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Whether your disasters are of the natural kind (hurricanes), man-made (computer viruses), or maybe a combination of the two (blackouts), insurers have to expect the worst and be ready with their best effort to protect their greatest asset: data.BY ROBERT REGIS HYLE

Richmond, Va., is a little over an hours drive from the coastal cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Most people would consider Richmond far enough ...

By Robert Regis Hyle | Updated on October 31, 2003

Richmond, Va., is a little over an hours drive from the coastal cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Most people would consider Richmond far enough inland so that worries over hurricanes or tropical storms wouldnt cause a run on plywood at Home Depot. That is until Hurricane Isabel struck the Virginia coast in September and pushed high winds all the way to Richmond. Jeff Fehn, director of IT for Richmond-based Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance, figured heavy rains would be the biggest problem for his city. At least thats what happened during past hurricanes. But for some reason Isabel was different. We got a pretty good brunt of it, he says.

Fehn and other insurance IT leaders may be shocked when huge storms hit their area, or when an electrical blackout occurs, or even when a virus attacks their systems. They no longer can afford to be surprised, though. Too much is riding on the data that sits inside their data warehouse. These disasters serve as a warning to insurers in other parts of the world, as well: You never know when trouble will arise, so take some steps to prepare for the worst.

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