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How to Shield Your Business from Financial Disaster
By Mark Balcos, of Balcos Insurance, inc. Published: 11/03/2008
Effective, Comprehensive Protection for Business Owners:
What You Can – and MUST – do to Shield Your Company from Financial Disaster.
If you are like most people in business, your company is, next to your family, your pride and joy. It is also the major source of financial security for you and your family — your greatest asset.
In many ways, your business is your life.
It’s your kids’ birthdays, their braces, and your family vacation. It’s your house, your yard, your future. Someday, it’s your retirement.
Potential Disasters Are Always Present
Your business is also, unfortunately, your greatest liability. Your business faces no shortage of potential disasters:
- Fire
- Flooding
- Theft
- Equipment breakdown
- Loss of key financial records
- Lawsuits from disgruntled customers (and possibly former employees)
- …and probably disasters you haven’t even considered
There isn’t enough time in the day to worry about all the things that could go wrong, which is hardly a recipe for peace of mind. But you can have peace of mind. You’re taking the first, big step toward it right now.
How?
I know things that are little-known outside of the insurance industry, but it’s information that no responsible business owner should be without.
Peace of mind is important. Your business should have every opportunity to get all the protection it needs.
What if Disaster Strikes — Are You Covered?
Your business faces risks. So how can an insurance program can be designed to cover most, or even all, of these risks?
First, start by imagining a disaster…
One day, you get to work – the first one there, as usual. You find the door already unlocked, which sends up a big red flag. You know you locked the door the previous night (you were last to leave as well). You open the door and find desk drawers open, file cabinets overturned… and the computers on each desktop — where are the computers?
You go into your office and find the drawers to your desk open, including the locked one that had keys for all your business’s most sensitive documents: checks, etc. Those keys are gone. So are the documents.
By the time your employees arrive for work, you have realized you are living a worst-case scenario. The office has been gutted by thieves, and there’s no way your business can be operational any time soon.
Your Insurance Program MUST Cover Worst Case
What do you do, besides panic? Fortunately, this is a hypothetical situation. But imagine if it did occur.
- Would your insurance program cover the revenues you would lose?
- Would it help you pay your bills in the absence of your usual revenue stream?
- Would it reimburse you for the expenses you incur in getting your company back up to speed?
Your insurance program also must provide protection for the smaller disasters.
- What if a computer virus is unleashed on your networked PCs and files containing vital customer lists are corrupted?
- Can the information be recovered?
- Will your insurance pay for the cost of doing so?
You need insurance to cover anything that can shut down your business, or cause it to operate at less than full capacity. Anything less than full coverage isn’t adequate.
So how do you get adequate coverage? How can you know all the risks you face that could hamper your business?
You keep reading this report.
Peace of Mind in Four Easy Steps
1. Design a disaster recovery plan for your company.
Insurance can’t cover everything, and each coverage has its limitations. So you need a plan that allows you to get the company back up and running as quickly as possible. If you feel you don’t have the expertise to design this plan, there are plenty of professionals out there who can do it for you.
For this recovery plan to be effective, you need to do the following:
- Make duplicate records of both computerized and written documents.
- Identify your company’s critical business activities and the resources needed to support them.
- Plan for the worst-case scenario. Do research before a disaster strikes:
- Alternative facilities
- Equipment and supplies
- Alternative contractors
- Set up an emergency response plan and train your employees how to carry it out. Consider:
- Alternative power sources
- Alternative communication systems
- Supplies such as first-aid kits and flashlights
- Compile lists of important phone numbers and addresses (lists should be kept off-premises), including:
- Local and state emergency management agencies
- Major clients
- Contractors
- Suppliers
- Realtors
- Financial institutions
- Insurance agent
- Insurance claims representatives
- Phone numbers and addresses for your staff.
- Implement a communications strategy to prevent the loss of clients. The strategy should enable your clients to contact your company at its new, temporary location.
2. Have a business insurance specialist conduct a risk analysis of your company and its operations.
No two companies are the same, even two that are in the same business. You have your own building, your own computer system, your own equipment, and your own staff.
You need an expert to assess your company and the specific risks it faces — and put together a comprehensive insurance plan to protect you.
3. Use an independent insurance agent.
As a business owner, you want as many options as there are available for your insurance program. As such, you don’t want an agent who is an employee of an insurance company – an agent whose paycheck is tied to just one company. You want someone who will work for YOU.
You want someone who has access to a variety of insurance companies, a variety of programs. You want someone who can compare price and coverage options. Someone who can get the most comprehensive coverage for you, possibly with several insurers that will each provide a piece of your program.
There’s only one type of insurance agent who can do all of this for you. An independent agent.
4. Don’t trust the financial protection of your business to an insurance agent who is not a specialist with retail and service businesses.
Don’t trust the future of your business to someone who does not have a comprehensive understanding of the special problems business people like you face every day. A specialist? Absolutely.
Insurance is a huge industry. There’s insurance for everything (you want alien abduction insurance? You can buy it). And nobody can specialize in all of it.
In fact, a professional independent agent can specialize in only a few niches — and really understand them. I do. I’ve studied the business insurance market in our community for years.
I know:
- Which insurers offer the most comprehensive coverage and the best rates for businesses.
- Which insurance companies to turn to for a business’ specialized coverage needs.
- And which insurers provide the best claim service.
No Charge, No Obligation
I will give you this information for FREE. No charge. No obligation. I do this because I’ve built my business on my reputation. I never hard-sell insurance. I’m in the service business. The better service I provide, the better it is for all of us.
I believe I serve businesses in our community better than anyone in this area — in any profession. I believe this because I spend a lot of time with my clients, determining their needs, their level of risk, and finding the perfect insurance program for them.
So if you want to protect your business – and your future – from a crisis or catastrophe, call my office.
My staff and I will be glad to help.
(877) 388 - 0739
http://www.balcosinsurance.com
© 2008, Mark S. Balcos. The reader assumes all responsibilities for his/her own actions in regards to any items discussed in this report. Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, federal, state and local, governing the use of any product or service described in this report in the US or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the reader. The publisher and author assume no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of the reader of these materials. The reader is encouraged to consult directly with his/her insurance professional.Balcos Insurance, inc | Business, Restaurant, Home, Auto, Health & Life insurance
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