The Business Owners Policy, also known as the BOP, may well be the key to protecting any small business. Made up of a few forms of coverage that are typically purchased on their own, the Small Business Combination Plan offers discounted business premiums as you benefit from better insurance coverage.
What does the standard Business Owners Policy provide? This commercial policy usually consists of:
• General liability coverage
Business liability insurance helps a business owner if a customer is injured on the property and sues for their medical care. Coverage extends to hospital and medical expenses, as well as defense expenses. It can also benefit the company if there is “advertising harm” related to claims such as copyright infringement, slander and defamation.
• Property coverage
Commercial property insurance is often also known as designated peril insurance, open peril insurance, or specialty insurance. This can cover the owner in the event there is property damage with respect to a rented space or premises that the business owner actually owns.
• Business interruption coverage
Business interruption insurance helps the insured when rain, wind or snow storms occur, or cyber hacking and/or other universal events that interrupt the normal operation of the business. The insurance will pay for the loss of the business or provide financing to use other temporary property while running the business until the permanent site is repaired.
The great advantage of having a business owners policy is that the standard coverage can be tailored to your individual needs as a small business owner. After an evaluation with an experienced independent agent, you will be guided to determine what other types of coverage are appropriate for your industry, size of operation and profits and would benefit you and your business by being included in the policy. Plus, your agent can schedule regular reassessment times if your needs have changed and add or remove various forms of coverage based on the assessment so you have protection when you really need it.
Take a look at this scenario to understand what a related custom policy can mean.
A one man business operation grew to include a few more employees. The man’s insurance specialist discussed the growth with the business owner and together they determined that a workers’ compensation policy should be added as well as disability insurance to the standard offerings. This satisfied government requirements and gave the business owner the added protection he needed in the event an employee was injured on the job.
For more information on the subject, be sure to speak with an experienced independent insurance agent.