A successful natural disaster response plan must anticipate the unexpected, which experts say means thinking about every aspect of a company operation and how it would be affected by a catastrophe. Planning is complex because what's at stake can be nothing less than a company's survival. And It's not something that can be done overnight. In fact, planning should take place years in advance of an event, said William M. Lonchar, vice president and operations manager of property insurer FM Global in Atlanta.

Risk managers need to focus on communication, he said. “I really think the risk managers play a very integral part strategically in having the location level, corporate level and the risk level all looking at each other, saying, "How can we do smart things to prevent the loss?'” Mr. Lonchar said.

There's also the interdependency issue. The risk manager has the strategic view to not only see how an individual location operates, but how that location fits in with the entire global organization, including providers along the supply chains, he said.

Linking communication and interdependency creates an opportunity for risk improvement, Mr. Lonchar said. That allows the risk manager to take the step to make a catastrophe loss preventable rather than inevitable, he said.

“These savvy risk managers make a huge impact on their organizations' resilience because when you're resilient, you're in business,” Mr. Lonchar said.

During the prestorm planning, “we've tried to put together a pretty complex list of things to do,” said Bart Douglas, managing director-national claim advocacy practice group at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in Miami.

This includes making sure the office is equipped with a good supply list, contracting with a landscaper to begin trimming trees and contacting the firm's security company so it can be retained. Mr. Douglas said contacting suppliers is also key, even the bottled water company, so delivery of supplies can continue after the natural disaster, he said.

In addition, hard files should be secured in plastic bags and computer files should be backed up and the computer hardware covered with plastic. File cabinets should not be ignored if they're still being used, Mr. Douglas said.

“If you've got file cabinets and you feel that they're in a reasonably safe area, you want to make sure your file cabinets are taped,” he said.

Another key step is to make sure all vehicles that will respond to storm issues are filled up with fuel.

Checking emergency equipment supplies is also crucial, said Tom Fioretti, chief risk engineering officer of Zurich North America in New York.

Mr. Fioretti recalled a customer that had a contract to have a fuel truck delivered in advance of Superstorm Sandy, which pounded the Northeast last October, to run generators.

“But no one bothered to check whether the tank was full,” he said. The tank was only about half full, and the customer that thought it had three days' worth of fuel ended up with only a little more than a day's supply, he said.

“Many companies have emergency plans, but quite likely are too slow to pull the trigger,” he said. “You really may not think you're going to need it, but you have to remember some of the most mundane things, like reviewing the plan with your team.''

In addition, inspect the building itself and make sure items on the roof are locked down, Mr. Fioretti said. Checking drains can prevent major storm damage, too, he said, noting that one customer suffered a roof collapse because drains were clogged and water formed a pond on the roof.

And making sure cell phones and radios are charged is also crucial. He said cell phone charging packs are $15 to $50, and a company should make sure its key people have them.

Mr. Fioretti said that some buildings in New York still aren't functioning months after Sandy because all the electronics and disaster recovery material in the basement got washed away or ruined by the storm surge.

During the early stages of Sandy, Zurich's risk engineering and claims operations reached out to almost 1,900 customers.

“We made sure we were very proactive,” he said.

Gallagher's Mr. Douglas said risk managers have advance notice of a hurricane making landfall, which gives them time to compile lists of key contacts such as adjusters and insurers so a claim can be reported promptly.

He said the policyholder needs to inspect damage and take photos before the adjuster assesses damage, and put the photos on a disk so they can be easily transferred to the adjuster. He also said policyholders should take before and after photos of any temporary repairs.

“We like to provide information in advance so when the adjuster gets there we have a spreadsheet to show things like type of deductible,” as well as a copy of the policy itself, he said.

Mr. Douglas said that sophisticated property policies aren't just off-the-shelf documents.

“We like to provide a copy of the policy with the language” because an adjuster may not have seen the policy's particular language before, Mr. Douglas said. “It's important that the adjuster and (the policyholder) are looking at the same material.”

“In advance, we try to suggest to our clients that they itemize those locations that might pierce the deductibles and have the adjuster focus on those locations, at least on the first visit,” Mr. Douglas said.

“Try to find common ground with the adjuster on the scope of damage,” he said.