Applied Systems Client Network (ASCnet) President Robby Dunn announced that the association’s disaster response plan has been in place so that independent agents and brokers affected by Hurricane Katrina have support from fellow members.
“First, our independent agents and brokers need to know that help is available,” said Dunn. “And second, they need to know how to receive that help. That’s where ASCnet comes in. The goal is to get systems and agencies back up and running quickly.”
ASCnet’s disaster response plan is a product of the Disaster Prevention and Response Committee, led by Carl Moll, executive vice president and chief financial officer of HBA Insurance Group in Miami. Various links for the response plan, including post-disaster instructions, aid from agents, and necessary emergency contact information, are accessible on the “ASCnet News” section at www.ascnet.org.
To deal with future disasters, ASCnet urges agencies to create their own agency-specific, disaster-planning document, such as ASCnet’s own Emergency Management Disaster Planning & Prevention. Such a plan calls for a list of all firms that provide hardware and software to your agency, as well as contact information in case of emergency; system backups; an “alternative office”; pre-disaster communication with local telephone and electric companies; preparing both office and employees for a catastrophic event; and working with local media.
“ASCnet and other associations have provided a variety of resources to agents,” said Moll. “And now is the time to use them to help recover from Katrina and to prepare their offices for what may be next.”
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