Web-based Tool Helps Businesses Recover From Natural Disasters

Businesses can plan for and recover from natural disasters with a free web-based tool now being provided to clients of Montgomery Insurance of Charlotte, N.C. Open for Business, developed by the Institute for Business and Home Safety, is a new online service of Montgomery Insurance’s loss prevention services that will be provided to 209 appointed agencies and more than 20,000 business policyholders.

According to IBHS, at least one-fourth of all businesses that close because of a disaster never reopen, and last year’s catastrophic events devastated millions of businesses throughout the south.

“We want to help our agents and commercial insurance customers be prepared to the greatest extent they can be,” Michael Plavnicky, Montgomery Insurance president and CEO explained. “This new tool gives them a roadmap of what they can do before, during, and after a disaster to help them survive and recover. Loss prevention, asset protection, and business function recovery are all critical elements to business survival in a disaster aftermath.”

Businesses and agents can log into the Open for Business program through www.montgomery-ins.com. Business owners can answer questions about human resources, physical resources, and business operations to build individualized property protection and recovery plans.

Property protection plans are tailored to the potential catastrophic risks that exist for a particular zip code, including hurricanes, high winds, floods, earthquakes, tornados, and wildfires.

Recovery plans are built based on each company’s critical business functions and the role that employees, suppliers, and vendors play in daily operations. The plans also outline how vital records, equipment, vehicles, computers, and voice/data communications can be integrated from a chosen recovery location to help a business stay open following a natural disaster.

“You don’t have to be a risk manager to create these plans,” Plavnicky said. “Open for Business provides helpful features and information links all along the way and calls attention to action items that business owners may never otherwise have considered.”

According to Harvey Ryland, IBHS president, “Communities survive disasters only if their small businesses do. The Open for Business program gives these companies easy-to-use resources to assess their risks and develop comprehensive recovery plans so they can reduce their potential for loss in a disaster and reopen quickly should they be forced to close.”

Montgomery Insurance, a member of the Liberty Mutual Group, employs more than 300 people and operates in Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia with additional offices in Georgia and Maryland.

Source: Montgomery Insurance

Topics Natural Disasters