As I have reported, after my participation in the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, US hurricane experts/scholars and U.S. forecasters have predicted an active Atlantic hurricane season. Insurers and insured are bracing.

And, obviously, what happens in Iceland doesn’t stay in Iceland. Often disasters affect a widespread geographical area... or there is a "domino effect."

Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, has said losses from natural catastrophes caused by climate change -- including the long-term trend toward severe flooding -- will rise in the near future. North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa are among U.S. states expecting “potentially historic flooding” in coming weeks, government forecasters said today.

“Natural disasters may cost insurers as much as $110 billion worldwide in 2010, five times more than last year when the US escaped hurricane damage”, said Swiss Reinsurance Co. Bloomberg reported on March 16th, 2010.

After a hurricane or heavy storm and everyone is safe and accounted for, the biggest reason people mourn after the disaster is for the lost memories, keepsakes, collectibles, photos, family history and things that can’t be paid for by insurance. For businesses, the matter is even more dire: the loss of intellectual property, collections and items that make up the corporate culture can badly cripple the reopening. But there are ways to prepare for the shaking, water damage and mold.

The National Hurricane Conference ended last week with experts declaring that 2010’s upcoming hurricane season is likely to be devastating. Reuters followed up days later with further confirmation that with the El Nino cooling down to almost a La Nina, the stage is set for a potentially bad season of at least 8 major storms coming in from the Atlantic.

Matt Steward, disaster relief community volunteer wrote home to parents that when he arrived in a devastated area where flooding had occurred in Ohio, “All they had us do was look for people’s memorabilia floating in the water.”

Each year over 2 million hospital associated infections are reported to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) by North American hospitals. In excess of 100,000 deaths result from these pathogens many of which are resistant to traditional antibiotics.

Health Care is a dynamic market segment that is always in a growth pattern. This market is not limited to hospitals but includes, clinics, day surgery centers and long term care facilities etc.  All such facilities may have a patient population that is immune compromised and as such their ability to fight off infections is limited.  Most of the pathogens that exist in the health care environment are bacterial molds (referred to as "fungal infections") and are a serious issue with a high mortality rate.

The restoration contractor plays an important role when remediation is required,  but most - this author has found, are not prepared for the changes in restoration procedures that they must implement. An example is the need to comply with a hospitals ICRA plan.

Coupons,  promo’s, discounts,  and other specials all have their place in generating sales.

They can be successfully used to increase traffic, create a new customer, and help keep your business in the spotlight.  There can be a very fine line between these promo’s and a bait and switch scam, and often  business people utilize “situational ethics” to help them overcome an otherwise unethical or even dishonest situation.

During a recent visit to Florida, I picked up a “Coupon Booklet” that had “sales, deals, promo’s, coupons, special savings” and more.  I rarely ever look at this type of advertising,  but since I had a couple minutes, I read through it page - by – page and was shocked at the gimmicks being used in an attempt to get business.