Super Bowl Power Outage – Effectively Managing Risk

Super Bowl XLVII may be remembered as the “blackout” or “power outage bowl.”   When the power went out in the stadium the game was stopped, but social media blew up.  According to CNN, the number one twitter related moment of the Super Bowl was the outage which generated 231,000 tweets per minute.  There are many story lines that will be remembered – Ray Lewis’ last game, The Harbough Bowl, Beyoncé’s half time performance, and of course the power outage.

Regarding the power outage, what lessons could be learned?  The following will outline 8 items to consider with your insurance and risk management plans:

1. Business Income – If your businesses lights went out, would your business income coverage respond?   Have you reviewed terms such as “contingent business income” or “off premises utility failure”? Each policy is unique and different and therefore should be reviewed by your team with your insurance agent and/or insurance company.
2. Contract Review – Do you have contracts in place that “guarantee” something will happen at a certain time or place?  How do these contracts coordinate with your insurance policies?  Have they been reviewed against your Disaster Recovery Program?
3. Reputation | Brand – Did this game hurt the chances at New Orleans getting future Super Bowls?  How many people tuned out during the blackout causing frustration by advertisers?  How many Facebook and twitter jokes were made at someone’s behalf?
4. Competitors – Today I have seen articles about coal companies claiming this is a great example of why their source of power is so important.  Each challenge creates an opportunity for your competitors.
5. Physical Damage to Property – Power outages can cause physical damage to equipment or could cause indirect damage.  For example – spoilage if coolers are shut down.
6. Emergency Evacuation – If your company lost power and had to evacuate your premises could you do so in a safe and orderly fashion? A few items for consideration include: Emergency Lighting, Elevators, Backup Power Sources, etc…
7. Public Relations | Crisis Management – All companies have great employee’s, but each company has one person they would cringe if they jumped on stage, grabbed the microphone and started talking on behalf of the organization to the media. Does your company have a process for address the media in a crisis?
8. Administration – Preventing a risk from occurring is the least expensive way to manage it.   How many hours will it take your staff to manage the seven items above and what is the cost of doing so?   In reality, there are hundreds if not thousands of additional risks that could take up time.

Whether you were in the comforts of your own home or at a family member/friends home, I hope you enjoyed Super Bowl XLVII.  Congratulations to the Ravens and MVP Joe Flacco.  Every event provides an opportunity to learn and apply principles of risk management to our everyday lives and businesses.  To learn more about effectively managing risk in your business, contact Kelly Reed | 906.315.7227 | kellyr@vastsolution.com.