A business owner’s policy (BOP) combines two types of coverages to protect your small business against a variety of claims. Its coverage components include:

Commercial general liability insurance
Commercial property insurance, often including business income and extra expense (BIEE)
The general liability portion of a BOP safeguards your business in the event someone makes a claim against you or your business. General liability insurance provides protection from liability lawsuits resulting from things like a customer slipping on a wet floor, a defective product causing damage to a client’s property, or claims that the products or services you provided caused injury. It can also protect you from libel, slander and certain legal claims related to advertising.

The property portion of a BOP helps protect business property you own, lease or rent, including your buildings, equipment, furniture and inventory. It helps cover repair or replacement costs of stolen, damaged or destroyed property, including property that isn’t yours but was in your care. It can also cover loss of income and covered expenses like rent, payroll and other financial responsibilities while your property is being repaired or replaced after a fire or other covered loss.

If you are a small business owner, a business owner’s policy offers valuable protection if you encounter scenarios like the following:

A customer trips over a loose wire while visiting your business, falls and fractures their wrist. They sue you to cover their medical expenses. One of your contractors loses control of a piece of equipment, which damages the wall of a client’s home or accidentally breaks an item of value while performing their work. A pipe bursts and floods one of your workrooms, damaging business-critical equipment and some of your products. A fire destroys one of your buildings, leading you to temporarily shut down part of your business. Yet, despite being shut down, you still have to pay rent and your employees.

Business property you own, lease or rent, including your buildings, equipment, furniture and inventory. It helps cover repair or replacement costs of stolen, damaged or destroyed property, including property that isn’t yours but was in your care. It can also cover loss of income and covered expenses like rent, payroll and other financial responsibilities while your property is being repaired or replaced after a fire or other covered loss.

BOP is built to protect many types of small businesses, including:

Commercial Real Estate
Contractors
Financial Services
Garages
Healthcare
Manufacturers
Personal Care Services
Pet Care Services
Printers and Publishers
Religious and Cultural Organizations
Restaurant and Food Service
Retail
Service Businesses
Technology Services
Wholesalers and Distributors

BOP safeguards your business in the event someone makes a claim against you or your business. General liability insurance provides protection from liability lawsuits resulting from things like a customer slipping on a wet floor, a defective product causing damage to a client’s property, or claims that the products or services you provided caused injury. It can also protect you from libel, slander and certain legal claims related to advertising.

Covers your business on those occasions when you rent, lease or borrow a vehicle on a short term basis, or when your employees use their personal vehicles for company business.