Record rainfall in the UK, widespread flooding that killed nine people, ruined crops that cost the country billions – it was not a great 2012 in this respect, particularly for property insurance. Policies by the Government may seek in the long term to lessen the impact of extreme weather events on society at large, but this wont happen overnight.

For businesses, insurance is only small part of the picture in seeking to address this issue, when major incidents take place, the loss of a key facility can be a disaster for business and market leadership, affecting bottom line and even share prices. Mitigating this growing threat means building resilience into operations, through robust and resourceful planning, with the aim of protecting continuity in the short-term and assets in the long-term. The past 12 months were the second wettest on record in the UK. The Meteorological Office says total rainfall for the United Kingdom during 2012 was 52.4inches (1,330.7mm), just 6.6mm short of the record set in 2000! Few areas escaped with thousands of homes flooded and farmers struggling to grow crops as a result of the inundations.

If these figures have not got you reaching for your umbrella, this latest analysis might just persuade you. Climate model projections from the (IPCC) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change project a much greater risk of increasing flood risk in the UK. In coastal regions particularly, several global-scale and regional-scale assessments suggest that without adaptation, the UK could experience major impacts on coastal flooding from sea level rise. The issue of climate change has long been a thorny one, although those who cast doubt of the authenticity of reports warning of rising sea levels and deluges remain few and far between. We are not aware of any major governments denying the existence of climate change, and its impacts are taken seriously by individuals, politicians and businesses alike. With greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere heating the Earth at an increasing pace, the IPCC now estimates that by 2100, average global temperatures will rise by somewhere between 1.1?C and 6.4?C.

The IPCC believes even two degrees of warming could decrease crop yields across southern Europe alone by approx 20 per cent. It could also lead to the extinction of up to 40 per cent of species on the planet – catastrophic… Later this century, a number of major cities are likely to be under threat to some degree, including Shanghai, New York, London and Tokyo. (Source: Seven Ways to Fix the World, Christopher Barnatt, 2012.) While scientists work at ways to limit the risk of climate change, firms must find their own ways to mitigate the immediate impacts. Business continuity management not only provides organisations with the capability to recover from events, but also creates enhanced resilience to smaller events that could turn into more significant events.

Business response to the growing issue of flood risk needs to be flexible and responsive. Plans must have the capacity to adapt to changing contexts, they must withstand sudden shocks and should enable a recovery, while preserving the continuity of operations. These are the three elements as set out by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in seeking to propose a meaningful definition that encompasses speedy recoverability and adaptability (Source: Global Risks Report 2013, WEF). If they have not already done so, companies at risk must accept and dramatically mitigate the reality of longer lasting business interruptions, which means a thorough evaluation of business continuity and crisis management plans. A robust and tested emergency response plan will get a company through the initial impacts of major events, as well as addressing the aftermath, taking a company through to complete recovery.

To take the example of a facility located in a known flood zone, where it is not a question of if, but when; flood damage and disruption is caused by many factors, including contaminated water and the duration of the flood. Immediate actions, for facilities that exist within flood zones should focus on two main strategies, keeping the floodwater out of important buildings where practical, and limiting what gets damaged when water does enter a structure. Long-term strategies include flood emergency response plans which enable quick reactions during the event. Account should be taken of flood events impacting up and down the supply chain.. Long-term governmental and policy-driven solutions will not address this issue overnight. While extreme weather events are increasing in occurrence and severity, both the probability and impact of threats and risks can decrease with effective implementation of business continuity and resilience management and of course will hopefully lead to be able to compare let property insurance, compare liability insurance and specifically cheap property insurance