Risk Education to Empower Small Businesses

Amid the daily challenges of running a business, it’s all too easy for small business owners to lack understanding of the risks around them or the importance of having adequate insurance coverage. In fact, according to the 2017 Travelers Business Risk Index, only 30 percent of small business owners have business continuity plans in place to help them weather business interruptions caused by risks to their businesses.

Travelers has partnered with nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, New York City and St. Paul to develop the Small Business Risk Education (SBRE) program. SBRE provides small business entrepreneurs with the broad understanding of safety risk management that can help them sustain and grow their businesses, and even turn that knowledge into a competitive advantage. Our program is geared particularly for women-, minority-, and veteran-owned small businesses. The program includes:

• Insurance and Risk Management Workshops run by Travelers Risk Control consultants who teach basic safety risk management concepts.
• One-on-One Consultations with Travelers Risk Control professionals who help participants develop business continuity and safety risk management plans for their businesses.
• Microloans that participants can apply for to help them implement the risk management plans they’ve completed. These loans are funded and administered by our nonprofit partners.

Since the program’s inception in 2012, more than 1,850 representatives of women-, minority- and veteran-owned small businesses attended SBRE workshops and other events. The program has more than doubled the number of individuals reached over the past five years, and we anticipate continued growth in 2019.