Business interruption risks: Protecting your operations
There are countless variables when it comes to commercial success, but thereβs one constant across every industry and region: If your operations come to a standstill, your business is at risk.
Companies of all sizes are facing business interruption risks, from natural weather
hazards to cyberattacks to geopolitical instability. Whether itβs a fire at one of your facilities, a regional geopolitical conflict, supply chain issues or a global pandemic, every business is susceptible to unplanned disruptions. And even if the interruption is short, the impacts to your companyβs financial strength, customer market share and reputation can be long lasting.
Business Continuity Services from Zurich Resilience Solutions (ZRS) can help your company mitigate business interruption risks and thrive in turbulent times. Our specialists are skilled in developing strong, customized plans and deploying valuable tools, services and insights that can help keep the wheels of your operations turning.
Risk consulting and management strategies
As with any risk, the first step in mitigating business interruption is understanding your exposures. To help you identify and quantify these exposures, ZRS offers guided assessments and solutions including:
- Health Check tools for:
- Business Continuity
- Supply Chain
- Threat & Impact Assessments
- Insurance Value Verification
- Business Continuity Workshops
- Business Impact Analysis
- Business Continuity Planning
- Business Continuity Maintenance & Testing
- Business Continuity and Cyber Risk Services
- IT and Standard Disaster Recovery Plan reviews
- Emergency Response & Crisis Communication Planning
- Business Continuity in Construction Risk Service
- Physical risk data, modelling and analytics solution
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion service
- And more
Business contingency planning and supply chain management
Once your risks have been identified, the next step is planning a quick and effective response in the event of a significant business disruption. ZRS can help customize response plans and resilience strategies for your offices, facilities, manufacturing operations and supply chains. Our services include business continuity:
- Health Checks and Threat & Impact Assessments: effective tools to determine the maturity of your organizationβs Business and/or Supply Chain Resiliency, insurance valuation verification as well as identification and quantification of major exposures.
- Workshops: ZRS guided educational on-site exercises on best practices for restoring production processes and addressing supply chain issues to mitigate business disruption exposures.
- Business Impact Analysis: Business Impact Analysis (BIA) collaborative analysis with overview & quantification of all vulnerabilities and mitigation opportunities.
- Business Continuity Plan development: Development of short-and-long-term loss scenarios and varied severity levels and strategies to minimize the impact all tailored to help safeguard your business.
- Business Continuity Plan maintenance & Testing: with steps to test your organizationβs plan, ensure it is up to date and will be effective when needed. This can include Business Continuity Plan Tabletop Testing Exercises (BCP TTE) that help companies identify new risks and update their plans accordingly.
- Emergency Response/Crisis Communication Support: to ensure you have robust programs needed to support Business Continuity.
- And more
As the COVID-19 crisis illustrated, a supply chain disruption can be among the most costly and damaging types of business interruption. ZRS has specialists, tools and resources aligned with our broader Business Continuity Services to address these risks. Learn more here: Supply Chain Risk Services
Business continuity isnβt just a financial necessity; certain laws and regulations require it. ZRS can help your company address these requirements with a carefully developed Business Continuity Plan to mitigate risk before the next disruption occurs.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Why should business interruption be a risk management priority?While property risks can be significant, they are finite threats to the tangible assets of an organization. Business interruption risks, on the other hand, can result from a myriad of threats β physical and otherwise β and can impact more than one site or company resource simultaneously. For example, a work stoppage or a cyberattack may not result in any physical damage, but if prolonged, they can be as devastating to a business as a major storm and can interrupt operations at multiple sites.
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What are the components of a Business Continuity Plan?In the broadest terms, a Business Continuity Plan includes identification and assessment of vulnerabilities and potential impacts, analysis of current emergency response and continuity plans (or development of one if lacking), targeted mitigation measures (including training), and plan maintenance to improve and foster cost-effective resilience.
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What are the benefits of a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)?A BIA predicts the consequences of a given disruption to a particular business function or process. A BIA can be invaluable for quantifying the impact, creating recovery strategies, and providing insights on actions that can limit adverse impacts and expedite recovery. This information can be used to make effective corporate strategy, regulatory compliance, risk management and insurance decisions.
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Do I need a Business Continuity Plan if I have Business Interruption Insurance?While insurance coverage can help shield you from some quantifiable losses, the potential impacts of a business disruption can extend beyond coverage limits. Losing customer confidence and being viewed as unreliable can create long-term reputational and financial damage. A carefully considered Business Continuity Plan is a mission-critical step in mitigating risks related to a major business disruption.
