11 strategies to protect your business

Each year, Puerto Rico is threatened by the possible impact of some atmospheric phenomenon or unexpected natural event. We can’t let our guard down, but we can be prepared, which in turn helps mitigate their financial impact on your business. Below, we offer 11 strategies you should consider when protecting your business’s commercial properties, especially the facilities in which they are located, your inventory, and the equipment you need to keep your business running after a catastrophic event.

1. Determine whether your property is in a flood zone. Check the maps of flood zones and determine whether your property is in a floodable zone. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has an up-to-date map on its webpage msc.fema.gov. Contact your insurance producer and ask about flood policies.
2. Make periodic inspections of your commercial property. Inspect your property and make any necessary repairs to ensure that it can resist an unexpected event. Ensure that signs, awnings, equipment on the roof, and other accessories on the exterior of your property are firmly attached to the structure. Keep drains, rain gutters, and roof areas clean. Prune any trees that might cause damage to the structure or to electric cables.
3. Take a yearly inventory of all your belongings. Take photos or videos of the entire property so that you can easily identify any damage caused by the event.
4. Prepare the property when an emergency is imminent. Remove antennas, signs, awnings, and any other accessory that is not firmly attached to the structure. Cover windows and doors with storm shutters or sheets of plywood. Check door and window frames to ensure that they are tight and well installed. Take objects indoors that may be picked up by the force of the wind and become projectiles. Raise elevators to the top floor and turn off the system. Be sure that the machine room is well protected from water leaks or other types of damage. Water tanks should be fully filled and their covers should be sealed. Protect electrical equipment from water; cover equipment with plastic sheeting and raise it off the floor.
5. Protect your business’s documents. Keep duplicate files of your business’s and your customers’ records. Keep copies on a server, in the cloud, or in a physical location that you can access from other locations in case your property is destroyed or inaccessible. Some of the documents you should protect are financial information; employee, customer, and supplier databases; municipal, state, and federal licenses and certifications; tax receipts; and insurance policies.
6. Ensure that your generator is receiving its manufacturer-recommended maintenance. Check to be sure you have supplies such as fuel, filters, and lubricants to keep the generator running after the event. Store the fuel in a well-ventilated place. Keep handy the telephone numbers of the company or companies that provide service and maintenance to the generator. Go over the procedure for starting and running the generator with the personnel who will oversee operating it in case of emergency.
7. Protect areas under construction. Structures under construction are extremely susceptible to atmospheric events because of the damage those events can cause to the structure and the delays such damage can cause. Pick up construction materials that could become projectiles and damage your or your neighbors’ lives and property.
8. Before the atmospheric event, consider making contractual agreements with vendors. Some of the services you might want to cover are equipment repair, trash and rubble removal, structural repair, engineering work, rental of refrigerated trucks or vans for perishable merchandise, transportation, equipment rental, vehicle rental, hotel, and utilities. Consider preliminary agreements for leasing or renting alternative locations after the event. Remember that after a catastrophe many services are not available, or their cost rises dramatically.
9. Periodically review and update your insurance policies. Realizing that your business was not adequately covered when you’ve already suffered a loss can be financially devastating. Check to ensure that your insurance policies are up to date, paid, and that you have all the coverage, and types of coverage, that are needed for you and your company. Check to see which properties are covered under your policy and how they will be valued in case of a loss. Don’t forget to evaluate, along with your insurance producer, coverage that protect your business against any cyber-attack, during the emergency.
10. Attend workshops for business owners. Various non-profit organizations, as well as government agencies, community groups, and insurers, provide training to empower business owners in emergencies.
11. Keep your team informed. We understand the challenges that can arise after an emergency. Remember that your employees are the most valuable asset of your business, so we recommend keeping emergency contacts and information for your support teams up to date in advance; this also extends to key suppliers. Being able to determine a meeting point and maintain visibility of the action plan after an emergency will be crucial in the process of resuming your operations.

If you want to learn more on how to protect your commercial properties before a catastrophic event, please call Popular Risk Services at 787-731-6900 or write to: prssales@popular.com. 

¹The information provided in these guidelines is for informational purposes only. Insurance products and services are offered by Popular Risk Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Popular, Inc., and an affiliate of Banco Popular de Puerto Rico. Insurance products are not deposits, are not insured by the FDIC or other federal government agencies, are not guaranteed by Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, and may lose value.