Plan Your Home Needs in Advance
In Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses (John Wiley & Sons Inc., second edition, 2008, first edition, 2002), I urged small businesses to prepare their homes and families for disasters and to encourage employees to prepare as well. This is critical to support the members of your small business family: give them the tools and information that they need to protect their families and households against the risk of disaster. It enables buy-in as employees can see the benefits of supporting the disaster plan for the small business: they can take this methodology home to benefit their families. It also proactively addresses recovery issues, as employees who are worried about the security of their homes and families in the immediate aftermath of a disaster are unlikely to be very productive in contributing to the essential recovery tasks of the business. Now add another benefit to family and home preparedness: long, long distractions brought about by post-disaster litigation.
QBE, an insurance company, is involved in litigation with Florida condominium residents concerning allegations over unpaid insurance claims arising from the 2005 hurricane season. Imagine what a stressful and unnecessary distraction this must be for the individuals concerned. This is yet another reason why you must prepare your home and family against the risk of disaster which includes carefully crafted insurance coverage and you must encourage your employees to do the same. And propose arbitration to resolve disputed issues with your insurance company. Both sides lose in lengthy litigation; only the lawyers win.