What Is Business Owner’s Policy Insurance?
A Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) combines business property and business liability insurance into one business insurance policy. BOP insurance helps cover your business from claims resulting from things like fire, theft or other covered disasters. Business owner’s insurance also helps cover claims that could arise from your business operations. These include claims of bodily injury or property damage. They also include claims related to personal and advertising injury.
A Policy Customized to Your Business
Businesses can tailor their Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) to help meet their unique needs by adding coverage options, like:
- Data breach
- Business income for off-premises utility services
- Other specialized policies
A Business Owners’ Policy can be custom-made to fit industry specific businesses. This means it’s great for protecting your business no matter the size, especially small businesses.
BOP insurance for business owners is built to cover companies that generally face the same risks. Customizing your BOP Insurance is an important first step when insuring your business. Small business owners should do this from the beginning to protect against losses and damages early on.
What Is Included in a Business Owner’s Policy?
A Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) bundles business property and liability insurance into one policy. This means it can help cover claims of bodily injury and property damage to your building, equipment or inventory.
Some coverages that are included in a BOP are:
Business Property Insurance
Business property insurance, also called commercial property insurance, helps protect your owned or rented building, tools and the equipment you use to operate your business.
General Liability Insurance
This helps protect your business and its assets in the event of a lawsuit for things like negligence, bodily injury, property damage, libel and slander.
Business Income Insurance
Business Income Insurance, also known as business interruption coverage, helps replace your lost income if you can’t operate because of covered property damage. This includes damage from a fire, wind or theft.
Additional Coverages You Can Add to Your Business Owner’s Policy Insurance
There are additional coverages that you can add to your Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) to help tailor coverage to your specific needs. Some popular optional coverages that you can add to your Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) include:
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Most state laws require you to carry this insurance to help cover lawsuits and compensate employees for expenses associated with work-related injuries or illnesses like medical bills, rehabilitation and lost wages.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance helps protect you and your company if you’re found negligent in the professional services you provided to a client, even if you didn’t make a mistake.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial auto insurance helps cover the cost of an auto accident if you or your employee is at fault. If you or your employees drive a vehicle for business reasons, having the right commercial vehicle insurance is important.
Data Breach Insurance
Data breach insurance, also known as cyber liability insurance, helps cover liability expenses from technology-related risks such as a data breach or cyberattack. If you collect, store, send or receive customer information, it’s important to protect against cyber risks.
Different Types of Business Insurance Coverage You Might Need
Every business is unique. Your business may have different needs than another company down the street. Although a Business Owner’s Policy and workers’ comp insurance is a good start, you may need different types of business insurance coverage to address your company’s specific needs.
Business Income Insurance
Business Income Insurance, also known as business interruption coverage, helps replace your lost income if you can’t operate because of covered property damage. This includes damage from a fire, wind or theft.
Business Property Insurance
Business property insurance, also called commercial property insurance, helps protect your owned or rented building, tools and the equipment you use to operate your business.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial auto insurance helps cover the cost of an auto accident if you or your employee is at fault. If you or your employees drive a vehicle for business reasons, having the right commercial vehicle insurance is important.
Commercial Flood Insurance
Help shelter your business from flooding caused by hurricanes, rain, snow melts and construction runoff. The Hartford offers commercial flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.
Commercial Umbrella Insurance
Commercial umbrella insurance helps increase your business’s liability coverage when the cost of a lawsuit exceeds the limits of your core business coverage.
Data Breach Insurance
Data breach insurance, also known as cyber insurance, helps cover liability expenses from technology-related risks such as a data breach or cyberattack. If you collect, store, send or receive customer information, it’s important to protect against cyber risks.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance
Employment practices liability insurance helps cover defense and damage costs resulting from a variety of employment-related claims. These could include allegations of wrongful termination, discrimination, workplace harassment or retaliation.
Home-Based Business Insurance
Do you run a business out of your home? Without the right coverage, home-based businesses could be financially responsible for property damage, lawsuits, employee injuries or issues related to data loss.
Inland Marine Insurance
Inland Marine insurance covers cargo and the vehicles carrying it over land. The Hartford offers a full range of specialized protection for a broad variety of industries.
Management Liability Insurance
Management needs protection, too. This type of business insurance helps protects your business and executive team from potential losses stemming from the management of the company or organization.
Multinational Insurance
Multinational Choice insurance from The Hartford bundles key coverages for businesses and educational institutions that do business outside the U.S. or have locations or employees overseas.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance helps protect you and your company if you’re found negligent in the professional services you provided to a client, even if you didn’t make a mistake.
Risk Engineering
The Hartford’s risk engineering professional are knowledgeable on various topics, such as ergonomic evaluations and training. The risk engineering team helps businesses proactively combat key workers’ compensation loss drivers.
Surety Bonds
A surety bond guarantees that your small business will perform the agreed-upon services. These bonds financially guarantee that your customer will be paid if they don’t receive services.
The Hartford Productivity Advantage
Coordinated claims experience and absence reporting solution to help improve outcomes for employers through increased productivity and create a seamless, simplified experience for employers.
Business insurance requirements differ from state to state. So it’s important to check with a trusted insurance company like The Hartford as you start your insurance journey. You can count on us or your trusted insurance agent to help you customize the right policy for your business. We can help you find the right coverages to help address your business’s unique needs.
BOP coverage options
A basic businessowners policy typically includes three or four key coverages:
- Commercial property insurance, which protects your building, equipment and inventory.
- General liability insurance, which helps cover any medical expenses and bodily injury/property damages you and your employees are legally responsible for.
- Business income, which helps you pay bills and employees if your business has to temporarily close.
- Crime insurance, which helps protect your business from fraud, theft and forgery.
Additional BOP coverage options include:
- Accounts receivable, which protects against losses from unpaid invoices.
- Cyber liability, which covers attacks and damages to computer systems or electronic data.
- Equipment breakdown, which covers your equipment, including computers.
- Personal and advertising injury, which covers copyright infringement, libel and slander.
- Rented vehicles, which provides liability coverage for vehicles you lease, hire or borrow.
- Employment Practices Liability, which covers liability of wrongful acts arising from the employment process.
When considering a BOP, keep in mind that it often makes sense to choose coverage specific to your industry and that some coverages aren’t available in a BOP, such as business auto, workers’ compensation, and employee benefits.
What types of businesses could benefit from a BOP?
Whether you own an auto repair shop, a retail store, an accounting office, or many other types of small business, a businessowners policy can be tailored to your needs. A BOP may make sense if your business:
- Is located outside of your home.
- Has fewer than 100 employees.
- Has less than $5 million in annual sales.
- Has property or equipment you want to protect.
