For many people nationwide, winter storms can pose a severe inconvenience. But when you’re invested in the daily operations of a small business, the peril they can induce on your livelihood is massive. The freezing rain, snow, and sub-zero temperatures can spell the makings of a major disaster. They can affect the flow of the supply chain, stall valuable foot traffic, and have a grave effect on vital consumer confidence. Thankfully, there are a few ways that you can lessen the blow of Winter’s impact upon the daily operations that you have worked so hard to protect.

Insuring Your Operations and Valuable Property:

The presence of an optimal commercial insurance policy is one of your best ways to defend against the perils of mother nature’s wrath. The benefit of a business owner’s policy combines general liability insurance and property damage coverage. One very common scenario is having a customer getting hurt on icy steps, while another one is the freezing of pipes that can leave you with extensive damage. If vehicles are an integral part of your daily operation, commercial auto insurance will kick in and provide coverage for storm-related incidents.

The Ideal Steps to be Bulletproof from Old Man Winter:

• Drain your hose lines and assure that your water is completely turned off outside.
• Assure that the hose from the water valve is stored in a weatherproof location.
• Make sure that outdoor plants are trimmed back and prepared for an arctic blast.
• See to it that outdoor furniture is covered or inside.
• See to it that air-conditioning condensers are covered.
• Clean out your gutters
• Closely examine the weather stripping around doors and windows for replacement needs
• Attempt to replace old and drafty windows
• Replace furnace filters approximately every six months.
• Clean all adjoining chimneys
• Clean and maintain dryer vents with a vacuum
• Dust fan blades
• Frequently check coolant and other filters such as de-icer in your vehicles

Polish up on Preparedness With Emergency Drills:

If you find yourself unprepared when extreme weather strikes, the financial hits to any thriving business can mount quickly. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends performing several types of drills before things get frigid outside, assuring that you have a plan in place. They have outlined some excellent plans for various scenarios, such as burst pipes and loss of cell phone reception. After having been through a dry run of an unexpected event, it can make matters that much easier when you’re head-on and facing the eye of the storm.

Not Being Caught off Guard: The Multiple Benefits of a Continuity Plan:

The most intense of winter storms can provide a fallout for many days, and sometimes even weeks. Since many businesses can take huge financial hits while being down for any length of time, a continuity plan can be of great help. These important strategies will assure that you can keep your supply lines open, have good means of communication with your employees, erect a makeshift headquarters, and begin with insurance claims during the toughest of times. Having well-organized recovery teams and very thorough exercises for when this may occur are some of your strongest assets that will shine when you may be struggling through the aftermath of a natural disaster.

The Bonus of Current Forecasts’ Enhanced Accuracy:

The National Weather Service currently does an excellent job of keeping close tabs on winter storms with their useful interactive map. Some of the most damaging storms from the late 1970s could not have been prevented, yet still could have seen much more preparation on behalf of citizens nationwide. At that time the Weather Service could tell there were blankets of clouds, but accuracy with inches of total precipitation can be very beneficial now as we have seen right here in Missouri and in areas such as New England.

Contact us here at the Alexander Agency of St Charles to learn about your options for winter storm coverage. When the temperatures drop and there are forms of peril that can happen to your home or business, the peace of mind that you’ll be covered is worth the extra effort. Following these preparedness tips can allow you to encounter less difficulty during the events right after the storm while you are waiting for “the beacon of light” in the form of your coverage’s assistance!