Over half of small British businesses are not prepared for the event of a major incident occurring and do not have a formal business continuity plan.

British businesses have been hit with several unexpected disasters in recent years like foot and mouth disease, petrol shortages and terrorist activity, yet 65% of them are still unprepared for the worst.

Research carried out by business insurers More Than, surveyed 1,000 small businesses, 43% of which were not insured should their existence be threatened by external events.

The research showed small businesses are less likely than those with a higher turnover to be insured for such events.

Small businesses were also asked what they considered to be the greatest external threat to their business. Fire was seen as the biggest threat by about a third of small businesses, followed by a telecommunications failure and a power failure.