At the beginning of September, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced its launch of the 10th annual National Preparedness Month (NPM). According to the organization's website, NPM "is a nationwide effort encouraging individuals, families, businesses and communities to work together and take action to prepare for emergencies."
The organization wants to underscore the importance of communities creating strong emergency preparedness plans for numerous situations. While the main idea is to keep residents ready for events like natural disasters, business owners can also take the opportunity to evaluate their own preparedness plans.
"Each September, we commit to focusing our collective efforts on raising our level of readiness to be prepared for any potential hazard with National Preparedness Month," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said in a company press release. "It is a time for us to promote individual and community preparedness."
What does this mean for my business?
Emergency toolkits often include items that will keep individuals safe and help them bandage themselves up should any adverse events take place. In much the same sense, business owners need their own toolkits, and the right general business insurance should be in it.
For example, should a natural disaster strike, and your insurance policy is either lackluster or outdated, the recovery costs could be expensive. Having to pay for those repairs out of pocket might be detrimental to your personal funds, and could prevent you from reopening the company. Or, when you do reopen, how much revenue did you miss from having your doors shut? The money not earned can also be harmful.
In terms of business preparedness, working with commercial insurance specialists is an important step that owners must take to stabilize their firm for short- and long-term success.