Each year potential hazards threaten the business community worldwide. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, and other disruptive events represent a continuous problem throughout the business community. Many of these threats result in significant exposure to large and small businesses. When business operations are disrupted, companies suffer both tangible and intangible losses.

Frequently, the risk management planning and formulation process is myopic in defining the magnitude of probable maximum loss exposures. A significant task in crisis management plan strategy formulation is broadly to identify and measure the various potential crises and loss exposures. The crisis and loss exposure assessment must remain broad in nature and not become inhibited by the traditionally narrow considerations of only those perils addressed by standard commercial insurance policies.
There are three primary categories to consider in the comprehensive crisis exposure analysis. The following are the categories identified for crisis assessment considerations:

An effectively implemented Crisis Management Plan is generally structured with three primary elements involving:

The structured development, formulation, implementation and operating strategy as well as on-going enhancement of a comprehensive Crisis Management Plan typically involves the following five sequential phases:.

All too frequently, creative risk and insurance management programs lack the vital, but elusive, Crisis Management Plan segment. Even when logical, proven risk and insurance management techniques and effective loss control activities are utilized, crises must still be anticipated.