Protecting Your Business

• Move essential business equipment, documents, and stock to upper floors or raise them on sturdy shelving.
• Keep insurance documents in a flood‑proof, grab‑and‑go folder.
• Back up all critical customer and business data frequently — ideally using both cloud storage and an offline method.

If you have a ground‑floor kitchen or staff room:

• Keep flood barriers (including quick‑fit or lightweight versions) in a designated, easy‑to-access location.
• Install non-return valves on sewer pipes where possible – this prevents sewage backing up into your premises during heavy rainfall.
• Consider flood-resistant upgrades, such as:
  • Permeable surfacing for car parks, loading bays, and pathways
  • Water-resistant plaster and wall finishes
  • Solid floors instead of floorboards

• Move electrical sockets, wiring, and fuse boxes to higher positions if feasible.

As a business, you can contribute directly to reducing community-wide flood risk by installing nature-based features such as:

This plan should outline:

Helpful resources:

• Deploy flood barriers or sandbags at doors, loading bays, and vents.
• Use lightweight temporary products (available via trusted suppliers such as those listed on the Blue Pages directory).

• Protect important equipment and stock
• Store Documents off the floor

• If your gas, electric, or water supply seems affected, call your supplier immediately.
• If water is close to electrical points, turn off electricity at the mains if it is safe to do so.

• Take photographs of all water ingress, damaged items, and any protective actions you have taken.
• Keep a written log – useful for insurers.
• Create or update your Business Flood Plan.

• Contact your insurer as early as possible
• Early notification will speed up assessments and recovery.

• Wear protective gloves and waterproof boots — floodwater may be contaminated.
• Check whether your business may qualify for local support schemes

• Photograph every damaged item, large or small.
• Only begin disposal once you have captured detailed evidence.

• Contact your insurer or broker to start the claim process.

If you have Loss Recovery Insurance, your Loss Adjuster will guide you.

Otherwise, you will need to arrange the following yourself 👇

• Have a Gas Safe engineer inspect all gas appliances.
• Use an approved electrical contractor before switching power back on.
• Ensure the building’s structure is sound before re‑entry.

Removing floodwater too fast can weaken walls and floors.

• Use dehumidifiers and ventilation to dry the building gradually.
• If using a generator, never run it indoors – and always use a carbon monoxide detector.

Talk to your insurer and landlord about integrating:

Simple property-level resilience measures can make a big difference. These include:

SuDS slow, store, and soak away water naturally — reducing water pooling around your premises and relieving pressure on Slough’s drainage network.

Depending on the cause:

Coverage varies. Commercial properties are not part of the Flood Re scheme (which is for domestic homes), so you need to check your policy carefully.

Keep copies of your insurance documents somewhere safe and easy to grab.

Do not dispose of anything until you’ve photographed it thoroughly for insurance evidence.

The Blue Pages Directory lists independently verified flood resilience products suitable for commercial premises, including:

A good plan should include:

Depending on the situation, you may be able to access:

You can:

Focus on three priorities: