Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2014, and its statistics, apparently from a 2014 campaign, are unsourced: three out of four SMEs never reopening after a fire, 14% of insurance claims due to theft, and a 24% rise in lawsuits against managers.
Starting a business is a road full of risks. Every day, business owners battle countless obstacles and challenges; some overcome them stoically, while others fall by the wayside. And it isn’t a matter of luck, but of working hard and smart, developing strategies and being prepared to deal with the setbacks that come along.
And by setbacks, we can include some we hadn’t counted on, which in many cases are due purely to bad luck.
We also need to be prepared for those setbacks. These are some of the risks that companies, entrepreneurs and managers face. Sometimes they aren’t taken into account, or the importance of planning for them is underestimated. We can do incredibly well at running the business, at expanding, at fighting off tough competition, and any one of these events could wreck all our work and progress.
Three out of four SMEs never reopen after suffering a fire, while 14% of business insurance claims are due to theft. Likewise, lawsuits against managers for mismanagement have risen by 24%.
Imagine that, right in the middle of your company’s growth, your business suffers a fire that brings your commercial activity to a halt, on top of the damage to goods and machinery. Have you planned for something like that?
Now imagine a scene so common it happens every day, such as the theft of goods and computer equipment. Could your company get back up and running within a reasonable time after a setback like that?
There are many types of insurance that some entrepreneurs don’t even know about. For example, a startup operating on shaky ground, where it could be the target of future lawsuits, should know that there is insurance to cover that scenario, just as a manager can be insured against claims of mismanagement.
That is why the insurer AXA has been running a campaign aimed at entrepreneurs and businesses for some time, and has made PYME Asesor available to them: a free tool designed to guide and advise you on the most suitable insurance for your activity and type of company.
Success as a business owner doesn’t depend on luck, but some risks are beyond our control. Protecting yourself against those risks is within your control.
Featured image: Keener, Jo L., CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
