As America settles down from the tornado that was Election 2020, it now faces another hurricane season, with Hurricane Eta expected to hit South Florida next week.

For jewelers facing the possibility of a storm, Jewelers Mutual is offering an extensive hurricane preparedness checklist. But even if the local meteorologist doesn’t see a big weather event coming your way, the Neenah, Wisc.–based insurance company recommends that jewelers take the following three actions, before the winds even start blowing:

Have what you need ahead of time.

Natural disasters tend to spark last-minute feeding frenzies at hardware and department stores, with everyone foraging for necessary supplies. (Remember, pre–COVID-19, there was a run on toilet paper.) It’s best to have what you need in advance. Also, keep on top of the condition of your building year-round.

Protect important documents and information.

Make sure that any important documentation—like tax information, inventory records, and customer data—is properly backed up and stored in a secure location. If it’s not well-protected, it could be lost forever in a storm.

Even though most businesses do back up everything digitally, it never hurts to keep physical copies of your essential information, just in case something happens that makes it impossible to access. And, of course, with cybercrime on the rise, you should take proper security steps to ensure your data is not compromised.

In addition, if you have records of your inventory, that can help speed up any insurance claims.

Keep a preparedness checklist.

Make sure you have email addresses and phone numbers for all your employees, should you need to reach them during a storm. It’s also helpful to appoint one person to coordinate updates, to ensure everyone gets the right information.

You should also determine the key parties that will help you recover from damages, such as insurance companies, vendors, and other business partners.

Other tips for jewelers for responding to natural disasters can be found here. The federal government’s site for disaster preparedness can be found here.

(Image credit: Getty)

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