Business Owners Policy

A business owners policy (BOP) combines general liability insurance with additional lines of coverage built into the policy. They are often better suited for small business owners because they offer targeted coverage options designed for specific types of businesses. They’re usually less expensive then purchasing coverage separately as well. Rather than purchasing multiple policies for liability, property, hired an non-owned auto, etc., a business owners policy addresses and covers these risks as one single policy.

Liability Insurance for Small Business

Liability insurance for small business owners can be a hassle. A lot of business owners assume they are getting coverage for their building and contents with their general liability insurance. However, GL coverage only provides insurance for losses to others, not to the business itself. In order to get these other lines of coverage, a business owner needs to buy multiple policies, or purchase a business owners policy.

A Business Owners Policy is specifically designed for each specific type of small business.

Small business owners are specifically targeted for BOP coverage because this type of policy is easier to write and more straightforward than a commercial package policy (CPP). While both forms of coverage include additional lines of coverage, a CPP is customized from the bottom up and each line is individually added to the policy. A business owners policy has additional lines of coverage automatically built-in to the insurance policy with predefined limits of coverage. The insured essentially trades a high degree of flexibility for a simple and robust insurance program.

Common Coverages Included with a BOP

The two most common types of coverage included in a business owners policy are general liability and property insurance. Property coverage generally includes buildings, contents, inventory and personal property. Additional coverages may also be included with business owners polices depending on the type of business and their common insurance needs.

Get a Business Owners Insurance Quote

Because every insurance company offers different features and benefits with their business owners policies, it’s important for small business owners to shop around for coverage. Business owners policy quotes premiums starting around $400. It’s important to understand what is included and what is excluded with each proposal.

A business owners policy does not provide coverage for professional services or advice. Business owners who need this type of coverage should first shop for professional liability insurance, before seeking quotes on general liability. The primary reason for getting a PL quote first is some professional liability will allow general liability coverage to be added (endorsed) onto the policy; general liability coverage does not allow these endorsements.

Is a BOP Better than General Liability?

Small business owners who qualify for a business owners policy often benefit from automatically getting additional lines of insurance coverage at a better overall price. In most cases, the cost of a business owners policy is only slightly higher than stand alone general liability insurance. The competition between insurance carriers for small business customers in select BOP classifications is a driving force behind lower insurance rates for business owner policies.

Not every business qualifies for a Business Owners Policy because of their size or industry. General liability insurance can be combined with other needed lines under a Commercial Package Policy.

Learn more about a Commercial Insurance Package.

At General Liability Shop.com, we almost always recommend business owners policies when they are available to a business. Our Specialists are trained to shop BOP coverage for our customers anytime a business qualifies for one of our BOP programs. Most business owners, given an option between a general liability policy or a business owners policy, will choose to purchase BOP coverage.

Best Selling Business Owners Policies

Our agency works with more than 35 insurance companies throughout the United States. We work directly with insurance carriers to identify and develop highly customized business insurance programs for most industry segments.