April 26, 2011 – As the potential for severe weather (including tornados) is great in our area for today and tomorrow, we took the opportunity to review are preparedness for disaster recovery for our insurance office. A tornado actually hitting our office location presents a major threat to us in being able to serve our clients in a time of their greatest need. What we have prepared for is the following worst case scenario: Our office is damaged beyond possible use, all electrical service is down, all land line phone service is down, our local cell tower is out of commission and our office staff has suffered major damage to their own private residences (we all live within ½ mile of our office location). A very bad situation to say the least but, believe it or not, we have prepared for this occurrence and have a plan in place. A disaster recovery plan is something you should all do in both your personal and business life. The important things for you to keep in mind are the many ways our clients can report a claim in a time of great disaster. Here’s how: Our website, www.matchettandward.com has links to insurance company web sites and phone numbers for reporting claims (on the “Service” tab link and the file a claim button). You may report a claim directly to us by sending a message using the “Contact Us” tab. You may also report a claim on your mobile device, using these same features on our mobile ready site: m.matchettandward.com. You should bookmark this site on your mobile device in advance. As always, we will be monitoring our 24/7 customer service number: 765-584-1261. We will also set up at a location very near our office so that walk up clients can report their claims directly to us. So, how do we monitor the electronic contacts if there is no power or phones? All the client files in our agency management system are electronically stored off premises. We have lap top computers and cell phones ready to move to a location with power and phone service which will allow us to operate with no interruptions. Computers and cell phones have made disaster recovery for an insurance agency a much simpler task than when my career began 38 years ago when client files would be lost in a fire or buried in rubble after a tornado. Our plan is far more detailed than the above but I think I have given you some insight and information you will need in a time of disaster. DM