When Mother Nature rattles your business

When you see a storm coming, the first things you think of are your tempo shelter, your patio or your shingles. It’s perfectly normal to make sure your home is safe before worrying about anything else. But what about contractors who have more than one roof above their heads? Many people have to deal with unexpected setbacks caused by the whims of Mother Nature.

Here is a brief look at how the damages can really pile up—as some of the people we insure can attest firsthand. Hold onto your hat!

Wind – One storm can lead to another

Signs, placards, shingles, bits of roofing... If it’s outside, it can blow away! And in heavy winds, these items have the unfortunate tendency to pay an uninvited visit to your neighbours or customers. A bit like the bills show up at your door soon after.

Other bad weather: Say a branch hits a building—not hard enough to knock it down, but hard enough to cut the power. That means your fridges, freezers and refrigerated display cases are out of commission, along with all the perishables in them. “This type of incident can be painful, because throwing away food is very expensive,” explains one of our advisors.

Water – The surprise guest that floods you in bills

Overflowing sanitary sewers, leaking tanks, burst pipes—water is rarely welcome when it doesn’t come out of the faucet. In addition to the damage it can do to your building, furniture and equipment, water creates mould and other unsanitary conditions. As one of our advisors says, “we’ve dealt with surprises like these, and they can lead to bills, fines, slowdowns and even temporary work shutdowns.”

The who-could-believe-it loss: The ceiling sprinkler system goes off. The good news is your office didn’t burn down. The bad news is important files, computers and multiple electronic devices all got wet. The result: You have to stop or delay everything, buy new equipment and start all over again. And the first order of business is calling customers to give them the news...

As you know, the key to business is knowing your risks so you can avoid or minimize them. That’s why having an insurer who has experience in your field and understands your situation is a huge benefit for your business. No matter what your line of work, your insurer should be able to anticipate these risks so that you too can weather the storm without the headaches.