In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, thousands of homes and businesses across the Gulf Coast need repairs and renovations, either because of wind damage, tornadoes, or the floodwaters that devastated our region. As a result, contractors and repair companies have inundated our area to provide these much-needed services. But, there are some contractors who are only here to take advantage of unsuspecting or vulnerable customers, and some property owners may find themselves becoming a victim again because of these scammers and their fraudulent work.

The Houston area is still deep in recovery mode from the devastating floods caused by Hurricane Harvey. Businesses and their employees have been impacted across a wide expanse of the city, and for some companies, the damage may be too great to overcome. However, many companies were completely spared from major damages or flooding, and there are several important lessons they can learn from the damage inflicted on our area. In today's Aegis blog post, we look at three lessons companies can learn from Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath.

Risk exists for companies of all sizes and across all industries, whether it's financial risk, property risks, or physical risks. The key for businesses is reducing those risks whenever possible to ensure a safe workplace for employees, customers, and visitors. One of the most common risks a company can face comes from slips and falls, which can lead to substantial liability issues for business owners. Today's Aegis blog post looks at three ways to reduce slips and falls on your company property.

Over the last two decades, laptops have become some of the most important assets a company or employee can have. These essential tools are vital because they allow companies to perform daily operations, store valuable data, create projects, and maintain communication, all without being tied to an office or desk all day. Unfortunately, because of their small size and value, business laptops are also extremely vulnerable as they are often the target of thieves and other criminals.

Opening your own business means developing your product or service, finding a location to perform your work, hiring employees, marketing your business to customers, and getting the tools, equipment, and materials needed for daily operations. Business owners also understand that Commercial Insurance is needed, and often required, in order to operate their business and also protect the value of their company and assets.

Businesses that have commercial vehicles and commercial drivers understand the many factors that can impact their daily routes and stops. If a driver is feeling unwell, if the vehicle is having mechanical issues, or if there are roadblocks and traffic delays, this can hurt productivity and lead to losses for the company. However, one of the biggest factors that can impact commercial vehicles comes from bad weather. Often, commercial drivers and the vehicles they operate can be seriously impacted by bad weather, and injuries and damages can result.

Businesses of all sizes and industries face the frustrating problem of theft, whether it's raw materials, money, inventory, tools, company vehicles, equipment, furniture and appliances, or even financial information or sensitive customer records. Many of these crimes can be traced back to individual criminals or gangs that focus on theft.

One of the biggest worries a business owner can have is shutting down their company temporarily due to an issue out of their control, such as a major weather event, utility outage, accident, or unforeseen property damages. For some companies, even the shortest closure could lead to the loss of customers, revenue, and even the business itself. However, when a company has the ability to quickly recover and resume operations from covered events, there is a greater likelihood that they'll survive the temporary closure.

In the Gulf Coast region, businesses are well aware of the natural disasters that are common to our region, including flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, hail, and windstorms. Any one of these severe weather events can cause widespread damage to businesses and their commercial property, leading to the loss of both commercial property and revenue. When businesses are crippled by major weather damage, they may pin their hopes for recovery on securing a federal disaster loan through the Small Business Administration.

Do you know that 4 out of every 10 businesses will experience some type of Commercial Property or General Liability claim over the next ten years? Although this might not be a surprising fact to business owners, many do not realize that the most common claims are not the most expensive ones they could face. As a result they might spend a lot of time worrying about a relatively inexpensive issue and end up overlooking a potential claim that could cost them far more in the long run.