Despite Recent Disasters, Many Do Not Have an Emergency Plan

Travelers provides three steps to disaster preparation as National Preparedness Month begins

The National Center for Disaster Preparedness reports that 51 percent¹ of families do not have an emergency preparedness plan. Travelers has also recently found that 48 percent of business owners surveyed² do not have a written business continuity plan or disaster recovery document that identifies and mitigates potential threats to their business. As National Preparedness Month begins on September 1, Travelers is urging home and business owners to create plans now to help prevent damage when things go wrong and prepare for severe weather and other disasters that could impact their business and family. 

“Despite the fact that wildfires, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms persist, and major storms continue to impact Coastal States, the numbers indicate that many families and businesses have not taken the steps to be prepared to handle a disaster,” said Marty Henry, Vice President, Travelers Risk Control. “Now is the time to avoid being complacent and take the necessary steps to get your home and business ready.”

Travelers recommends these steps to help families and business owners prepare for disaster:

-        Make a survival kit -- Pack enough supplies to last between three and seven days for your family and pet(s). For businesses, make sure you have copies of important documents and contact lists that you can find and reference after the storm.

-        Map out an evacuation plan -- Have a plan for where your family will evacuate. A solid business continuity plan should include information to share with employees about steps the business would take if it were impacted by a disaster.

-        Create an inventory -- Be sure to have a copy of your home’s inventory in a separate location. The Insurance Information Institute offers a home inventory app, making it easy for families to create one. For businesses, Travelers’ alliance with the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety has Open for Business^®, a comprehensive toolkit to help plan ahead.   

-         Have a plan for when disaster strikes -- Its important that your business has a disaster recovery plan not only for the employees but for business technology equipment too. In cases where a business is struck by natural disaster, disaster recovery services like hardware relocation and temporary office setups are available.

“While many may think the large-scale catastrophe may not happen to them, even pop-up thunderstorms can cause significant property damage and they occurred 28 times more frequently than hurricanes in the first half of 2012³,” added Henry. “This is just one example of how vulnerable individuals and business owners may be if they are not prepared.”

For additional information on ways to get prepared, visit the Prepare & Prevent and Protect Your Business pages on Travelers.com.

About Travelers

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. The company’s diverse business lines offer its global customers a wide range of coverage sold primarily through independent agents and brokers. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Travelers has more than 30,000 employees and operations in the United States and selected international markets. The company generated revenues of approximately $25 billion in 2011. For more information, visit www.travelers.com. 

1. National Center for Disaster Preparedness, The American Preparedness Project: Where the U.S. Public Stands in 2011 on Terrorism, Security and Disaster Preparedness, http://www.ncdp.mailman.columbia.edu/files/2011maristsurvey.pdf

2. The questionnaire was conducted on-site at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s annual America’s Small Business Summit held in Washington, D.C., from May 21-23, 2012, and is intended to represent the sentiments of approximately 300 small business owner attendees who participated in an in-person interview over three days.

3. Insurance Information Institute, Catastrophes: U.S.,   http://www.iii.org/facts_statistics/catastrophes-us.html