06/01/2010 - Small firms 'need disaster plans'
Small businesses need more Government encouragement to help them survive major incidents such as weather damage, fire, terrorist acts and swine flu, the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) has said.
The association is concerned that 45% of small businesses have either no or very rough Business Continuity Plans (BCPs), which set out how the company will cope with the wider effects of disasters, such as loss of IT and telecommunications facilities.
BIBA has called for a Government campaign to stress the importance of BCPs after it found 66% of firms believed they could do without one, 34% thought writing one would take up too much time and 26% had not even thought to draw one up.
Workplace Law Network's Business Continuity factsheet states 43% of businesses never get back on their feet after disaster strikes, and BIBA's research showed three times as many small businesses now think it would take longer than six months to recover.
Steve Foulsham, technical services manager at BIBA, said: "There have been slight improvements since our previous research in 2006 but we still have concerns that businesses are still not adequately protected. Every business needs to be properly prepared for a major incident."
http//www.directlineforbusiness.co.uk/businessfromhome/welcome.htm/ (Business from home insurance)
http//www.directlineforbusiness.co.uk/commercialproperty/welcome.htm/ (Commercial property insurance)
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