New York SBDC Research Network

    U.S. insurer class action may signal wave     of climate-change suits     BY  MICA ROSENBERG     Fri May 16, 2014 4:17pm EDT Farmers Insurance filed nine class actions last month against nearly 200 communities in the Chicago area. It is arguing that local governments should have known rising global temperatures would lead to heavier rains and did not do enough to fortify their sewers and stormwater drains. The legal debate may center on whether an uptick in  natural disasters  is foreseeable or an "act of God." The cases raise the question of how city governments should manage their budgets before costly emergencies occur.       "We will see more and more cases," said Michael Gerrard, director of the Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School in New York. "No one is expected to plan for the 500-year storm, but if horrible events are happening with increasing frequency, that may shift the duties." Gerrard and other env

 Don’t lose your business to a power outage, hacker disruption, fire, flood, earthquake or other disaster.  A 2012 survey by Alibaba polled small-business owners to gauge how prepared they were to run their business if a natural disaster struck. The findings were alarming: 74% of American small businesses do not have a disaster preparedness plan; 84% of them are without natural disaster insurance. Preparation, an Active emergency and later, Recovery. Sadly for many businesses, Preparation is the missing component that could have lead to a successful navigation of an active emergency and a graceful navigation of Recovery. More than half of all businesses affected by a disaster level event will not reopen their doors.  In this series we will dive into the three pillars and offer you guidance and routes of assistance to help you plan, prepare and act when the time comes for you to shepherd your business and your employees through an unforeseen (but not an un-planned for disaster)

Flooding is the number one natural hazard in the U.S. It doesn’t matter where your business is located, it can still be at risk from hurricanes, flash floods, blocked storm sewers, snow melt, and so on, and unfortunately the devastation can be costly. According to the National Flood Insurance Program, almost 40 percent of small businesses never reopen their doors following a disaster because just a few inches of water can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage and close your doors long enough to lose your customers. More HERE .