Business insurance can get complicated. Organizations need to protect themselves against damage to their property, income they may lose if they have to shut down after their property is damaged, and the risk of lawsuits.
With the risks of natural disasters, crime and other types of losses that separate policies cover, there can be a lot to keep track of.
It does not have to be so complicated. Small businesses can meet most of their insurance needs with a single product: a businessowner’s policy, or BOP, as it is commonly known.
BOP packages essential coverages into a single insurance policy. At its most basic, a BOP provides three broad coverages:
- Property — Insurance for the business’s buildings (if it owns any), contents including inventory, furnishing and equipment, and other property used by the business.
- Business interruption — Insurance for lost income resulting from a business shutdown following damage to the property or extra costs the company incurs to stay open after the damage
- Liability — Insurance covering amounts the business has to pay as damages to settle some lawsuits against it, as well as legal costs for defending against those suits.
BOPs offer some flexibility to the buyer, but not the overwhelming variety of choices that individual property and liability policies offer.
Enterprises can choose between insuring against a broad list of causes of property damage loss or “special” causes of loss. The broad form covers only the causes of loss listed in the policy; the special form covers all causes except those listed in the policy.
The special form costs more because it covers more.
The business must select the amounts of coverage it needs to protect its buildings and property.
However, it is unnecessary to select an amount of insurance for business interruption coverage. The policy simply pays for the actual loss the business sustains during a necessary shutdown caused by covered damage to the property.
Typical Inclusions
BOPs typically include small amounts of coverage that would otherwise have to be purchased separately, such as:
- Loss or damage to valuable papers and records
- Debts the business cannot collect because of loss or damage to accounts receivable records
- Income lost when the business must shut down due to an interruption in computer operations
- Some types of crime losses
- Clean-up and removal of pollutants
The policy covers the business’s legal liability for bodily injuries, property damage, advertising injury and some types of non-bodily personal injuries to others. Most insurers offer businesses a choice of only three or four amounts of liability insurance.
BOPs may be customized to include other types of insurance, such as for liability resulting from the use of autos the policyholder hires or borrows.
However, a BOP is not a substitute for an automobile insurance policy, and it does not include workers’ compensation coverage. Those policies must be purchased separately.
To qualify for a BOP, a company cannot exceed a certain size, such as 100 employees or $5 million in revenue. For those businesses that qualify, a BOP is a sensible foundation for their insurance programs.
If you are a paper and label printer, packaging, and creative agency owner or other small business owner, contact us to find out more. Contact Shannon Wolford, VMA’s Director of Membership and Sales at shannon@visualmediaalliance.org or 415-710-0568.