How Your Business Can Prepare for the Next Climate Catastrophe
Many companies are worried about the possibility of another La Nia, particularly those in eastern Australia where many are still working to recover from this year’s earlier disasters.
Communities are horribly affected by disasters like fires and floods: the total insurance damage from the cyclones and flooding in 2021 and 2022 was $5.92 billion, and more than 296,000 claims were filed. However, preparing early can help you shield your company from the worst of it.
Take action to protect your business
All doorways, windows, and roof coverings must be fastened because water entering the structure is the most frequent problem during times of intense rains. Business owners may be able to take a number of extra measures, according to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), to lessen the possible effect of flooding on their property, finances, and well-being.
ICA’s suggestions include:
- Review of all landlord, building, and belongings insurance plans, as well as verification of flood and hurricane coverage. Check your coverage as well for temporary housing for both humans and pets.
- Reviewing the building and belongings insurance coverage to make sure the coverage fits the cost of replacing, repairing, and rebuilding your property and its possessions at the time. Checking the current worth with a building and belongings insurance calculator can help you prevent the jolt of discovering that you are underinsured after an incident.
- Creating a list of your company’s possessions room by room. This list can help you assess your insurance coverage and could help expedite the claim process.
- Ensure you have protection before the prediction of La Nia rain begins to descend; some insurers may temporarily halt the sale of new policies if a storm or deluge is expected.
- The danger of overflow and harm to walls and ceilings can be decreased by taking practical measures like clearing the drains and downpipes to allow water to exit. Make sure your windows, doorways, and roof can endure significant rains.
Seek Professional Advice
Additionally, it’s crucial to seek expert guidance, such as that of an insurance advisor, in order to better comprehend how to minimise the risks brought on by these severe weather events. This guidance may be able to save your company from failure and keep you from going bankrupt.
It’s never too late to create a plan that can help you prepare for these events, and if you already have one, this is the perfect time to evaluate it and revise it to reflect your current requirements, particularly given the recent spate of severe weather events.
The line brokers hear all the time is “but I’ve never made a claim so don’t really know why I need it“. However, when the day comes that you need to make a claim – you are going to want a professional in your corner. An Ausure insurance broker understands risks, insurance lingo, how to understand insurance contracts, and will fight for you in the unfortunate event that you need to make a claim. (Adam Sloan, Ausure head of sales and blended broking)
What Government Schemes are Available?
While any risk-management strategy must include insurance for your company, if you discover that you are underinsured, you may require additional financial assistance; bursaries and programmes may be available to help.
In far northern NSW, the municipality of Lismore was among those most severely impacted by the recent floodwaters.
The Northern Rivers Commercial Property – Return to Business Support Program, co-funded by the federal and NSW state governments, may be available to business owners in this region and the surrounding areas. This programme can provide up to $50,000 to those affected by the 2022 floods to help with the costs of reopening their businesses.
A low interest loan of up to $130,000 may be available to small companies that have been directly impacted by a natural catastrophe that has been designated. These loans are intended to assist businesses in getting back to regular operations as well as to replace and fix harm that is not insured.
Even though you can’t foresee how a natural calamity will impact your company, being adequately prepared can help you carry on with your operations or get back up and running as soon as possible.
