In the world of commercial insurance, a business owners policy, also called a BOP, is your one-stop shop for all the major property and liability coverages built into one easy policy.
A business owners policy is mainly for smaller to mid-sized businesses. However, there are other “package policies” for larger commercial businesses that face different
degrees of risk than the ones smaller businesses would face.
Many business owners policies come standard, but more coverages can be bought and added in order to obtain a policy that is tailored to cover all of the unique risks your business faces.
Below are the coverages offered through a business owners policy:
Basic Coverages
Property Insurance
- This coverage typically covers property owned, leased, or rented by your business. These items may include furniture, equipment, personal property, valuable papers, and records, as well as the building.
Liability Insurance
- General liability will protect your business from individuals or other businesses that attempt to seek legal action against your business. This can stem from that business or individual claiming you damaged their property or caused them bodily injury.
Business Income Insurance
- If your business operations are postponed due to a covered peril rendering your business inoperable, then business income insurance can help you continue to fulfill your payroll, pay the rent or lease, etc. until the business can get back on its feet again.
Additional Coverages (more available)
Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) Coverage
- Professional liability coverage can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your business. This coverage can pay for court defense, costs, fees, and settlements. As a business professional you are expected to have a certain degree of proficiency in your field, but in the event, you do not perform to the standards that are expected and you are sued, then your professional liability coverage can help defend you in the court of law.
Equipment Breakdown
- This coverage can pay for the cost to repair or replace the broken equipment as well as loss of income during that time. For some companies, equipment breakdown can grind their business to a halt. It is important to have this coverage to give you peace of mind in the unfortunate event this happens to your business.
Cyber Liability
- Cyber Liability will protect you and your customers from cyber attacks that can lead to identity theft and damage to the electronics used in the business. This coverage can also pay for the business owners legal defense against lawsuits, services that can assess the vulnerability your business has to data compromise, restoring and recreating data, and paying for lost income.
Hired/Non-owned Auto
- If your employees use their personal automobile for work operations, then this is a must have for any business owner. Hired/Non-owned Auto also covers automobile rentals used for business purposes. This coverage provides auto liability coverage, but additional coverage can be added to enhance the policy.
As always, it's best to consult with your agent to see what coverages come standard on their business owners policy because the default coverages can vary from company to company.
Make Insurance Great Again!
-Harrison Horton