What Is A Business Owner's Policy?

Texas business owners are constantly being bombarded by people who want to sell them something. This process never seems to end. And when an insurance agent calls wanting to talk, you likely duck! That being the case, when you're told you have to have insurance by either a landlord, mortgage holder, or governing board you will likely want to scream. But since you've got to have some insurance for your business, let's talk about what a Business Owner will be looking for in coverage.

One of the most common business insurance options is a Business Owner's Policy, or BOP for short. A BOP combines both property and liability coverage together, along with several other optional coverage types into a single policy. This will function similarly to a homeowners insurance policy from a framework standpoint. Business Owners Policies are popular with both small and medium-sized businesses because they provide excellent coverage options that can be customized to meet each company’s individual needs.

What Is a Business Owner Policy?

A typical BOP will include three primary coverage types:

1. Property Coverage- This would help cover your building, furniture, equipment, and inventory from covered claims. It is important to review the coverage option
2. General Liability Coverage-This protects the business from third party lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage claims.
3. Business Interruption Coverage-This can provide coverage for lost receipts/sales, lost income, or even payroll if there is a complete or partial loss which resulted in your business being closed as a result of a covered claim.

In addition to the primary coverage types, most BOP policies also now include any combination of optional coverage such as:

• Equipment Breakdown-This line of coverage provides an extra layer of protection for your equipment. It helps cover the cost to repair or replace specific equipment damages by a covered peril, including time and labor.
• Cyber Liability-This line of coverage provides protection for financial losses that result from data breached or other cyber events. It can even provide coverage for non-cyber related events which result in a claim which compromises your customers personal information.
• Hired/Non-Owned Auto Liability- This coverage provides liability protection for your company in the even one of your employees causes an accident driving their own vehicle while working on your behalf. In most circumstances, the company can be brought into the suit because they were working on your behalf at the time of the accident. This coverage steps in to provide liability protection from those lawsuits. And as hired implies, it also protects you if your business rents a vehicle to use.
• Employment Practices Liability-This line of coverage provides protection for business owners if lawsuits are brought on by employees for claims for harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination. The representation in court is in some ways more valuable than being able to pay any damages from a suit itself!

A business owner does have the ability to buy a singular policy with any of the coverage types listed above. However, one of the best features of Business Owner's Policies is that you can efficiently cover all aspects of your business in a single policy. Most carriers offer a number of the optional coverage types built into the BOP for your convenience. It also can provide you with competitive pricing by packaging all of that into a single policy.

As part of this packaging process, coverage types can include protection for:

• signs
• water back up of sewer and drains
• utility service interruption
• spoilage
• lease holder interests
• outdoor property
• accounts receivables
• employee dishonesty
• and many other great coverage offerings.

Typically, the BOP will be offered with a basic limit for each line item. But as stated before, the BOP can be customized to meet the needs of your Texas business. Therefore, limits can be increased on many of these coverage lines to meet the needs of a specific business.

If you aren't sure what kind of insurance your business has today, speaking with a local independent insurance agent like Bradley Hancock at Insurance For Texans can make sure that you have maximized your insurance potential at the best cost. He has the ability to provide sound advice, shop the market place, and craft the best plan to protect your business. Schedule a consultation today!