Strategies to Help Dealers Prepare for Volatile Weather.

Read time: 3 min read

Extreme weather events such as the horrific wildfires in Los Angeles and flooding in North Carolina have become more frequent and unpredictable, impacting dealers across the country.

With 20 years of experience in the auto industry, Tayisha Beard, Senior Director of Sales for Ally Dealership Insurance, has helped dealers with insurance claims through severe weather storms including Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey. Beard shares four key insights that can help dealerships prepare and respond to inclement weather.

Watch for more volatile weather patterns

Over the last decade, Beard has seen weather patterns become increasingly volatile with sudden floods, fires and hailstorms impacting areas that hadn’t previously experienced severe weather events. “We’re seeing baseball size hail in areas that never had hail issues before,” she said. “It’s important for everyone to be aware of weather conditions.”

Beard said that dealers would benefit significantly from staying vigilant regarding severe weather and try to be flexible in their preparedness.

Develop a preparedness plan

“You’ve got to prepare. It’s no longer of a matter of if a weather event will impact your area, it’s more a matter when is it likely going to happen,” Beard said. “Dealers should prepare with an evacuation plan, making sure their teams know their roles.”

She said evacuation plans can protect both people and assets. These plans should include designating safe spaces within the dealership, moving vehicles to higher ground or covered areas, and ensuring all employees understand their responsibilities during an emergency.

Beard also encourages dealerships to review plans immediately after a weather-related event to determine what worked and if the plan needs to be adjusted.

Review your insurance coverage annually

Beard encourages dealers to review their insurance coverage at least once a year to ensure it meets their current needs. This review should account for changes in inventory, added locations, any new risks that need to be covered and any policy exclusions. She said that dealerships often make the mistake of only looking at their coverage when something has happened.

Remember to take care of your own well-being

Dealers often overlook their own physical and mental health during a disaster, Beard said. She encourages dealers to take time when experiencing an emergency to check on their own health and make sure they have processed the event personally so they can effectively lead their teams and support their community during recovery.

“Dealers want to get back to helping their customers and employees and by getting their businesses back up and running,” Beard said. However, she added that “just like they tell us on the airplanes, put on your mask first. Have you processed everything that just happened? Making sure your mental and physical health is in order is essential to being the best dealer and community advocate you can be.”