Insurance officials: Be prepared for next disaster

Sept. 04--While owners continue to work on returning their businesses to full operations after Hurricane Harvey, they need to begin taking steps to be prepared for the next potential disaster.

Harvey left many businesses with catastrophic damage, and some were not fully covered for hurricane damage before Harvey.

While working with their insurance agents for Harvey claims, business owners should figure out what damages their business is covered for related to disasters, said Mark Hanna, Insurance Council of Texas public relations manager. If their business isn't fully covered, they need to ensure they get the right insurance polices to be prepared for the next disaster.

Business and homeowners who live along or near the Texas coast should have flood insurance.

"In Victoria, we've seen hurricanes and tropical storms go into the state and circle around and just stall," Hanna said.

Traditional insurance for home and business structures generally covers fire and windstorm damage but not flooding, said Jim Gavin, Independent Insurance Agents of Texas property and casualty insurance specialist.

Home and business owners need to purchase flood insurance separately for their structures as well as windstorm insurance if it's not in their policy. Businesses also need separate flood insurance for their merchandise and equipment. Flood insurance takes 30 days to take effect, so buying a policy last-minute is not an option.

Once a tropical storm becomes a hurricane, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association can no longer sell windstorm polices, Hanna said. Most private insurance agencies will also not sell this policy once a storm is a hurricane.

"(Residents should) be aware of their environmental surroundings," he said, and they need to "be aware that we could have hurricane-force winds, being along the coast."

Business owners should also consider a business interruption coverage policy, Hanna said.

"If the storm knocks out power, they're losing money because consumers can't walk through the front door for what they're selling," he said.

Owners need to ensure they have a disaster protection and business continuity plan in place, Hanna said. These plans can include how employees stay in contact with the business owner, how they might return or work from home or other locations to operate out of during a disaster.

"The sooner you can do all this, the less hectic everything will be," he said. "The closer to the event of the storm making landfall, a lot of people start getting into a frantic stage. You want to avoid that and take emergency measures you need to take."

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