Do you have a business continuity plan in place for your business? Worried about whether or not your business interruption insurance will cover potential business losses due to COVID-19? COVID-19 has been a wake-up call for businesses across the globe to focus on building a robust business continuity strategy to not only overcome the present crisis, but to also plan ahead for future contingencies. Here’s a quick guide.
What is Business Continuity in Regards to COVID-19?
For most companies, a business continuity plan (BCP), centers on being prepared for an event that could impact business operations for a few days or at the very least a few hours. Companies prepared their BCP for events such as natural disasters, some form of social unrest, wars, theft, or possibly a major power outage. COVID-19, however, changed everything. Businesses across the globe were completely unprepared for the unprecedented disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Planning and preparing for a pandemic is very different from the previous events businesses prepared their BCP for, including natural disasters, power outages, and social unrest, or even cyber-security attacks. For one, the pandemic is not a localized or short-term event. Its impact is global and as we have seen, the size and scale of disruption which began last year, is still continuing.
So why should businesses have a robust Pandemic Plan in place? Here are top 6 reasons why you need to focus on pandemic planning for your business.
- It can effectively reduce your business downtime.
- It can help limit and lower the burden of financial impact on your business.
- It can minimize the impact on business operational delivery.
- It can help your staff and workers be better prepared to make necessary adjustments to the required changes in workplace conditions.
- It can help secure your business reputation as you are better prepared to manage business disruptions.
- It can help you continue to meet your service level performance commitments.
What is Business Interruption Insurance in Regards to COVID-19?
Business Interruption (BI) Insurance essentially provides businesses with compensation for any loss of income within the period the business requires to address the physical damage to their covered property. Additionally, BI insurance may also support the insured part to recover any additional expenses which they might have incurred – expenses which are not routine in the normal course of running a business. In most cases, businesses are entitled to policy coverage only in case they incur physical damage to their insured property.
The COVID-19 context however, is different. At present businesses might possibly be able to claim losses only under the infectious disease coverage. As mentioned above, the pandemic situation is fluid – it is difficult to predict if the threat of spread of infection and contamination can be used to trigger coverage for any business income loss.
Most insurance companies are denying claims for BI insurance for damage caused by COVID-19. However, a number of states which include California, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are seriously considering passing a legislation to force insurance companies to cover COVID-19-related claims – this even if the policies include any exclusionary provisions.
What is a Business Continuity Plan and Business Continuity Planning?
Business continuity planning for business owners now focuses on strategizing and looking for ways in which to optimize business operations both in the present uncertain times and also for the future. The way to do this is by looking at each and every issue or problem individually and then formulating the necessary steps and protocols for effective incident mitigation.
What if my Business Interruption Insurance claim is Denied?
A majority of businesses are struggling to reopen and resume business operations amid massive losses. Although many businesses have filed BI insurance claims to help recover some of the business losses, many of these claims have been rejected by insurance companies.
In case your BI insurance claim has been denied, you may want to consider taking legal action against your insurance company. You may be able to file an appeal against the denial of your claim based on the reason provided by the insurer for denying your claim.
Speak with your lawyer about available legal options before going ahead and filing your BI insurance claim or before filing an appeal against the denial of your BI insurance claim.
How do we Prepare for a Return to Our Workplace?
Safety is the top priority for any business that is considering reopening and resuming business operations. Businesses will need to adjust to the new normal and new risks of COVID-19.
In addition to strict compliance with the latest government health advisories, it is important for businesses to plan and implement a dynamic return to workplace strategy.
Here are a few crucial things to do:
- Keep up with latest news and advisories on Covid-19 developments to identify potential risks and their overall impact on your business operations.
- Consider and look at remote working options for workers.
- Implement wellbeing programs and policies and implement infection protection guidelines to ensure employees are protected and can work in a safe environment.
- Ensure clear channels of employee and customer communication.
- Plan and implement a business continuity plan that is specifically Wuhan virus focused.
- In addition to reviewing your business continuity plan, rework your business disaster recovery plan to see how best you can resume business operations.
- Utilize support policies and funding options provided by the government and other organizations to support businesses.
What are some Products or Services to Consider as Part of a Business Continuity plan?
The potential threat of spread of infection and workplace contamination are the primary causes of concern for business reopening. As a part of your business continuity plan you might want to consider the use of technology and devices to help ensure the spread of infection is minimized and your workers are safe.
Technology that supports contactless interactions, workplace collaboration tools and video conferencing tools, as well as health-based technology that allow for easy tracking and tracing employees such as thermal human body imaging solutions among other similar technology solutions can be primary drivers in optimizing your return to the workplace strategy.
Have questions? We’d love to hear from you.
connect@synnergie.com
About Synnergie Thermal Human Body Imaging Solutions
Thermal human body imaging solutions from Synnergie are designed to scan, trace, advise, and alert thereby driving improved Covid-19 safety compliance and enabling businesses to mitigate risks that can halt or impact business operations.
Privacy concerns are a major bone of contention when it comes to tracking or recording personal data of your employees. The Synnergie solution, however, provides an additional layer of value to your business since it is designed to be a closed system. So, any personal data that you track or record is fully encrypted within the solution and never leaves the premises.
Built to be HIPAA/PHI and FINRA compliant, Synnergie Thermal Human Body Imaging solutions are also certified to run on AWS Cloud and Google Cloud, so you never have to worry about data-loss, service disruptions, or face downtime issues.
To know more about how Synnergie Thermal Human Body Imaging solutions can help your business prepare to return to the workplace, visit us at Synnergie. You can also email us at connect@Synnergie.com.
