The winter is tough on everyone and unless your business is seasonal and the benefits come during winter, you are most likely dreading the winter season slow down. MHB Insurance has prepared several tips to avoid winter damages and a cost saving approach to winter.

Evaluate Property Damage Risks. Evaluate your property by thoroughly looking for potential problems.

• Inspect your water pipes by looking for small leaks and any cracks. Once these pipes become frozen, you will be left a bigger problem. One way to battle this is to constantly leave your water dripping. By doing so, it will allow water molecules to continuously move, making it harder to freeze.

• Observe for property damage such as cracks on the building.
  • Cracks in the exterior of the building could result in heat loss, which will run your electricity bill up.

• Check all sealant around doors and windows, replace if needed.

Calculate for Business Interruptions. Using a scale of a week or a month, prepare an annual budget. In this budget, calculate your operating costs and cash flows for the year, so you know how much is needed when a problem arises. It is also not a bad idea to occasionally order from a secondary vendor. Though it might be more expensive, it will diminish your overhead, so if your primary vendor experiences winter hardships themselves, you can turn to a secondary backup vendor. If possible, one of the best ways to be prepared for these situations is to build up a cash reserve.

Review your Insurance Coverage. Find out if you have the proper coverage. You may be over paying or over covered. MHB Insurance are leaders in the insurance industry that specialize in Business Insurance, more specifically Claim & Loss control, property & renters Insurance. We can provide you with the proper coverage for your business needs.

Build a Communication Plan. If the big storm does hit or if your business is experiencing problems caused by winter, make your staff, customers, vendors, and contractors know what’s going on. Establishing an email alert system is the first step to establishing a clear communication. Create a mail folder that you can access and send emails to everyone that would need to be aware of your current situation. Remember do not use this often, only for emergencies. Make sure you have primary and secondary email addresses for your employees, and everyone you do business with.  Use a Facebook Business page and Twitter to keep the public aware you’re still in business, and that you’re in the process of recovering after a disaster.

Work from Home.  See if working from home is an option. Tele-sales and online web sales can still generate income when your storefront is not open. Coordination of activities and what staff should do can be done through conference calls or online video chatting and followed through with email reports.

Now these tips won’t work for every business in winter but you can find successful ways to prevent your business from winter disasters. However one of the most important aspects against winter damage is proper insurance coverage. Don’t fail to neglect your current coverage, have MHB Insurance inspect your property and really make sure you are getting your money’s worth.