How Your Business Can Recover From a Flood

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Floods can cause catastrophic damage to businesses and homes alike. Water damage can damage buildings, destroy expensive equipment, and make other physical assets unusable. After any natural disaster, whether it’s a flood or something else, many businesses struggle to recover. At least one in four businesses never reopen after having been shut down by a business.

However, if your business can be prepared for a disaster, then it’s far more likely to recover. 

Causes of Water Damage

Water damage is incredibly common for all kinds of properties, whether they’re residential, commercial, or industrial. It may be caused by a natural disaster, like a sudden storm, a river breaking its banks, or a severe spring melt. However, water damage can also be caused by non-natural causes, such as issues with plumbing or roof damage.

If your office is located in an area that’s prone to flooding, then you should be aware of this as soon as possible so that you can take steps to mitigate this risk. However, even if it isn’t, then you should still be prepared for the risk of water damage.

Business Flood Insurance

Your business should be covered under a flood insurance plan. This provides a much-needed financial safety net in case a flood does damage your property or assets. When taking out business insurance, check the policy to ensure that it covers water damage, as well as other damage that is likely to occur. 

After the flood, contact your insurance provider as soon as possible. This will allow them to send out someone to assess the damage done to your property so that they can come up with an appropriate settlement. While it’s tempting to try to clean up and get running as quickly as possible, this could affect your settlement. 

Do what you can to prevent further damage and take photographs before and after getting rid of the water. 

Business Disaster Plan

A business disaster plan is a vital part of ensuring that your business and employees are prepared for any disaster, including a flood. Do a risk assessment to determine the most likely disasters and formulate plans to deal with these eventualities. 

Ensure that your staff is well-informed and trained so that they can act quickly and decisively in the event of an emergency. This will keep them safe, while potentially lessening the potential damage to your business assets. 

A business disaster plan should cover the disaster itself as well as the aftermath. The priority should be the safety of your employees, then your plan should determine how you can recover and get back to business as quickly as possible to mitigate the financial fallout.

Repairing the Damage

While you do want your insurance provider to see the extent of the damage for your settlement, you should do what you can to the business operating again as quickly as possible. Use an emergency flood cleanup service to repair the damage and repair your physical assets.