During the summer, businesses have an increased concern about damages from hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, flash floods, and even windstorms and tornadoes. However, most businesses forget about one of the more common causes of commercial property damage, which is fire. Fires rank in the top five of the most common and the costliest types of commercial property claims. In part one of our series on businesses surviving a fire, we look at exactly how companies can be impacted by fire. Next week, we'll look at what steps businesses can take to better prepare in the event of a fire to ensure a quick and full recovery.

Structural Damages

Fire can be absolutely devastating to a business, regardless of industry or business size. A single small fire can cause thousands of dollars in damages to the interior and exterior of the business, including walls, flooring, outdoor signage, plumbing, electrical systems, and HVAC units. All of these repairs cost businesses both money and time, as they must shut down the business for a period of time to complete repairs and renovations. Without proper commercial insurance coverage, businesses could face even longer lengths of time for closure and repairs while they scramble to raise the cash needed to repair and reopen their business.

Loss of Commercial Property

In addition to structural damages, fires can also lead to the partial or even total loss of critical tools, equipment, merchandise, and raw materials. While the costs of repairing and renovating a business structure may be high (especially without the right type of commercial insurance coverage), the added cost of replacing tools, equipment, and inventory can be too much for a company to bear, and the company may have to permanently close. It is important to ensure that the value of business-critical tools, equipment, raw materials, and inventory are well protected with quality commercial insurance coverage.

Lost Revenue and Wages

Another devastating setback for businesses that have suffered fire damage is the loss of both revenue and wages for employees. Even if the business owners can survive the financial hit of a fire, their employees may struggle to make ends meet while the business is closed for repairs and renovations. As a result, companies may end losing many, if not most, of their best and brightest employees because of lost wages during closure, further delaying the business from being able to reopen to full operational status. However, businesses can prevent the loss of valuable employees by having Loss of Income Insurance, which helps companies pay for continuing expenses such as rent, taxes, and payroll.

Company Network, Emails, and Financial Records

Finally, another common loss for businesses that have experienced fire damage is the loss of computer systems, sensitive files, financial records, and corporate emails. Many small and medium-sized businesses fail to consider how valuable these records and files are until they are gone or become inaccessible because of commercial property damage. Even if the building repairs and renovations are relatively minor, the loss of these sensitive and valuable files can ruin a business's chances of reopening, as many of these files contain contracts and vendor agreements, financial transactions and account information, and business-critical emails and legal documents. The time and expense of recreating or retrieving these digital records may set businesses back even further for reopening after fire damage.

Aegis Insurance & Financial Services is committed to providing businesses of all sizes and industries with quality, reliable commercial insurance coverage needed to protect against all types of disasters. The right type of business insurance coverage allows businesses to focus on rebuilding and reopening without struggling to pay out of pocket for critical repairs, asset replacement, or continuing expenses. Call Aegis today at 713-850-7622 regarding our full range of top-quality commercial insurance policies, all at competitive rates and handled by our friendly and knowledgeable team of insurance experts.