As storm Henry, the 8^th storm of the winter, is about to hit the north of England and Scotland, the Met office have published figures which show Scotland, Wales and the north-west of England all had the wettest December in more than a century.

A recent report on adverse weather published by The Federation of Small Businesses concluded that:

• Two thirds of small businesses say they have been negatively affected by severe weather in the last three years.
• The financial cost of these severe weather events over this period was, on average, just under £7,000 for each affected business.
• Disruption to people (customers and staff) and logistics (supply chain, utilities and transport) are the most frequently occurring problems for small businesses during severe weather events.

The occurrences of extreme weather events seem to becoming more common, so what should small businesses do to prepare for these events and reduce their impact?

1. Developing a business continuity plan, whatever the size of your business, is vital to ensuring your business survives the next storm, flood, or fire, or any other event that could prevent ‘business as usual’.

The UK government’s Business Continuity Management Toolkit has been developed specifically for the small business sector and makes the following suggestions:

• Business impact analysis: look at your business and decide what critical activities and resources are required to deliver your service.
• Risk assessment: in the event of adverse weather what are the risks of disruption to your business? Rank the risks you have identified in order of impact on your business and the likelihood of them happening.
• Action plan: put together a contingency plan that will enable you to keep your business running or get back to ‘business as usual’ as soon as possible
• Test your plan: make sure your plan works and if there are any problems adjust your action plan.

1. 2.     Consider Business Interruption Insurance – This will cover you should your practice experience an interruption/loss of trade as a result of a natural disaster or physical damage to your premises and play a key role in getting your business up and running again.  If your practice is prone to flooding this should be a key part of your business continuity plan.

Here at Infocus Opticians Insurance, we have developed specialist knowledge of the Eye care Industry over the decades, and will be able to advise you on what you require, so get in touch for a free quote today on 0161 925 5051

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