Business Owners Policy (BOP)

A business owners policy bundles commercial property coverage, commercial general liability coverage, and usually business interruption coverage into a single policy designed for small to mid-size businesses. It is priced more competitively than buying the same coverages separately from different carriers, and it simplifies your insurance program to a single renewal date, one premium payment, and one carrier to call when something goes wrong.

The property component covers your building (if owned), business personal property (equipment, inventory, furniture), and sometimes outdoor signs and property at other locations. The liability component covers bodily injury and property damage claims from third parties -- a customer injured on your premises, damage you cause to a client's property while working there. Business interruption coverage, often included automatically, pays lost income and ongoing operating expenses if a covered loss forces you to temporarily close or reduces your capacity to operate.

Common add-on coverages include cyber liability, professional liability for service errors, employment practices liability, commercial auto, equipment breakdown, and hired and non-owned auto. These can often be endorsed onto a business owners policy rather than requiring separate policies, keeping the program consolidated. Business owners policies are generally available for businesses below certain revenue and square-footage thresholds in lower-hazard industries: retail, professional offices, restaurants, light service businesses. If your operations have grown significantly since you last reviewed coverage, confirm a business owners policy still matches your actual exposure -- many businesses outgrow the form without realizing it.