Research from AXA has revealed that 46 percent of UK businesses do not have a business continuity plan. Additionally, 17 percent of businesses claim to have been affected by a disaster in the past and that just over one in five of these companies took longer than a week to recover. Around 8 percent claim it took them over six months before they were up and running again.

Doug Barnett, risk control strategy manager at AXA said: “Businesses face a number of challenges and risks, and they need to do everything possible to reduce the chances of these happening. They also need to have an effective plan in place to deal with them if they do. Every year, thousands of enterprises fold but some of these could be saved if they had a strong business continuity plan in place.”

“Even if a business does have plans in place it is important that companies tweak them so that they are prepared for potential seasonal risks. At this time of year most people take their annual holiday so owner/managers need to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place – for example, that key staff have access to contact details, such as mobile number and hotel details, and that they have delegated authority to a responsible member of staff who is familiar with the company’s continuity plans.”

On a regional basis, businesses in the Midlands and South West England appear to be the most prepared for managing disasters as 63 percent of enterprises there have business continuity plans. Companies in the South East appear to be the least prepared as only 48 percent have plans in place, the lowest in the country. See table below: