Insurance BOP; Understanding Business Owners Policy

What Is Business Owner’s Policy Insurance (a.k.a Insurance BOP)?

A business owner policy is also known as BOP insurance. It combines various insurance coverages with additional protection into one convenient package. Indeed, this type of coverage usually fuses business property and business liability insurance into one single policy. Furthermore, insurance BOP covers your businesses claims for fire, theft and other covered disasters. Similarly, business owners insurance also covers claims that could arise from your business’s operation. For example, claims of bodily injury, personal and advertising injury, as well as property damage.

More often than not, insurance companies allow businesses to tailor their BOP insurance to help meet their unique needs. For instance, you could possibly add optional coverages like data breach and business income for off-premises utility services.

Indeed, an insurance BOP is great because it can be custom-made to fit industry specific businesses. That also means it’s great for businesses of any size, especially small businesses. Customizing your BOP Insurance is an imperative first step when insuring your business.

Who Needs an Insurance BOP?

BOP insurance may be right for your business if:

• First, your business has a physical location. In other words, it is run out of your home, a rented or owned office, store or garage.
• Second, you have less than 100 employees, as well as less than $5 million in sales
• Furthermore, you have property or equipment you need to protect. For instance, you have assets that are at risk of being stolen or damaged. From digital assets and customer data, to equipment, furniture, cash or inventory, some assets can be very hard to replace.
• In addition, you want to protect investments you’ve made in your business
• Last but not least, there’s a possibility that someone might sue you. For example, a customer slips and falls at your workplace and suffers injury. A proper business owner’s insurance can protect you from a hefty out-of-pocket fee to cover the customer’s medical expenses.

What does an Insurance BOP cover?

First, Commercial Property

First and foremost, insurance BOP provides coverage for commercial buildings as well as the movable property owned by and used for the business. In fact, this type of assets is commonly referred to as business personal property. Furthermore, BOP can also pay for other things like debris removal and pollution cleanup as part of a covered loss. With this in mind, know that you can extend your policy to add or remove coverages.

Second, General Liability

Moreover, the liability coverages available on a BOP are the same as those on a general liability policy. For this reason, it includes protection against liabilities like customer injury and property damage, advertising injury, and product related claims. However, an insurance BOP doesn’t cover your employees. Rather you’ll need a separate workers’ compensation policy.

Third, Business Income

Meanwhile, business interruption covers the loss of income resulting from a fire or other catastrophe that disrupts the operation of the business. Moreover, it can also include the extra expense of operating out of a temporary location.

Equally Important, Equipment Breakdown

Finally, an Insurance BOP can cover damage to equipment essential to running the business.

Insurance BOP Cost

In 2020, small businesses nationwide who bought a new insurance BOP paid an average of $84 per month. Meanwhile this gives you a general idea of what BOP insurance costs, it’s not necessarily what you’ll pay. For instance, this price is a calculation resulting from several different business types with varying levels of risk. As a result, your final price will mostly depend on certain attributes of your business including coverage needs, type of profession, number of employees and claims history.

Common Questions Relating to Insurance BOP

1. First, what kind of businesses need an insurance BOP?

Because of the practicality and efficiency of the policy, small to medium-sized businesses with commercial property should consider a BOP.

2. Second, what is business personal property?

As mentioned above, business personal property is coverage for property owned and used by your business. Indeed, it’s a coverage included in a business owners policy.

3. What’s the difference between an insurance BOP and general liability coverage?

A business owners policy combines general liability and property insurance into one easy to manage policy. Generally, liability protects your business from third-party liability claims, including bodily injury, property damage and personal injury. In fact, there’s no need for an additional general liability insurance policy if you have a BOP.

Beyond Your Insurance BOP

Employees and Insurance BOP

As mentioned before, workers’ compensation insurance is not included in a Business Owner’s Policy. However, having workers compensation insurance is mandatory in most states. To illustrate, workers’ comp insurance coverage pays an employee or employee’s family for medical costs in the event of a work-related injury, illness or death. Furthermore, it also helps cover an employee’s income if they are out of work due to a covered illness or injury.

Owning, Renting or Leasing Company Vehicles in Relation to INsurance BOP

Insurance BOP does not cover company vehicles. But for businesses that use cars and trucks, commercial auto insurance is another important policy to consider. Moreover, this policy helps protect your business from financial losses when the business owner or an employee is found at fault for an auto accident.

Accounts Receivable

This policy insures against loss of sums owed to the insured by its customers. However, they must qualify as uncollectible because of damage by an insured peril to accounts receivable records.

Crime Insurance for your Insurance BOP

Although some basic insurance BOP protects some common risks, such as theft, you should still look into crime insurance. With this in mind, make sure to protect your business against burglary, robbery, forgery, computer fraud, employee dishonesty and other crimes.

Cyber Liability

Get coverage for computer attacks and damage to electronic data and computer systems. Also offset the effects of your database being hacked or getting a virus.

Employee Practices Liability As Well As Errors and Omissions Insurance

Protect you and your company against employee lawsuits. Likewise, get protection against client lawsuits for negligent acts. As well as errors or omissions committed during business activities that result in a financial loss.

Add Inland Marine Insurance to Your Insurance BOP

In addition, cover your property in transit, including the transport of goods or equipment over water and land.

What You’ll Most Likely Need to to Get Insurance BOP

• First, basic information about your business, including annual sales receipts
• Second, information about your building’s construction, including age, material and square footage
• Also employee information, including how many workers are on staff
• If you will be insuring vehicles associated with your business, have information about the car types, VIN numbers and drivers on hand
• Details about any prior claims for your company are equally important

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A business owner policy or insurance BOP is a package that bundles basic insurance coverages
• As a result, a BOP typically protects business owners against property damage, peril, business interruption, and liability.
• However, businesses can often opt-in for additional coverage, such as crime, spoilage of merchandise, forgery, fidelity, and more.
• Moreover, insurance providers determine if a business qualifies for a BOP based on business location, the size of the location, the class of business, and revenue.
• Finally, a business may qualify for special considerations if it meets certain eligibility qualifications.