary equipment at the new sites, obtaining approval for a temporary certificate of occupancy from the town, cleaning salvageable tools and equipment and relocating them to the new site.

The intent was to have the business back up and running in seven days, due to this aggressive schedule everyone’s roles were clearly spelled out. The business was fully operational and at full capacity at the new sites in just three days

Unfortunately, not every business owner has a plan in place, two out of three businesses never return to business after an event like this. Don’t let that happen to you. TLC Restoration Inc. works with all types of businesses, property owners and managers to perform a risk assessment and create a disaster contingency plan. We are on call 24/7 to handle the disasters that get in their way. Remember having a plan in place is a major component to continued success.

About the author of this article. 
Denise Dotoli
Marketing/Risk Management
TLC Restoration, Inc & Aquadry North
www.tlcrestoration.com
denised@tlcrestoration.com
973-216-2691

Denise holds a License in Property Casualty Life and Health, in the state of NJ.  Denise has worked in the Corporate and Not for Profit arenas in Risk Management, for over 20 years. She combines her experience in insurance with her skills in disaster response to provide a full service to her clients and when necessary working with insured’s and the carriers to help enhance the speed and process of a claim.

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