There are lots of resources provided by government bodies and insurers to help businesses prepare for summer bushfire and flood season, and other risks too.
It’s also essential to have the right insurance cover in place so that in the event your business does experience a natural disaster, it can get back on its feet as fast as possible.
Let’s take a look at some of the resources you can access to help manage your natural disaster risks.
VicPlan is the Victorian state government’s property report service. Through it, users can search for information about properties located anywhere in Victoria. This service will identify whether your land is ‘subject to inundation’, that is, located in a flood-prone zone. It also tells you whether your property is in a bushfire prone area, which is essential information given how exposed so much of the state is to bushfires.
This is essential information for any business looking to buy a property or move locations. This is because insurers will take this information into account when working out your premium.
“Insurers will take this information into account when working out your premium”
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is located squarely in cyclone and flood zone territory, as evidenced by Cyclone Yasi in 2011, and floods in 2010 and 2019 – and those are just the most recent events. So the local government has developed a range of tools to help businesses prepare for and respond to a natural disaster. It includes:
- Any current weather warnings issued by the Bureau of Meteorology.
- Any road closures, which can happen after a natural disaster and during bushfires.
- Useful contacts such as emergency services.
- Information about evacuation centres.
- Information about how to prepare for emergencies.
- Information about any current disaster recovery activities on the Sunshine coast.
- Information about what the council can do to help businesses prepare for and in the event of a natural disaster.
Brisbane City Council’s flood awareness map
Like the nearby Sunshine Coast, Brisbane also regularly experiences floods and cyclones. Its council has set up a dedicated resource that includes information about:
Early warning alerts for which residents can register via test, phone or email.
- How to protect your property, including online tools and checklists.
- How to protect your business from flooding.
- What to do if there is the threat of flood.
Bushfire prone areas in Western Australia
This site has all the information Western Australian business owners need to prepare for and recover from a bushfire, when total fire bans are declared and more.
“These sites should be used as a first point of reference to gain a local understanding of the potential risks when a purchasing either a business or residential dwelling,” Steadfast Risk Services director Josh Giansiracusa explains.
Steadfast brokers have access to a range of tools that can help you assess the risks your business faces. For instance, reinsurers including Swiss Re and Munich Re have sophisticated modelling tools insurers use when pricing premiums that give them forward-looking data about the impact climate change is likely to have on natural disasters.
Contact us today to ensure your business understand its risks so you can mitigate them.
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