A business owners policy (BOP) is a commercial insurance policy that combines coverages for small businesses in low-risk industries. Part of this policy covers is commercial property insurance.
Commercial property insurance covers most of the physical assets of your business from damages and loss caused by:
-
Wind
-
Hail
-
Lightning
-
Smoke
-
Explosions
Commercial property insurance may cover the physical location of the business (such as a restaurant, store, or office) and its contents, including furniture and equipment. BOPs are flexible to allow business owners to add coverage as they need it, however. While commercial property insurance automatically comes with a BOP, there are other coverages you may add in order to protect your business’ physical belongings.
Commercial Auto Insurance
When added to a BOP, commercial auto insurance may cover the vehicles owned or used by the business for work purposes. If your business has company cars or uses vehicles to transport equipment, for example, you may need commercial auto insurance to protect the vehicles and those inside.
A commercial auto insurance policy may include coverages such as:
-
Comprehensive coverage covers damages to the vehicle caused by fire, wind, hail, lightning, theft, vandalism and more.
-
Collision coverage covers damages to the vehicle caused by a collision with another vehicle or object.
-
Liability covers bodily injury and property damage the driver may cause to someone else while operating the insured vehicle.
-
Medical Payments coverage provides compensation for injuries sustained by the driver and their passengers after an accident.
Inland Marine Insurance
Most commercial auto insurance policies don’t cover the equipment you may be transporting. Inland marine insurance can cover the equipment or products you are transporting in a vehicle if they are damaged during transport.
Crime Insurance
Crime insurance covers the business in the unfortunate case of employee theft. If an employee steals or commits fraud against the business, crime insurance can step in to help compensate for the losses.
Equipment Breakdown Insurance
Equipment breakdown insurance covers repair and replacement costs if important business equipment suddenly breaks down. If your restaurant’s freezer breaks down due to an incident, for example, equipment breakdown insurance will help cover the cost of repairing or replacing it.
Keep in mind that property insurance only covers property owned or borrowed by the business. It does not cover third party property that is damaged, so you will also need liability insurance.