Small business insurance holders have been offered advice on how to cope with swine flu.
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) pointed out that the UK has already seen 7,500 confirmed cases of the illness and highlighted that 100,000 new cases could be diagnosed each day by the end of August.
According to the group, this could have a damaging effect on small business insurance customers and they should prepare to manage the spread of the illness.
The organisation recommended that small business insurance holders do their best to minimise face-to-face contact and attempt to use the telephone or internet as much as possible.
In addition, workers with a suspected or confirmed case of swine flu should not be allowed enter the office, while a contingency plan should be established to cope with an emergency situation.
Nick Palin, director of finance and administration at the FPB, commented: "As a business owner, the more that you can put into preparing before a pandemic happens, the better placed your business will be to survive it unscathed."
According to the NHS, symptoms of swine flu include fatigue, lack of appetite, coughing and fever, while some people also suffer nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, runny noses and sore throats.
