US

Firms “not prepared” for catastrophes: survey

While many large North American corporations are exposed to natural disasters, many are not well-prepared for such events, according to a new survey. In addition, the survey found that many firms are “not overly concerned” about the potential business impact. The 2008 Natural Disaster Business Risk Study – commissioned by commercial and industrial property insurer FM Global – found that while 96% of the surveyed companies have operations exposed to natural catastrophes, less than 20% of their executives indicated that their firms were “very concerned” about such natural disasters negatively affecting their bottom line. While 80% of companies have North America operations located in regions exposed to hurricanes, nearly 50% reported they are not well-prepared for a hurricane and nearly 80% said they were not overly concerned that a hurricane/typhoon or tropical cyclone could negatively impact their company’s bottom line.