"Over the past five years, The O'Neill Group has provided us with a professional service relationship and a unique sense of friendliness and compassion. They've understood the diverse environment of a charter school, in addition to realizing the financial constraints of a newly established entity. The O'Neill Group was not only very responsive in providing for our insurance needs; they offered it at a resonable cost" -Ron King, Business Manager, Eagle Heights Academy, Youngstown, OH

When Disaster Strikes - Are You Ready to Respond?

What the Administrators of Charter Schools Can -- and Must -- Do to Shield Your School from Financial Disaster and Give You Peace of Mind that Your School will Stay Strong!

What if Disaster Strikes -- Are You Covered?

Your Charter School, like any business, is very important to you. It's your pride and joy, your financial security, and your place to make a difference in the lives of students. But, unfortunately, it may also be your biggest liability, which is why it is so important to take the steps that can help you prevent disaster, and keep your Charter School strong in the future.

First, start by imagining a disaster. One day, you get to work -- the first one there as usual. You find the door already unlocked, which sends up a big red flag in your mind because you know you locked the door the previous night. (You are last to leave as well.) You open the door and find . . . desk drawers open, file cabinets overturned . . . and the personal computers on each desktop -- where are the PCs?

You go into your office and find the drawers to your desk open, including the locked one that had keys for all your business's most sensitive documents: checks, etc. Those keys are gone. So are the documents.

By the time your faculty arrive for work, you have realized you are living a worst-case scenario. The office has been gutted by thieves, and there's no way your school can be fully operational any time soon.

Insurance Program Must Cover Worst Case

What do you do, besides panic? Fortunately, this isn't reality. Not yet, anyway. It is a hypothetical situation. But imagine if it did occur. Would your insurance program cover the revenues you would lose? Would it help you pay your bills in the absence of your usual revenue stream? Would it reimburse you for the expenses you incur in getting your school back up to speed?

Your insurance program also must provide protection for the smaller disasters. What if a computer virus is unleashed on your networked PCs and files containing vital customer lists are corrupted? Can the information be recovered, and will your insurance pay for the cost of doing so?

You need insurance to cover anything that can shut down your business, or cause it to operate at less than full capacity. Anything less than that is not adequate. So how do you get adequate coverage? How can you know all the risks you face that could hamper your school?

You keep reading this report.

Peace of Mind in Four Easy Steps
I've been working with charter school administrators for a long time, and I've heard every horror story imaginable. If they were my clients, we were able to take care of their problems. Quickly and easily. Why? Because we were prepared. In this report, I will tell you how to be prepared. I will tell you how to get peace of mind. It's just four steps away.

1. Design a disaster recovery plan for your school.
Insurance can't cover everything, and all coverages have limitations. So you need a plan that allows you to get the company back up and running as quickly as possible. If you don't feel you have the expertise to design this plan, there are plenty of professionals out there who can do it for you.

For this recovery plan to be effective, you need to do the following:

• Make duplicate records of both computerized and written documents.
• Identify your school's critical business activities and the resources needed to support them.
• Plan for the worst-case scenario. Do research before a disaster strikes on alternative facilities, equipment and supplies, as well as alternative contractors.
• Set up an emergency response plan and train your employees how to carry it out. Consider alternative power sources and communication systems, and supplies such as first-aid kits and flashlights.
• Compile lists of important phone numbers and addresses, including those of local and state emergency management agencies, major clients, contractors, suppliers, realtors, financial institutions, your insurance agent and claim representatives for your insurance companies, as well as phone numbers and addresses for your staff. These lists should be keep off-premises.

2. Have a Charter School insurance specialist conduct a risk analysis of your company and its operations.
No two organizations are the same, even two that are very similar schools. You have your own building, your own computer system, your own equipment, your own staff.

You need an expert to assess your school and the specific risks it faces -- and put together a comprehensive insurance plan to protect you.

3. Use an independent insurance agent.
As a business owner, you want as many options as there are available for your insurance program. As such, you don't want an agent who is an employee of an insurance company. Or an agent whose paycheck is tied to just one company. You want someone who will work for YOU.

You want someone who has access to a variety of insurance companies, a variety of programs. You want someone who can compare price and coverage options. Someone who can get the most comprehensive coverage for you, possibly with several insurers that will each provide a piece of your program.

There's only one type of insurance agent who can do all of this for you. An independent agent.

4. Don't trust the financial protection of your school to an insurance agent who is not a specialist with Charter and Community Schools.
Don't trust the future of your school to someone who does not have a comprehensive understanding of the special problems charter schools like yours faces every day. A specialist? Absolutely. Look, insurance is a huge industry. There's insurance for everything. (You want alien abduction insurance? You can buy it.) And nobody can specialize in all of it.

In fact, a professional independent agent can specialize in only a few niches -- and really understand them. I do. I've studied the charter school insurance market in our community for years.

I know:

• Which insurers offer the most comprehensive coverage and the best rates for small businesses.
• Which insurance companies to turn to for a small business's specialized coverage needs.
• And which insurers provide the best claim service.

When it comes to protecting your charter school's financial future, your choice is clear: Contact the experts at the Charter School Insurance Resource Center and help your school prepare for possible disaster and stay strong for years to come.