Many Small Businesses Don’t Have Enough Disaster Insurance

Disaster insurance is not often at the forefront of a business owner’s mind until it is too late. In many cases the business owner believes that they have enough insurance until a disaster hits, leaving them to pay out of pocket what their insurance doesn’t cover. This is a lesson that has been learned by many business owners hit by natural disasters including this summer’s flooding in Louisiana, which caused an estimated $2 billion in damage to companies, and Hurricane Matthew, which caused an estimated $10 billion in damages to companies in the Southeast.
As referenced in a great article in today’s Republican-American, the government estimates that 40 percent of companies are incapable of being able to operate after a disaster and are forced to shut down. Many of these companies are small businesses who either don’t have any insurance at all or who opt to buy a standard business policy that covers fire, rain, wind and vandalism. Even if these policies include business interruption insurance, which covers lost income from when a company can’t operate, they don’t cover damage from events such as floods or earthquakes.
Even if your business is not located in a high risk area it is still essential to have disaster coverage. No one ever wants to think that a disaster will cause damage to their business, but the fact is that a disaster can happen anywhere.
As a business owner it is a good practice to periodically review your policy’s coverage. If you are unsure about the extent of your current policy’s coverage or would like to discuss your options, give Ion Insurance a call today at 203.439.2815.