Risk management ensures that an organization identifies and understands the risk to which it is exposed. Risk management also guarntees that the organization creates and implements an effective plan to prevent losses or reduce the impact if a loss occurs. Property damage can be caused by many common perils: fire, windstorm, lightning and vandalism may be the first that come to mind. And it's a rare business that doesn't buy insurance to protect against these. But to cope effectively with the possibility of physical damage to property, the business owner should consider more than just damage to or destruction of the building itself.

Contents may be even more susceptible: manufacturers might lose both raw materials and finished goods that were ready to be shipped. Merchants may lose valuable inventories and fixtures. Any business might lose valuable accounting records (making it difficult to bill customers or collect from customers who owe money). Vital machinery or equipment may become inoperable because of fire and, if replacements can't be found and installed immediately, the business may even be forced into a temporary shutdown.

Every year hundreds of businesses that carry adequate insurance against direct loss of property fail because they overlook the possibility of indirect loss. Don't forget to protect your business against loss of income and unusual expenses that may result if direct loss forces you to close temporaril