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Businesses should ensure their files are backed up to ensure that they can be retrieved in the event of emergency, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The impact of events such as flooding or fire depends on your contingency planning for such an event, explains spokesperson for the association, Kelly Ostler-Coyle.

Files need to be stored elsewhere, whether at home or in a separate server at a different site to enable a firm to get up and running quickly, she comments.

Effects of disasters can be wide-ranging, and not only for those directly affected by them.

Ms Ostler-Coyle says: 'Any event has a knock-on effect, the fact one business is affected directly could affect your business.

'It's about your ability to deal with any given event,' she adds.

Last summer's floods resulted in insurance claims from around 27,000 businesses according to the ABI.

And recent research carried out by AXA insurance found that seven in ten small businesses would be forced to close after being struck by an emergency.