Twenty-four percent of U.S. and Canadian firms have eithercreated or revised a disaster plan because of avian flu concerns, asurvey has found.

The poll on Disaster Planning was conducted by the InternationalFoundation of Employee Benefits Plans based in Brookfield, Wis.

IFEB's survey in the wake of such disasters, as 9/11, HurricaneKatrina and the SARS epidemic, examined how organizations arepreparing themselves for possible disasters.

Key findings of the survey include:

oFifty-two percent of organizations have a disaster plan; 27percent are planning to have a plan within 12 months and 67 percentof those with disaster plans either created or revised their planbecause of recent disasters.

The most common provisions in a disaster plan to aid employeesare access to counseling or an employee assistance program (51percent) and emergency payroll distribution or cash advances (47percent).

Although 34 percent of poll respondents have both communicatedtheir disaster plan to employees and implemented an exercise ordrill to test the plan, 26 percent said they have neithercommunicated nor tested the plan.

The survey also identified the most common disasters addressedand the most frequent provisions included in a disaster plan.

The Foundation said survey information was collected informationfrom 261 United States and Canadian multiemployer trust funds,corporations, public employers and professional service firms.

Results of the survey include 16 hard-to-find sample disasterplans and checklists, the Foundation said.

Disaster Planning is the latest installment of the InternationalFoundation's Survey & Sample Series. The series was created toprovide survey data and samples on a variety of employee benefitstopics to allow benefits professionals to benchmark their plansagainst others, to determine trends and costs, and to better managetheir plans.

Copies of Disaster Planning or any of the other publications inthe Foundation's Survey & Sample Series are obtainable byvisiting www.ifebp.org/books.asp?6177 or contacting thePublications Department at (888) 334-3327, option 4; fax (262)786-8780; or e-mail [email protected].

The 550-page publication, available in CD-ROM, e-book (PDF)format or standard print format costs $90 (I.F. Members $45) plusshipping and handling.