What is Covered Under a Business Owner’s Policy?

A Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) combines business property and business liability insurance into one business insurance policy. Business owners insurance also helps cover claims that could arise from your business’s operation. What is Covered Under a Business Owner’s Policy? BOP cover claims of bodily injury or property damage

If you own a business, you’ve probably invested a lot of time, effort and maybe even money. Protecting your company with the right BOP policy can help you in the event of property damage, general liability issues and even business income issues.  Get the full details on what a business insurance

A businessowners policy, also known as BOP insurance, combines various insurance coverage with additional protection into one convenient package. If you’re not sure what coverage is right for your business, or have not considered a BOP, learn how a BOP insurance policy from Nationwide can protect your business.

Who Needs Business Owners Policies?

There are all sorts of reasons why a business owners policy will be helpful for your business needs. Those who require a general liability insurance policy, as well as owning business equipment such as computers, printers and furniture would certainly find this policy fits their needs well.

If you own the building at which you work and need to insure the property, this sort of insurance policy could also be a good match. If you also own and work with large amounts of data on a regular basis, this could be a suitable policy for your needs also. Our team here at Erskine Murray are always happy to discuss the needs of your business and help you choose the right products to fit your insurance requirements.

Directors and Officers Insurance could also be very useful for a business owner as any decision made which has a negative impact of the company or shareholder can be used to sue. Having this cover will make you less vulnerable when making big decisions for your business.

What are the main benefits of a BOP?

The main reason business owners policy can be a useful insurance to choose is that it combines all the major insurance policies a business could need into one package. This means you will only have one renewal date to be concerned with, rather than several different policies all requiring renewals at different times and for different prices. The Business Owners Policy can keep it simple and save time for your whilst you focus on running your business!

There are, of course, some areas which are NOT covered within a business owners policy. Generally, professional liability, car insurance and health insurance are not included as part of this type of policy, so it is important that you consider all the risks you may need to cover when organizing your insurance for your business.

What is Covered Under a Business Owner’s Policy?

1: Commercial property: Commercial property insurance can protect your business against everything from a minor hiccup to a major loss. For example:

  • A fire could destroy your building and the contents inside
  • A burst water pipe could damage valuable documents
  • A storm could damage your outdoor sign

Whether you own your freestanding building, lease an office or work at home, business property insurance protects your business‘ physical assets.

2: Business income: Cover your business against an interruption in income if you have to shut down unexpectedly.

Business income insurance can help pay bills and cover payroll

If your business is forced to close temporarily due to direct physical loss or damage to property from a covered cause of loss, business income insurance can help you:

  • Replace lost net income during the period of restoration that you would have earned if no physical loss or damage had occurred
  • Pay for necessary continuing normal operating expenses, including ordinary payroll expenses
  • Pay for relocation expenses and advertising fees if you set up shop at a temporary site

Business income insurance works with your property policy and provides coverage for events beyond your control such as fire, wind, hail, vandalism or damage from vehicles or aircraft that may cause direct physical loss or damage to covered property which interrupts your business. Flood, earthquake or glass breakage are typically not covered in a business income policy.

3: Liability protection, which covers your company’s legal responsibility for the harm it may cause to others. This harm is a result of things that you and your employees do or fail to do in your business operations that may cause bodily injury or property damage due to defective products, faulty installations and errors in services provided.

BOPs do NOT cover professional liability, auto insurance, worker’s compensation or health and disability insurance. You’ll need separate insurance policies to cover professional services, vehicles and your employees.

4: Equipment breakdown: What is equipment breakdown coverage?

When equipment fails, productivity is affected. That’s why equipment breakdown coverage is so important. Breakdowns come in many forms, including:

  • A computer network damaged by a power surge
  • Problems with the electrical system
  • Mechanical issues with your production equipment

Equipment breakdown is more than annoying. It hurts the bottom line. That’s why we offer equipment breakdown insurance to help keep your business running.

What does equipment breakdown insurance cover?

Also known as “boiler and machinery” coverage, equipment insurance protects you in the event of breakdowns caused by power surges, motor burnout, boiler malfunction and operator error. Equipment breakdown insurance covers all sorts of equipment – mechanical and electrical equipment, computers and communication equipment, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, boilers and pressure equipment. It also includes coverage for new technology.

Equipment breakdown coverage can pay for:

  • The cost to repair or replace the damaged equipment
  • Costs for time and labor to repair or replace the equipment
  • Business Income losses when a covered breakdown causes a partial or total business interruption
  • Other expenses incurred to limit loss or speed restoration
  • The cost to replace spoiled stock or materials

Who needs it?

What is Covered Under a Business Owner's Policy

Most small businesses will benefit from a BOP because well-rounded and affordable.

But in particular, you should ask yourself these five questions to decide if BOP is a good fit for you.

  • Do you need a general liability policy? Most small businesses need a GL policy because they face third-party risk, such as the notorious slip-and-fall accident. But think about who covers you should a loss occur to you specifically, such as a fire at the office.
  • Do you own property equipment, such as computers, inventory, printers, furniture, etc.? Dealing with damaged or broken equipment could quickly set your business back financially or put it on indefinite standby.
  • Do you have employees who could potentially act dishonestly? Do you work in an industry with a reputation for employee theft (usually lower-wage jobs)? Or do you have sensitive information that if stolen, would hurt your company?
  • Do you own the building where you conduct business? If you run the risk of having your own property damaged, a BOP will be especially useful for you.
  • Do you work with a lot of customer or client data? Being responsible for other people’s information always sets the professional stakes a bit higher. If that information is lost or stolen, you’re held accountable for any mess it

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