中断保险指南

You are protecting your small or medium-sized business with insurance - of course you are. 但这就足够了吗? The recent increase in natural disasters has led savvy business owners to also take out business 中断保险, which covers many additional scenarios in the event that you are unable to carry on operating. 我想你不需要这种保险? 你最好重新考虑一下你的立场.

So why do small and medium-sized organizations tend to forego business 中断保险 policies? Chances are it, like so many things, comes down to cost. But can you really afford to ignore the additional 保护 that 中断保险 offers, or is it safe to cut corners and hope that your regular 商业保险 will have you covered in the event of a disaster?

While an 中断保险 policy may cost you anywhere from $750 to $10,000 or more (the cost is normally dependent on the size of your business), the fact is that your standard insurance policy will not cover you completely when a catastrophe strikes.

Take for example the spate of superstorms that have ravaged the United States over the past decade. 从卡特里娜飓风到最近的桑迪飓风, small businesses and enterprises throughout the US have been left devastated after feeling the wrath of Mother Nature. While a best-case scenario may entail losing a few days sales during a power outage, at the other end of the scale you could find yourself dealing with a destroyed warehouse, 一间没有屋顶的办公室, or thousands of dollars worth of stock destroyed by flooding.

And the reality is that your regular insurance is probably not going to reimburse you for storage or relocation costs if you need to move operations elsewhere, 暂时或其他. The majority of policies will only cover the loss of, 或者损害, 实物项目，如库存, 设备和财产. They will usually not cover you for any loss in profit if a disaster means that you need to temporarily cease trading. 另一方面, tightly drawn up business 中断保险 should cover you in the event you need to move. It should also cover a decrease in sales due to power failures that shut your communication lines down, as well as a drop in profits due to delays in the delivery of stock or equipment.

Think the chances of a natural disaster affecting you are still slim despite the scenes of chaos and devastation reported in the media? Consider that a recent survey conducted by insurance giant Allianz found that there are now typically 600 major incidents per year – compare that to the previous 400 per annum and it doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that disasters are on the rise.

So, 作为一个中小型企业的老板, what do you need to know before you consider purchasing 中断保险? If you’re thinking of adding interruption coverage to your existing policy, first record your current net income - but watch out because, 如果你的净利润很高, 您可能会遇到较低的每次事件限制. You could find your insurer has limited your coverage and left you inadequately protected.

生意兴隆吗？? 如果你正在经历快速增长, keep records spanning many months so you have proof of revenue increase. 没有这个, you will not be able to forecast month-on-month profit growth and your insurer might cap coverage at the rate of the previous year’s profit, 不是你的加速度. 请注意, 太, that the type of interruptions you want 保护 for should reflect the areas covered in your general business policy. If your existing policy doesn’t include coverage for fire damage, 你的中断保险也不行.

There are many other aspects of an interruption policy to take into account – such as add-ons that protect you in the event of a power outage (something that standard policies normally don’t normally cover), and knock-on effects caused by a disaster at your supplier’s end.

一旦你买了中断保险, should you have to use it then the most important aspect for you will be getting reimbursed. 最重要的是, you need to be able to provide your insurer with as many details concerning profit loss as possible. Consider storing files electronically, either offsite or in the cloud. 这种方式, 如果你的办公室或商店被毁, you’ll still have access to your documents – and a far greater chance of recovering your losses.

If you’d like to learn more about protecting your data, 档案及文件, as well as about 业务连续性 planning to help you get back up and running should disaster strike, 请今天与我们的团队取得联系.