B2Z's Business Owner's Policy (BOP) Insurance is designed for your small business! B2Z makes it easy by combining your coverages into one policy. BOP insurance might be right for you if you have a physical business location or business personal property and deal with customers or clients. Learn more below!
B2Z Offers Business Owner's Policy Insurance
What Is BOP Insurance?
A Business Owner's Policy (BOP) is a commercial insurance policy specifically designed for small businesses. A BOP conveniently bundles both property and liability coverage for your small business into a single insurance policy.
Your small business BOP includes commercial property coverage for buildings, business personal property, and business interruption, as well as liability coverage for bodily injury, personal and advertising injury, and medical expenses. Your BOP also provides legal defense fees and pays most court costs if your small business is sued as the result of a covered claim.
Why Do I Need BOP Insurance for My Small Business?
BOP insurance is essential for your small business if you:
- Rent or own an office or any commercial space
- Have inventory or equipment that could get damaged or stolen
- Interact with clients, customers, or the public
You need Business Owner's Policy coverage to protect you and the assets of your business. If your small business leases or rents property or has a mortgage, then property or liability insurance may be a contractual condition. Client contracts also often require liability coverage.
Consider these scenarios...
The coffee machine malfunctions, and a fire breaks out in your beauty salon. A BOP would help cover the damages from the fire. Fires are a common damage-to-your-business property claim!
A customer slips on some spilled water in your nail salon and gets injured. A BOP would help cover the customer's medical bills and other costs after they sued your nail salon business.
A thief targets your real estate office and makes off with your printer, chairs, and a computer. A BOP would help cover the damages.
We could talk about BOP all day...
We really want you to understand your Business Owner’s Policy coverage. Think of a BOP as a homeowner’s policy for your small business. Just as a homeowner’s policy protects your home and belongings, a BOP protects your business’s building and its contents, as well as most liability and medical payment expenses that may pop up in the course of owning your small business. So, what exactly is covered?
Building/Business Personal Property Coverage Typically Covers:
- Direct physical loss
- Business income and extra expenses
- Business income from dependent properties
- Glass expenses
- Fire department service charge and fire extinguisher system recharge expenses
- Debris removal and increased cost of construction
- Money orders and counterfeit money forgery or alteration
Liability Insurance Typically Covers:
- Bodily injury, property damage, and personal and advertising injury
- Medical payments coverage regardless of fault
- Defense against any lawsuit seeking liability damages
- All court costs
- Most additional expenses
- Most interest expenses
This seems almost too good to be true, right? There must be a catch... And, here’s a sampling of what’s not covered:
Building/Business Personal Property Coverage Excludes:
- Aircraft, automobiles, motor trucks, and other vehicles
- Watercraft (while afloat)
- Damages due to war, nuclear event, or insurrection
- Contraband
- Land, water, growing crops, or lawn
- Steam boilers
- Interior damage from rain, snow, sleet, ice, sand, or dust
- Ordinance or law
- Earthquake and flood damage
- Fungi, wet rot, dry rot, viruses, and bacteria
- Frozen plumbing
- Pollution damage
- Wear and tear
- Continuous or repeated seepage or leakage of water
Liability Coverage Excludes:
- Expected or intended injury
- Aircraft, auto, or watercraft
- Liquor liability
- Workers’ compensation
- Employer’s liability
- War, nuclear event, or insurrection
- Criminal acts
- Electronic data
- Pollution
BOP Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
Q.
How does a Business Owner's Policy work?
A.
Simply stated: the coverages and limits you select based on your business details determine the premiums you pay. You can pay your premium monthly or annually. In exchange, the insurance company agrees to pay claims and associated expenses covered by the policy. Your policy documents are the legal contract between your small business and the insurance company. When your business experiences a coverable event, you submit a claim. The insurance company will then consider your limits, deductible, and claim amount.
Q.
Do I need separate General Liability insurance if I have a Business Owner's Policy?
A.
The liability insurance portion of your Business Owner's Policy is the same amount of general liability insurance you would have separately.
Q.
What is the difference between a BOP and a General Liability Insurance policy?
A.
To keep it brief, general liability insurance offers the same liability coverage as a BOP, but excludes the building/business personal property coverage that is also included in a BOP.
What does that mean for you? If you have a business property like an office you own to cover, or lots of expensive business personal property like equipment, then you will want to consider a BOP so you don't find yourself underinsured and at risk. But if you don't have expensive equipment and property to cover, a general liability policy might be more appropriate for you.
Here's some more help!
Try our Coverage Tune-Up Quiz if you're not sure.
Talk to our licensed customer experience team members and they can help you out!
Or read this helpful content all about General Liability versus a BOP.
Q.
What does a Business Owner's Policy typically cover?
A.
A Business Owner's Policy generally pays for direct physical loss to buildings and a business's personal property. It also extends coverage to the lost income resulting from a covered event. Additionally, BOP may cover liability claims for bodily injury, property damage, and personal and advertising injury—and associated medical payments, regardless of fault.
What is covered by this coverage will be fully detailed in the policy documentation.
Q.
What doesn’t a Business Owner’s Policy typically cover?
A.
A BOP excludes certain causes of loss and does not provide coverage for risks outside the scope of the BOP. For example, aircraft, commercial autos, contraband, steam boilers, and watercraft are not covered under a Business Owner’s Policy, nor are losses caused by flood, pollution, fungi, virus, bacteria, nuclear hazard, or war. Other exposures and risks are specifically excluded by a BOP; however, some can be covered by adding endorsements to the BOP or by buying other additional insurance policies.
What is excluded by this coverage will be fully detailed in the policy documentation.
Q.
Is a Business Owner's Policy required by law?
A.
Business Owner's Policies are not required by law, but at least general liability insurance is required by many property leases and business contracts.
A BOP offers the general liability coverage you need for lease requirements and also includes the building/business personal property coverage your business may also need.
Did you know?
B2Z is your one-stop-shop for insurance! Need additional coverage? We may have a solution. B2Z is here to discuss your Business Owner's Policy needs and more. Contact Us—we'd love to help.