It doesn’t take a Boy Scout to know that when you have a business that you have invested your heart and soul into it should be taken care of. And taking good care of something as important to your future as your business should cause you to lay plans for any reasonable contingency in the event of a disaster such as a fire or flood.

Insurance–The First Step in Planning

It’s an unfortunate fact of life that opportunities that seriously affect our future are often not taken advantage of. A good example of this are the many people in society who have no insurance. What happens when disaster strikes? Naturally, they regret not having adequate insurance–a lack of planning.

Fortunately, planning can be done for good reasons. For example, having an insurance policy that adequately covers your property and belongings is an excellent first step when it comes to being ready in the event of an unforeseen event such as a fire or flood. The truth is, having insurance can be a critical part of any disaster planning since the first thing most often thought of after a disaster is, will my insurance cover this loss?

There are many other matters that should be planned for, of course, but too often the old phrase, “It can’t happen to me,” comes back to haunt us. The truth is, regardless of what the disaster is, it can–and often does–happen to virtually anyone. And taking into consideration where you live or have a business is a first step in determining what you might need in this eventuality.

First Things First

Even though certain disasters can be counted on to happen more often in certain places, such as hurricanes in the Gulf and Florida coasts, there can be other disasters that can occur practically anywhere. Even if a home or business is located in a desert, these areas are often the scene of terrific flash flooding due to runoff and levee breaks and other events which should be planned for. Beyond things like insurance in this case, sandbags should be located in the event they are needed to shore up rising waters.

Fires are another disaster that could take place virtually anywhere, and to anyone. Think you are safe? Can’t find any fire hazards in your shop? What about the guy next door? In the mid-1960s, one negligent storekeeper accidentally started a fire that eventually burned nearly a full city block. Almost everything was destroyed. And this is just one example.

Next Steps

It doesn’t take much to think through the planning you would need to do in order to be ready for practically any disaster that might come your way. If you do have trouble with this, you could contact your local fire department or the disaster preparedness office of your local government. Why reinvent the wheel since they have already done it. These officials are happy to share what they know with citizens since it often means less work for them when the problems come along.

All of these ideas should make preparing a good written comprehensive plan much easier to come up with. Even without these, coming up with a workable plan isn’t hard. It just takes time and a little educated guesswork. the business you save probably will be your own.