Does a Georgia business owners policy include workers compensation?

No. A business owners policy (BOP) never includes workers' compensation, no matter which carrier writes it or how the coverage is bundled. A BOP combines two coverages: commercial property, which pays for damage to a building or its contents, and general liability, which pays for claims that a third party was injured or their property was damaged because of the business. Workers' compensation is a separate line entirely. It pays for an employee's medical bills and lost wages after a work-related injury or illness, and it is underwritten and priced on its own policy, not folded into the BOP form.

Georgia law sets the trigger for when workers' comp becomes mandatory. Under O.C.G.A. 34-9-2(a)(2), a business must carry workers' compensation once it has three or more employees, and that count includes part-time staff, not just full-time hires. A landscaping company with two full-time crew members and one part-time weekend helper has three employees under the statute and needs workers' compensation, even though its BOP already covers the truck's cargo, the tool shed, and a claim if a customer trips over a hose left in a driveway.

Because the two policies serve different purposes and cover different people, most carriers offering BOPs in Georgia also write workers' compensation as a companion policy, and some package the two together for billing convenience. That billing bundle is not the same thing as the BOP itself including the coverage. The workers' compensation policy still exists as its own contract, with its own limits, its own audit of payroll, and its own claims process.

For the full breakdown of what else sits outside a BOP's scope, see what a Georgia BOP does not cover. For the underlying coverage mechanics, see the Georgia business owners policy overview and workers' compensation insurance page. Whether a BOP is legally required at all, separate from workers' comp, is answered on is a BOP required by law in Georgia. A coverage review through Olive Cover can confirm whether both policies are in place and correctly sized for current payroll and employee count.