One lesson coming out of Superstorm Sandy is that after an eventis not the ideal time for companies to try to understand the extentof insurance coverage, says an executive with insurance brokerAon.

In a webinar on the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy,Neil Harrison, group managing director for Aon Global RiskConsulting, says the storm has raised awareness among chiefexecutives and directors about the need to have a business-recoveryplan in place. That plan includes understanding the insurancepolicy in advance to “make sure the coverage meets what isneeded.”

Too many companies renew policies without reviewing theircompany's assets and economic value, says Harrison. This issomething that needs to be updated at renewal, and too often isneglected. This will be especially important should it be necessaryto calculate business-interruption losses.

Among other points he raised:

• Expand risk controls now, and they will pay off later.
• Get a business-continuity plan in place that can deal with theimpact of Sandy type event.
• Practice and understand how the response will work and if it isadequate.

“Post event is not the time to find out how your system works,”says Harrison.

He adds, “Be ready to respond and to take immediate action toremediate your loss.”

“None of us are really smart enough to really step back and sayexactly what could happen, but there are some common themes [tothink about],” says Harrison. “Impact on business, technology,operations, people, processes and within each of those five coreareas, somewhere there are some recurring best practices that feedin together.”

As far as Sandy's impact on the commercial-insurance market inthe future, Rick Miller, chief broking officer, Aon Risk Solutions,U.S. property practice, says there most certainly will be someimpact on certain areas of the country considered high risk.

Sandy, he says, will be a significant event and it will put somepressure on some insurers.

The best advice he says he can give in “a challengingenvironment” is to understand the marketplace “as early aspossible” and know what alternatives there might be out there.

“Go early, go often and be in conversation with your incumbentsand get a sense of where their head is,” says Thomas J. Fitzgerald,CEO, Aon Risk Solutions, U.S. Retail Operations.