Disaster Restoration Magazine - Special Edition

� DISASTER RESTORATION

A Publication from INSTAR SERVICES GROUP, L.P.

Managing Risk From pre-loss planning to post-loss recovery, InStar® helps mitigate disasters ........ 3

Business Continuity Planning Today’s preparation ensures tomorrow’s survival .................................................... 5

Are You Prepared? A disaster recovery action plan saves time and money after a crisis ......................... 6

In This Issue...

Welcome to this special edition of Disaster Restoration maga-zine on the topic of business preparedness. Proper planning is vital to every company’s business continuity in the event

something unforeseen happens.

In this issue, we introduce the new 866-RECOVERSM program and feature articles that help instruct businesses on preparing for the unexpected, identifying risks, and formulating a pre-disaster plan.

The 866-RECOVER program provides a single-source solution with services ranging from emergency response and mitigation to reconstruction. Pre-planning using 866-RECOVER gives clients the opportunity to customize procedures for our emergency responders. Know-ing a company’s vulnerabilities allows us to create a critical path to recovery tailored to its individual needs. Having facility information in our system allows us to respond with the right crews and appropriate equipment. With proper planning and emergency response in place, business interruption is minimized.

The services InStar® offers go beyond just restoration, utilizing a partnership approach in planning, responding, and restoring properties. At InStar, “Our business is putting you back in businessSM.”

Sincerely,

Dave Demos, CEO

Opening Remarks

Disaster Restoration is published by QuestCorp Media Group, Inc., 885 E. Collins Blvd., Ste. 102, Richardson, TX 75081. Phone (972) 447-0910 or (888) 860-2442, fax (972) 447-0911, www.qcmedia.com. QuestCorp specializes in creating and publishing corporate magazines for businesses. Inquiries: Victor Horne, [email protected]. Editorial comments: Darren Nielsen, [email protected]. Please call or fax for a new subscription, change of address, or single copy. Single copies: $5.95. This publication may not be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of QuestCorp Media Group, Inc. and InStar Services Group, L.P. To advertise in an upcoming issue of this publication, please contact QuestCorp at (888) 860-2442 or visit their Web site at www.qcmedia.com. April 2007

Corporate Office7439 Pebble Drive • Fort Worth, TX 76118(866) 467-8275(817) 595-9988 • www.instarservices.comDavid J. Demos, President, CEORick Augustine, CFOKim Crist, SVP, EditorRuss Lannom, SVPMaria Gonzalez, SVP

Mid-Atlantic DivisionMac Patterson, SVPJim Wilson, SVPGreg Dillon, COOAbingdon, VA (800) 544-4497Harrisonburg, VA (800) 430-9707Raleigh, NC (800) 360-3497Nashville, TN (800) 555-8006Knoxville, TN (800) 555-8004Kingsport, TN (800) 639-7858Lexington, KY (866) 299-5400Atlanta, GA (877) 365-9911

Southeast DivisionRick Frankenfield, SVPJoe Borajkiewicz, COOTampa, FL (800) 446-1620 Clearwater/St. Petersburg, FL (800) 446-1620 Safety Harbor/Tampa, FL (800) 446-1620 Tampa, FL (813) 223-7918New Port Richey, FL (800) 446-1620Lakeland, FL (800) 446-1620 Kissimmee, FL (407) 931-1569Sarasota/Bradenton, FL (800) 446-1620Ft. Lauderdale, FL (954) 761-2640

Southwest DivisionBruce Benes, VPDallas/Ft. Worth, TX (866) 467-8275Houston, TX (866) 882-8480Austin, TX (877) 793-4476 San Antonio, TX (866) 619-1900Denver, CO (303) 420-6824Phoenix, AZ (480) 969-1287

Northeast DivisionGary Grout, VPSpringfield/Chicopee, MA (800) 783-7668Worcester, MA (800) 783-7668 Washington DC/ Gaithersburg, MD (866) 369-8626Hudson, MA (978) 568-1224

Commercial Rehab UnitJoe Gillette, SVP

CAT DivisionBilly Short

FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO REPORT CLAIMS 1-866-InStar-5 • [email protected]

FOR EMERGENCY SERVICE1-866-RECOVERSM

Disaster Restoration is a resource of information showcasing the services and capabilities of InStar Services Group, L.P. for an audience of businesses responding to disaster as well as the property restoration industry. ©2007 InStar Services Group, L.P. All rights reserved.

DISASTER RESTORATION �

Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve is the trio of laments all too familiar to those who experience a disaster.

However, this “if-only” hindsight has begun to give way to realism and planning clear through to full recovery, the point when the bottom line of a business is again stable or growing. Preparation includes specifics about who will do restoration and construc-tion work as well as how, when, and at what cost.

All-around, all-the-time readiness is some-thing InStar Services Group, L.P. embraces. In fact, it’s been part of the InStar approach since the inception of the company.

The InStar philosophy creates and sustains some strong bonds between InStar and risk management experts. InStar delivers what it promises, which is the top priority for com-panies that do pre-loss planning and then oversee recovery for their clients.

Close alliances between InStar and risk managers are to be expected. After all, many risk managers work at the behest of insur-ers aiming to keep their own clients from experiencing a costly loss. So risk managers come to know InStar as a wholly dependable disaster restoration and reconstruction firm.

Strong Ties, Single Goal

On the flip side, the awareness, flexibility, and dedication of InStar personnel is doubly appreciated in crisis situations, says Jeff Crenshaw, President of Continuum Inc., a consultancy involved in every facet of disaster readiness and recovery that is head-quartered in Memphis, Tennessee. “What’s best for the customer” is a top priority for InStar, he says.

InStar does the right thing, even if it means losing some potential income. For instance, when a local restoration contractor could be at the client’s site immediately, pre-con-tracted work was forfeited to benefit the client. Bringing in the local contractor — and

fast — was a solution InStar and Continuum developed together and then implemented. They also sent a team member to monitor the work to make certain it was completed to specifications.

InStar and Continuum share a “client first” attitude that keeps them working together. It derives in part from their common root. InStar is part of the ServiceMaster® Family of Brands, and Continuum, which was taken private in 1994, was established in conjunc-tion with ServiceMaster Disaster Services.

The Basics of Planning

The old adage to expect the best and plan for the worst applies to pre-loss planning. As it happens, good humor and forethought equip individuals to look for opportunities to mitigate risk.

Any plan for what happens after a disaster — whether natural or manmade — includes three essential parts, says Crenshaw: Identify the risk. Plan to minimize the risk. And make sure the planning reaches the level of “if something happens, who is going to show up.”

When a company hires a post-loss recovery firm, it should set high expectations. ➤

Bringing coherence to planning for unpredictable events is the essence of the business of risk management and pre-loss planning for recovery. It’s all about softening an unexpected blow and contributing to a fast and full recovery.

Managing RiskFrom pre-loss planning to post-loss recovery, InStar® helps mitigate disasters By Diane Calabrese


The client should be able to count on the company being there, assuring the client gets what it contracted for at the optimum price in the minimum amount of time, Crenshaw says.

In pre-planning, a risk manager should help a client with every dimension of the effort, including evaluating what insurers promise in writing and how it measures up against potential needs. Understanding a client’s business is a must.

“We go in and through an interview process [conduct] a functional priority analysis,” Crenshaw says. The close-up look at a com-pany enables a rank ordering of what should happen first in the event of disaster.

It could be backing up a key person, back-ing up data, or finding a backup site for an essential effort. Crenshaw’s clients include airlines, technology companies, manufactur-ers, and hospitals. Each one has a different list of priorities.

A Focus on Preparation

The interest in pre-planning ushered in by 9/11 and fortified by Hurricane Katrina is something Crenshaw welcomes. Post-loss solutions are essential parts of continuity

planning, but the concept was difficult to sell to people in the 1990s, he explains. That’s all changed, and “it’s a positive change,” he says.

The role of liaison is something Crenshaw relishes. Putting a focus on problem areas and bringing all key players into the pic-ture requires a deft individual. With his background in fine arts and emergency management, Crenshaw provides a unique blend of skills.

An optimistic pragmatist, Crenshaw believes diligence in planning contributes to quick recovery and continuity. He also knows that sometimes terrible things happen in unfore-seen ways.

“I’d formally been the emergency manager for Memphis and Shelby County,” Crenshaw says. “We saw the need for businesses to pre-plan.”

On his first day on the job as EMA Director of Emergency Services, and while still a stu-dent at Memphis College of Art, Crenshaw responded to an accident that involved an interstate propane fire and loss of life. Right then, he says, he realized there was “still a role that you play — in trying to lessen the blow on families” who have lost loved ones.

Motivated to prepare and compensate for swings from equilibrium, Crenshaw takes pre-planning and post-loss recovery seri-ously. Disaster planning “is just not given the attention it deserves,” he says. “Low day-to-day expectation” is coupled with “high expectation post-catastrophic event” for services.

Comprehensive Plans

Complacency is the enemy of solid planning for continuity. Overcoming it takes initiative.

Details matter in the aftermath of a disas-ter. Consequently, the more specifics put in place pre-loss, the easier it is to recover post-loss. The forward-looking recovery expert may get involved even before a facil-ity exists, offering services in engineering, so a new building is sited and built to be disaster resistant.

A viable plan ought to include qualified contractors, subcontractors, engineers, and project managers who can provide a rapid response. It also should have protocols for dealing with water and mold, such as fast abatement.

There must be confidence an insurer will reimburse for the recovery work as well. In addition, a recovery expert ought to be able to step in and help at any time — from nego-tiating insurance coverage before something happens right up to and including offering post-disaster assistance to a company that had no plan.

Risk reduction extends to all parts of the pre-planning and post-loss recovery process. It encompasses efficient use of dollars and going back to full operation as soon as pos-sible. Minimizing any disruption is the key element, Crenshaw says.

Bringing coherence to planning for unpredict-able events is the essence of the business of risk management and pre-loss planning for recovery. Risk can be managed, but it cannot be eliminated. It’s all about softening an unexpected blow and contributing to a fast and full recovery.

All-around, all-the-time readiness is something InStar Services Group, L.P. has embraced since the inception of the company.


Most companies are reluctant to spend the time and resources necessary to set up a business continuity plan

(BCP). But taking the time to put proper resources in place today increases the likelihood of surviving a catastrophic loss tomorrow. There are also significant insur-ance benefits from having one in place.

Planning Strategy and Approach

Insurance companies, whether evaluating from an underwriting perspective or com-pleting a CAT model on a client’s exposure base, look at businesses’ BCP as part of their business interruption (BI) calculation.

The better prepared a company is, the more attractive it is to insurance carriers.

The days of calling on a remediation com-pany for assistance after an incident occurs are all but gone. Over the past few years, many companies without BCPs have encoun-tered disaster and are no longer in business. So companies have come to see the value in planning for assistance ahead of time.

BCPs include responses to natural, man-made, and technological events with the potential to negatively affect a com-pany’s operations. These responses help ensure the company resumes normal busi-ness operation with minimum disruption or loss.

Plan Development

The first step in developing a successful BCP is to perform a comprehensive vulnerability analysis to identify loss potentials. Compa-nies should analyze vulnerabilities in terms of their potential for happening as well as their potential impact on the company.

Three types of analyses should be consid-ered: a natural vulnerability analysis, which focuses on events of nature that could affect your company’s operations; a physical threat security assessment, which addresses security for your company’s facility; and a risk-control assessment, which analyzes fire and associated loss risks.

The second step in business interruption analysis considers the relationships between and time sensitivity of business functions, processes, and equipment in the event of a disaster. The business impact analysis should include: a business function assess-ment, which identifies business functions

critical to continued operations; a criti-cal process assessment, which identifies operational duties needed to perform critical functions for each unit; a critical equipment assessment, which identifies equipment necessary to perform critical functions; and a critical vendor assessment, which identi-fies components necessary to manufacturing and assembly processes.

Based on the vulnerability and BI analyses, the core elements of the BCP can be developed.

Plan Implementation

Once the plan is complete, it will serve as the company’s operating procedure in a disaster. It will provide direction of activities; evacuation procedures; control and respon-sibilities for managing resources; rapid recovery procedures for physical structure, process equipment, information manage-ment systems, and documents; alternate facility considerations; internal and external communications; security; financial consider-ations; and public relations.

Completing the BCP is only the first step. The plan needs to be implemented and exer-cised to work out any kinks, and it needs to be integrated into the corporate culture. Any successful BCP should be seen as a “living document,” something that evolves with the company’s growth.

To ensure the BCP stays current, it should be tested regularly. After testing is com-plete, companies can rest assured that their assets are intact. In the unfortunate case that the BCP is needed, a welcomed sense of security comes in knowing that proper preparation and tools are in place to help put you back on solid ground.

Creating Your Own BCPYour company’s BCP should:

• Protect physical and informa- tional assets

• Minimize the potential effect on customers

• Minimize income loss because of business interruption

• Expedite the full resumption of business functions

• Help maintain public confidence

• Provide for the safety of visitors, employees, and the public

A focused BCP approach includes:

• Identification of loss potential

• Reduction of risks through mitigation efforts

• Recovery strategies

• Implementation and testing of the BCP

Business Continuity PlanningBy S. John DeLutrie Jr., PSC, Vice President, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Today’s preparation ensures tomorrow’s survival


Whether you are a claims adjuster, risk manager, or property man-ager, at some point you will face

the monumental task of recovering from a catastrophic loss. This is the time in your career when all eyes will be watching to see whether you fail or succeed. Loss is inevi-table. What counts is how well prepared you are to manage and mitigate its extent and, in turn, minimize the cost and disruption to your business or client.

Planning for the Unexpected

InStar Services Group, L.P. brings added value services to your pre-disaster recovery planning. To give clients the best service possible, InStar® developed a priority response emergency preparedness program. InStar designed this tool to help clients identify any potential vulnerability at their facilities to destructive events (storms,

fires, explosions) and to ready a client for response through 866-RECOVERSM. Whether self-insured or not, knowing who to turn to and what resources have been allocated limits business interruption.

The risk assessment involves identifying the most likely threat to a company or manage-ment group and then developing the best procedures and techniques for handling the effects of water intrusion, fire, smoke, or any other source of potential damage. In essence, the company lays the foundation for restoring critical facilities and systems by helping clients think about and prepare for the unexpected.

Knowing Where to Turn

If disaster were to hit today, where would you turn for help? If you were a member of the InStar 866-RECOVER program, the answer to

this question is 866-732-6837 and help is on the way. The 866-RECOVER program pro-vides value in many ways. Services include 24/7/365 emergency services for damage caused by fire, flooding, or storms all the way through reconstruction. The program truly provides companies a nationwide single-source solution for response and service.

InStar has a proven record of saving product and inventory and getting businesses up and running quickly, which reassures our clients that their losses and downtime will be mini-mized. “It is comforting that in the event of a disaster we now have a plan in place to pro-tect our inventory and eliminate major service disruptions to our customer base,” says Brad Thomas, Director of Operations for Perfor-mance Food Group in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Agents and brokers who have brought InStar in on the disaster recovery bidding

A disaster recovery action plan saves time and money after a crisis By Kim Crist


process have found that the 866-RECOVER program sets InStar apart from its com-petitors and offers added value to client contracts. The value of 866-RECOVER enhances the agent-client relationship, and the program also provides a true means of controlling a loss when a catastrophic event occurs. “Following a devastating fire at the Gibson world headquarters, InStar was there in moments to assist me in tak-ing charge of the cleanup,” says Ric Olsen, Director of Loss Prevention at Gibson Guitar Corporation. “Gibson prides itself in manufacturing world-class musical instru-ments and values vendors like InStar that provide world-class service.”

Recovery Made Quickly

The experience of property management clients of InStar provides further testa-ment to the success of the 866-RECOVER

program. During large catastrophic events and even single-source losses, tenants have been put at ease by the quick mobilization

and recovery action their property manager ensured by engaging InStar ahead of time. As a preferred provider, InStar provides the personnel and equipment necessary to

get the restoration job done. In addition, its trained, uniformed professionals have the information they need on file for each client’s facilities as well as the company’s specific recovery protocols, which signifi-cantly expedites the recovery process.

During a major event such as a hurricane or tornado, insurance company adjusters and independent general adjusters are reassured about the cost of disaster recovery when their customer has a signed 866-RECOVER contract in hand. The forethought shown in engaging InStar removes the element of surprise and often reduces the likelihood of other perils, such as mold growth.

A well-thought-out, detailed response plan, such as one generated through the 866-RECOVER program, can help protect property, reduce liability, limit operational dysfunction, and minimize disruption and downtime.

A well-thought-out, detailed response plan, such as one generated through the 866-RECOVER program, can help protect property, reduce liability, limit operational dysfunction, and minimize disruption and downtime.

866-RECOVER provides a nationwide single-source solution (number) for disaster restoration, reconstruction, and rehabilitation with the fastest local onsite emergency response in the industry avail-able 24/7/365. 866-RECOVER provides comprehensive services including pre-loss contingency planning assistance, emer-gency loss mitigation response, post-loss cleanup and reconstruction, as well as full rehabilitation services.

InStar® and ServiceMaster Clean®, both companies of the Fortune 500 parent company ServiceMaster®, have joined together to provide the comprehensive nationwide single-source solution for businesses today through 866-RECOVER. Together the comprehensive list of ser-vices is impressive and unmatched in the industry. The road to recovery just got a lot shorter!

Cleaning and Recovery Services • Fire and smoke restoration • Document drying and recovery • Pack-out and inventory • Soot, smoke, and odor removal • Electronics and machinery cleaning • Deorderization treatments

Pre-Loss Services • Contingency planning assistance • Planning assistance materialsEmergency Response Services • 1 phone number — 866-RECOVER • 1-hour follow-up call • 2- to 4-hour onsite service • Water damage extraction/mitigation • Fire corrosion mitigation • Drying and dehumidification • Board-up • Building stabilization • Emergency power and security • Controlled selective demolition • Temporary storageRehabilitation Services • Office improvements or renovation • Tenant build-out • Capital improvement: interior and

exterior rehabilitation — Including but not limited to:

painting, window replacement, decoration, kitchen and bathroom renovations, flooring, plumbing and electrical updates, exterior siding trim, etc.

• ADA compliance (route access- ibility, common areas, sidewalks, and ramps)

Large-Loss Reconstruction Services • Project estimating • Project management and consulting • Structural restoration • Full-spectrum construction servicesCustomer Service Items • Competitive, industry-approved

pricing structure • Centralized billing and review • Centralized communications • Safety and compliance • Customer satisfaction surveysSpecialty Services • Consulting services • Technical services • Advanced drying techniques: — Dry-ice blasting, grit blasting,

ultrasonic cleaning, high- pressure water blasting, and chemical cleaning

• Biohazard/Remediation — Moisture and humidity control — Remove and decontaminate

affected areas/items — Install engineering controls to safe-

guard health of workers/occupants — Test and monitor biohazard levels — Seal surfaces — Mold, bacteria, and

viral remediation

866-RECOVER — A Closer Look

InStar Services Group, L.P.7439 Pebble DriveFort Worth, TX 76118

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Disaster Restoration Magazine - Special Edition