AXA Publishes Free Guide to Business Continuity

Power cuts, industrial action, computer viruses and transport failures: new research show that half of SMEs do not recover from business disruption. A new free guide from AXA offers some guidance.

For some businesses, unexpected events might be a mere inconvenience but worryingly almost one in two companies (43%) that experience a disaster never recover, says insurance company AXA. Despite this, fewer than 50% of organisations in the UK admit to having a back-up plan in place for when things go wrong.

Their research shows:

- 90% of businesses that lose data from a disaster are forced to shut within two years;
- 80% of businesses without a well-structured recovery plan are forced to shut within 12 months of flood or fire;
- 43% of companies that experience a disaster never recover; and
- companies experiencing a computer outage lasting longer than 10 days will never recover their full financial capacity.

Entitled 'Business 4 Tomorrow', the AXA guide sets out a business continuity planning process designed specifically for small businesses.

Top ten tips include:

1. When prioritising your plan, think about the cheque that you can't afford to write
2. Run regular rehearsals
3. Create a "first hour" plan of action
4. Back up computer data regularly and off-site
5. Consider how will you contact your customers and suppliers
6. Identify the nearest person that can help you - how is your relationship with your neighbours?
7. Role-play your attacker - if you wanted to ruin your business, what would you do?
8. Share vital skills amongst your employees so that no-one can take them away with them
9. Ensure the safety of your people first with an appropriate evacuation plan
10. Manage your risk through appropriate insurance

Commenting on the guide, David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce said: "We welcome this new initiative from AXA which we hope businesses of all sizes will pay attention to. Far too many companies overlook business continuity planning and as recent events have shown, businesses need to be as self-sufficient as possible. Any action that a company can take to safeguard its future on its own terms is welcomed by the British Chambers of Commerce."

The AXA Business 4 Tomorrow guide is available upon request on CD or by downloading from AXA's small business website:
www.axa4business.co.uk
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