Avian Flu Fears Spark Disaster Plans

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

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

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

Key findings of the survey include:

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

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

Although 34 percent of poll respondents have both communicated their disaster plan to employees and implemented an exercise or drill to test the plan, 26 percent said they have neither communicated nor tested the plan.

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

The Foundation said survey information was collected information from 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 disaster plans and checklists, the Foundation said.

Disaster Planning is the latest installment of the International Foundation's Survey & Sample Series. The series was created to provide survey data and samples on a variety of employee benefits topics to allow benefits professionals to benchmark their plans against others, to determine trends and costs, and to better manage their plans.

Copies of Disaster Planning or any of the other publications in the Foundation's Survey & Sample Series are obtainable by visiting www.ifebp.org/books.asp?6177 or contacting the Publications Department at (888) 334-3327, option 4; fax (262) 786-8780; or e-mail books@ifebp.org.

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