NO DISASTER PLAN

DESPITE the Caribbean being shaken by two major hurricanes last September, too many businesses in Barbados still have no disaster response or continuity plan.

In fact, it is being reported that only 11 per cent of businesses are buying interruption insurance.

This is according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lynch Insurance Brokers, Gregory Rose. While speaking during the opening ceremony of a two-day, Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Disaster Risk Reduction Seminar at Sandals Royal, he said that as was seen with last year’s severe hurricane systems that devastated the region,
business will be down for extended periods, waiting for adjusters, waiting for contractors, trying to communicate, trying to pay staff, and trying to access capital to expedite
recovery.

“With no cohesive plan for action and no insurance protection for your income, you will not have a viable business by the time your property settlement comes around,” he warned.
However, Rose explained that the discussion is not limited to just hurricanes.

He said supply chains are increasingly complex, the reliance on technology paramount, and the pace of business demands that companies react quickly or be left behind.
The Chief Executive Officer stressed that there is a need to identify and analyse the risks that disrupt territories, and create a living plan with which people can mobilise, and adapt to any disasters they face.

“This is a subject of which we at Lynch are passionate about, and we are pleased to partner with the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and its members not to just heighten awareness, but deliver a call to action on this critical matter of national security.

“We are also pleased to join with other partners and sponsors here today who share this vision. This will be an interactive and educational two days. We have a great panel of speakers bringing experience from both the public and private sector perspectives,” he said.

In international risk surveys, Business Interruption has been named the number 1 risk faced by businesses; 45 per cent of businesses experiencing an extended interruption do not survive. And according to Rose, yet too few businesses, especially in Barbados, are deploying effective risk mitigation strategies to ensure their long term survival.

“Lynch Insurance Brokers with our Caribbean client base, and our associates Marsh & McLennan at a global level, have been, year-on- year, on the front lines of disaster and recovery in the region and beyond,” Rose informed.
(AH)