A company experiencing a disruption of three days or more is at risk of going out of existence. Disruptions like natural disasters (storms, tornados), human risk (infectious disease, labor disputes) and business risks (financial crisis, supply chain) are a few of the events that can affect a business. Within two years, of the companies that experience this kind of delay, 70% will fail. After five years that figure rises to 90%. The majority of companies will have insurance coverage, but this may not be enough to protect them in the long-term. The key to a business surviving one of these events is to be prepared for every eventuality.

There are inherent risks when traveling abroad. Of course there’s the more simple possibility of a flight being cancelled, or perhaps you fall ill the day before a luxury cruise. But what if you break a tooth or develop severe abdominal pain? It’s not as simple as taking a trip to the local dentist or doctor.

The best ways to protect yourself are to research your destination and purchase travel insurance.

Travel Insurance

With all of the extreme weather we’ve been experiencing lately, you could be forgiven for thinking that maybe the Mayans were just a year off with their apocalyptic prediction. There have been floods, hurricanes and most recently, snowstorms battering the nation from every angle. If you don’t have coverage for extreme weather, you might be thinking that now’s the time to get it. Let’s take a look at what disaster risk measures you can implement to protect against the damaging effects of America’s extreme weather events.

Assess

The first box to tick on your disaster risk checklist should be to assess whether certain types of extreme weather are likely to affect you. Make sure precious items aren’t stored in your basement or any other area of the house that may be affected by flooding. If you do live in an area that could be affected by extreme weather events then you may want to think about getting the appropriate insurance coverage.

There are certain items you automatically associate with workplace safety tips. Whenever anyone offers advice on safety, you assume they’ll be talking about safety goggles, high-visibility jackets, hard-hats and handrails. Those are vital building blocks in creating a safer work environment. Of course none of these measures provide guaranteed workplace safety.

To truly ensure that your employees are safe you need something extra, alongside the standard equipment. There are four key measures you can implement alongside your standard safety practice that don’t require a single piece of equipment.

Training

The term ‘risk management techniques’ automatically brings certain images to mind. You picture safety goggles, staircase handrails and insurance policies. It can be hard to imagine anything other than the standard measures to control risk. You think of a risk, and then you think of something that would protect you from it.

That usually means a physical object, or financial measure that protects your business. What we often forget is that the best risk management techniques are the ones that have a positive long-term effect on the business. That means finding measures that do more than mitigate or prevent risk; measures that improve productivity, morale, efficiency or simply make the workplace better.

The word ‘risk’ carries a pretty negative connotation. It’s often used as a catch all term for things that can go wrong in a business. It’s also the go-to word for people who just want to sell you insurance. They tell you about the risks and the damage

Manti T’eo. Today, it's not about his prowess as a sportsman but about a social media hoax. As it stands no one knows for sure what happened. And Manti T’eo will probably never shake the specter of the story. It will follow him forever no matter the outcome.

It's not a common storyline,

The Wellness Council of Indiana (WCI) has received a grant to provide a tobacco cessation program to up to 100 employers of any size in Indiana. The program is called QUIT NOW! It's an easy-to use, web-based program that links organizations with support for tobacco cessation.

Businesses are getting into high gear figuring out how to deal with the new Healthcare Reform requirements that take effect in 2014.

Risk is an ongoing challenge to manage. As technology, legislation, and business evolves, risk changes form and emerges with new, sometimes surprising exposures. Let's take a look at the top five for 2013.