Winter will be here soon. In Connecticut, that means\nbitterly cold temperatures, snow, ice, and strong winds. Start taking proactive\nsteps now to prepare your business for winter storms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inspect your building for existing problems that could lead\nto serious structural damage if a major winter storm struck. If the roof has\ndamaged or missing shingles or leaks, get them repaired now. Otherwise, several\ninches of snow could cause roof leaks and water damage inside the building, or\nthe roof could collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cold temperatures are another common source of problems.\nInsulate pipes to prevent freezing. Check the building for drafts and replace\nweather stripping, if necessary, to keep employees and customers warm and to keep\nyour utility bills in check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water from snow and ice can cause slip and fall accidents that can result in serious injuries and expensive insurance claims or lawsuits. Make sure you have at least one-floor mat to a place near each door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your regular maintenance staff can\u2019t handle snow removal\nthemselves because of the size of the property or because you don\u2019t have the\nnecessary equipment, contract with a local snow removal company. In addition to\nplowing your parking lot and removing snow from walkways, make sure there is a\nplan to rake large amounts of snow from the roof and to deal with ice on the\nground and icicles hanging from the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inform workers of the company\u2019s winter storm plans. Tell employees in advance if they are considered essential and will have to report to work no matter what, or whether they can work from home or modify their schedules. If you plan to close your business for the day or think you might tell employees when you will make that decision and how they will be notified. If you have staff report to work and then decide to let them leave early, don\u2019t wait until road conditions have gotten so bad that traveling is dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make sure all supervisors and employees understand their\nresponsibilities when it comes to preparing for and dealing with winter weather\nand communicating with other team members. Check that you have up-to-date\ncontact information for all employees, outside businesses providing\nstorm-related services, utility companies, and your insurance carrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if you take precautions to protect your building, it\nor its contents may be damaged by a severe winter storm. Filing an insurance claim\nwill be easier if you have records and photos of damaged items. Take some time\nto create or update your inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now is also a good time to review your business\ninsurance<\/a> and make sure you have adequate property and liability coverage.\nIf you need business insurance, or if you are thinking about switching companies\nto get better coverage or lower rates, Petruzelo can help you compare options\nfrom several top insurers. Contact us<\/a> today to\nget a quote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Winter will be here soon. In Connecticut, that means bitterly cold temperatures, snow, ice, and strong winds. Start taking proactive steps now to prepare your business for winter storms. Get Your Facilities Ready Inspect your building for existing problems that could lead to serious structural damage if a major winter storm struck. If the roof […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2662,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1,13,77,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-general","category-insurance","category-safety-tips","category-small-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2661"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2663,"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2661\/revisions\/2663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petruzelo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}