Preparing for winter

As the year draws to an end, and the colder, more unsettled weather firmly takes hold, it’s COVID19 still dominating headlines and generating uncertainty for businesses. However, we must not lose sight of the seasonal risks that can also impact your clients’ operations significantly - it’s these risks that, although not predictable, we can be more prepared for. 

We’ve updated our Winter Risk Management Bulletin which you can download and share with your clients. It highlights the types of risks businesses should be aware of over the coming months, such as turbulent weather increasing the risk of harsh driving conditions, damage to property and cracked water pipes. The need to protect your business from the weight of snow and extreme weather damage, such as high winds and heavy rain with regular building maintenance checks. Or slips, trips and falls being more prevalent during the winter with wet and icy conditions leading to employee injury, absence, and reputational loss. Such risks can be mitigated with the right prevention measures and an awareness of their potential impact.

With the recent storm Arwen leaving many homes and businesses damaged and without power, the importance of effective risk management and prevention needs to be considered by all. As the impact of climate change becomes more severe, we can expect these types of weather patterns to become more extreme and frequent in the future. The good news is that we can put measures such as protection strategies, and business continuity plans in place to help protect our businesses and enable them to become more resilient. Visit our risk solutions website for tips on becoming more sustainable and managing the related risks.

The risk of flooding, although not confined to winter, is also heightened due to heavier rainfall. This year we’ve seen more flooding in the UK, which can create huge problems for businesses, not just in the damage caused to properties and belongings but also the immense disruption in terms of business interruption periods and supply chain difficulties. There are measures you can take right now to limit the devastating impact of flood – as a first step, creating a flood plan will help your clients to prepare and subsequently recover if the worst does happen.

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