A Firm's Continuity Plan is Put to the Test

Admin Solutions

Tim Evans watched the news intently as a Category 5 hurricane moved toward the southeast United States. Hurricane Florence was threatening his city, Wilmington, NC. Just 1.5 miles from the beach, Tim's home and office were right in the path, as were most of his clients. Before evacuating, Tim took steps to arrange for the care and needs of his clients — alongside his admin, Courtney Adams from LPL Business Solutions

“We had a plan,” says Tim, founder of Eastwood Wealth Management and an early adopter of LPL’s Admin Solutions program. “Operations continued uninterrupted — although remotely — from LPL headquarters.”

As the storm approached and Evans prepared to leave town, he forwarded all calls to Courtney since he didn’t know where he would take shelter.

“While most of my clients were focusing on their safety, the peace of mind that I got from knowing we were doing everything possible to look after their interests and assets was priceless,” says Tim.

Although the hurricane dropped to a Category 1 before striking shore near Wilmington, it spent days churning along the coast, leaving flooding, wind damage, and devastation in its wake. Evans spent a week in a hotel near Richmond, VA. While he had mobile communication and was eventually able to access Wi-Fi, his time and ability to manage clients were limited. But Courtney remained accessible and available to receive phone calls and respond to emails.

“We executed the ‘out of office’ protocol that we’d established,” says Tim. “Technology allowed us to stay in contact with one another. Courtney handled callers and took messages. I returned calls when I could” as he was navigating flooded and damaged highways to return to Wilmington.

“We had clients with homes that had significant damage — raised roofs, fallen trees damage, and flooding. One client was displaced because their condo needed to be torn down due to mold damage,” Tim continues.

“One client couldn’t reach Tim, but got through to me,” says Courtney. “She was worried about having enough cash to get her through repairs and other expenses after the storm. I was able to help her access her money, to give her one less thing to worry about.”

“Courtney and I never missed a beat as far as the practice is concerned,” Tim says.