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You should assess the potential risk of flooding to your business. By understanding what the risks of flooding are for your business you will be able to decide what to do about it.

Understand the risk of flooding to your business

You should assess how much damage a flood might cause if flooding were to occur around or near your business property. For example, your losses could be high if you have a lot of expensive stock on the ground floor of your shop or warehouse. Businesses that have taken action and are flood-prepared can save between 20 and 90 per cent on the cost of lost stock and moveable equipment when there's flooding so it is worth having a flood plan in place.

You can use the River Agency's to find out about the chance of flooding to your business property from rivers or the sea. Think about other flood risks, particularly if your property is at the bottom of a hill or below sea level. You can also assess the potential of flood risks to your business property from surface water. If this is the case a more detailed flood risk assessment for your premises is advisable. 

Advantages of flood preparation

Taking steps to prepare for potential flooding to your business could benefit your business in the following ways:

Damage limitation

Significantly reduce damage to property and stock, business disruption, and recovery costs.

Legal compliance

Helps your business to comply with regulatory requirements.

Liability

Reduce your exposure to civil or criminal liability.

Credibility

Enhance your business' image, credibility, and reputation by demonstrating that you take your flood preparation responsibilities very seriously.

Social responsibility

Helps fulfil your responsibilities to protect employees, the community, and the environment.

Insurance

Helps you to obtain insurance coverage and may also help reduce insurance premiums.

Flood risk assessment

Your flood risk assessment can help you decide what to do to control the risks of flooding to your business by:

• Protect your business premises and take steps to limit potential damage. See reduce potential flood damage.
• Preparing a business flood plan of how your business will prepare if flooding looks likely and how your business will respond if a flood does take place.
• Making sure that you have the right insurance cover for flood damage and business interruption. See insure your business against flooding.
• Training employees so they know what actions to take in the event of a flood or on receiving a flood warning. See flood training for employees.

For more information see business impact analysis.

A good flood plan ensures that your business is well prepared in the event of flooding and is in the best position to take immediate remedial action to help minimise any potential damage from a flood. By taking action to your business can save between 20 and 90 per cent on the cost of lost stock and movable equipment.

Business flood plan

A flood plan is a written document that outlines how your business will respond to a flood. If a flood is imminent, your main priority must be to make sure that your employees are safe. You should review and update your flood plan at least on an annual basis.

As a minimum, your business flood plan should include:

• a list of important contacts including your insurance company, key customers and suppliers, Flood Incident Line 0300 2000 100, and evacuation contacts for staff
• a map showing locations of key equipment and where to shut off electricity and other services
• what you will do to protect your property and minimise business disruption
• key procedures for employees

See which includes a business flood plan template to help get you started with writing your business flood plan.

For more information, see create a business continuity plan.

Once you have carried out a flood risk assessment to identify the potential of flood risk to your business, make sure you are properly insured. Flood damage should be included in standard business insurance for areas of low risk. However, you may have to buy it as an option, if you are in an area of significant risk to flooding.

Insurance against flooding

Bear in mind that floods can be very expensive. As well as replacing stock and repairing damaged property, your business could be disrupted for weeks or months. Check your insurance cover includes business interruption and other costs. Business interruption insurance compensates a business for lost income, expenses, and profits if a disaster, such as a flood, forces you to stop trading. It can be added to your insurance policy if it is not included as standard.

The cost of the insurance policy depends on the type of business and premises, your location, and the length of the disruption. By taking flood risk-reduction measures you may be able to cut your premium or level of excess. Discuss this with your broker or insurer as they will often be able to help identify which measures to take. See prepare a business flood plan.

Making an insurance claim if your business is flooded

Thinking ahead will help make any insurance claim as straightforward as possible. Keep your insurance policy and an inventory of important possessions somewhere safe that is likely to be above a potential flood level, such as an upper storey of the building. You may want to keep photographic evidence of your inventory and any flood damage if flooding occurs. An independent appraisal of the potential cost of repairs and replacements can also help. For more information, see insurance: business property and assets. You should discuss this with your broker or insurer.

If you are flooded, contact your insurer immediately and make sure that you keep complete records of actions you take.

By planning ahead you can dramatically reduce the impact that flooding may have on your business. For example, storing valuable items on higher levels will reduce any likely losses at little or no cost. If your business property is in a high-risk flood area, consider investing in flood-protection products. This may help you to reduce your insurance costs. Insure your business against flooding.

There are many different types of flood protection products and your choice will depend on your level of flood risk and the potential costs of a flood to your business.

Minimise potential flood damage

There are two ways in which you can reduce the potential damage to your business property from flooding:

Prevent water from entering your property

Try to prevent water from entering the building by installing permanent or removable barriers to seal doors, windows, and other openings - such as toilets and drains. Other products include air brick covers, non-return valves on drains and pipes, and flood sacks.

Reduce potential from water damage

Reduce the damage caused by water entering the building by raising electrical sockets, wiring, and controls for ventilation systems, using lime-based plaster instead of gypsum, and raising large equipment. Use flood-resistant materials in the construction of new buildings or extensions to reduce the damage if flooding does occur.

Making your business more resistant and resilient can delay or prevent flood water from getting into the property, limit the damage, and make cleaning up easier and faster. This will help minimise any potential disruption to your business from flooding.

Steps to take to minimise flood impact

There are also a number of low-cost steps you can take to minimise the impact of a flood. As a minimum, regularly back up computer data and store important records and information such as your insurance policy details in a safe place above flood level, preferably on an upper floor of the building.

For more information, download a checklist on preparing for flooding (DOC, 40K).

A good flood plan will also help you to react quickly. Prepare a business flood plan.

Finally, you should ensure that you have planned how to recover after a flood. See what to do if your business is flooded.

Flood warning systems

Getting an early warning of flooding can help you to reduce any potential flood damage and financial losses to your business. Call the Flooding Incident Line on Tel 0300 2000 100.

Proper flood training enables your employees to respond quickly in the event that your business is flooded. This helps them to protect themselves and anyone else on your premises, such as customers, contractors, or suppliers, by acting quickly to minimise the potential damage that flooding may cause to your business.

Flood wardens

Employees need to understand flood warnings and what to do when a flood warning is issued. This includes understanding the immediate and potential dangers of flooding and how to evacuate the building safely if there is a flood threat to your property. You might also want to train a few staff to act as flood wardens. Flood wardens will know how to shut down the business, coordinate the safe evacuation of the property and use any flood protection products in the event of flooding. See reduce potential flood damage.

Flood plan

Having a business flood plan will help you identify and allocate essential tasks in the event of a flood that will help minimise the damage caused by flooding. Having a flood response exercise, like a fire drill, can help you check that your plan is workable, your flood training is effective and that staff know what to do and where to muster if there is a flood at your business premises and the building needs to be evacuated. See prepare a business flood plan.

Flood risk for staff working remotely

Flooding could also affect employees working from home or off-site. You should check which of your employees may be at risk of flooding. You could help them draw up a flood plan if they haven't got one in place.

In the event that your business has been flooded your first priority must be safety. Ensure the safe evacuation of your property and that all staff, customers, and anyone else on your premises are evacuated to a safe point away from the flooding. Do not re-enter your business property until you are sure it is safe to do so. Even if a building looks safe, it may have suffered structural damage and could collapse. You also risk a fatal electrical shock if the mains electricity has not been properly disconnected.

Flooding: electrical and gas safety

Before you carry out any clean up after a flood check that the electricity supply is switched off at the mains. If you aren't sure the electricity is turned off, get a qualified electrician to do so. Get any electrical appliances that have come into contact with flood water checked by a qualified electrician before using them again.

If your heating system runs off a gas supply you must get a Gas Safe registered engineer to carry out an inspection after a flood. .

Clearing up flood damage

Bear in mind that flood water may contain sewage, chemicals, and waste matter. Protect yourself and others assisting in the flood clean up by wearing suitable protective clothing to prevent possible infection. If you are using a pump to remove excess water, place the generator outside the building to avoid the risks associated with the build-up of carbon monoxide fumes.

See .

Record flood damage for insurance purposes

Once it is safe to re-enter your business premises, make a record by photographing flood damage to the building, equipment, and goods. Check with your insurance company before you start salvaging goods and repairing damage after the flood. Your insurance company can often recommend suitable tradesmen to help you and may be willing to make an interim payment to help you get your business going again as quickly as possible. Local authorities usually provide skips and extra rubbish collections for items that your insurance company has agreed you can throw away. Find your local council in Northern Ireland.

You may find it quicker and safer to replace damaged items rather than repair them. You may need expert advice on the best way to repair damage to the building.

Your business will need to start trading again as soon as possible. A good flood plan should include a list of key contacts, such as suppliers. You may be able to operate from temporary business premises while repairs are carried out.

You should also consider how to make your premises more flood resistant to future floods. Prepare a business flood plan.

Flood damaged goods

If you have goods that have been damaged due to flooding you may choose to sell these products at a cut-cost price citing that they are flood-damaged goods. If you are going to sell flood-damaged products you must ensure the goods conform to a particular minimum standard by meeting your legal requirements. You can also contact Trading Standards Service Northern Ireland on Tel 0300 123 6262 for further advice on selling flood-damaged goods.

See .