Developing an Agency Disaster Plan

The following is adapted from The Agents Council for Technology report, “Key Considerations in Disaster Planning & Management.”

• Have a team develop a disaster plan that assigns roles to each staff member. The plan should contain the specific triggers that, when met, will begin the plan’s implementation, i.e., 3 days out, 2 days out, etc. Each team should have a point person who reports to the agency’s president/CEO.
• Review and update the plan at least once a year. When a staff member leaves the agency, reassign his/her duties.
• Test and practice the disaster plan regularly.
• Reinforce the plan regularly in staff meetings.
• Prepare a list of employees and their contact information, and keep it updated.
• Develop and test a phone tree system to contact all employees before and after the disaster. Update the plan quarterly and prior to a pending event. Apps such as GroupMe, Slack, and Whatsapp can be used to connect teams and discussion groups.
• Investigate and document what services and/or consultants the agency will need to get business operations back up and running. Make a list of all vendors that can help you restore your computers, software, phone systems, phone and Internet lines, and any other systems. Protecting the security of vital agency information is critical.
• A hard copy of the disaster plan, including the employee list and carrier, vendor, and emergency numbers and contact information, should be kept in a designated place in the agency known by all employees. You may also want each employee to have a hard copy of the disaster plan at home.
• Pull a list of all active clients, which should include active policies with policy numbers, billing and issuing company, expiration date, and contact information. You may also find it helpful to have an expiration list of policies to be processed for the next six months.
• Consider an automated outward-bound calling service using “Robo Calling” technology. This service allows you to communicate with your policyholders before and after a catastrophe. If you plan to use such a service, set up the database and the likely script for the message in advance, plus any variations you may anticipate.
• Have a contingency plan for additional staff resources to relieve your regular staff after a hurricane, when the workload dramatically increases.
• Consider a financial disaster reserve to deal with the added costs the agency may encounter as well as the possible losses due to business interruptions.