A business owners policy is known as BOP for short. Which is appropriate, given that it offers a one-two punch. It’s a combination policy that brings together two types of business insurance coverages.
What is a Business Policy?
Getting a business policy (BOP) means covering all your risks in one go, which reduces stress and brings peace of mind. The policy is usually custom made to cover your specific needs, so price can vary significantly. But, it’s normally cheaper than buying separate policies for each element.
The first type of insurance in a business policy is property insurance. Property insurance covers risks associated with your business’ premises, equipment and vehicles. Additionally, it often includes any associated loss of business.
The second type is liability insurance. Liability insurance covers damage to people you deal with and their property. But, it’s important to note that liability insurance usually doesn’t cover risks related to professional services–meaning damages that result from you giving clients inaccurate advice, for example.
Check out the examples below of how a business policy can help you. You can also see our interactive version of this information here.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)
Risk Factor: It’s estimated that three out of five businesses will be sued by their employees. While there is nothing you can do to prevent someone from filing a lawsuit, there is something you can do to limit the costs of defending a legal claim.
Solution: Obtain employment practices liability insurance to protect your business and its directors, officers, and employees from alleged employment related acts such as wrongful termination, failure to promote, discrimination, and sexual harassment.
Environmental Insurance
Risk Factor: Could your business cause damage to the environment? If so, are you covered?
Solution: Environmental insurance provides protection if an environmental catastrophe occurs.
Commercial Property
Risk Factor: Your business property is a significant investment. So, what if something happens to it?
Solution: Commercial property insurance can help protect the property your business owns or leases. This includes equipments, inventory, furniture, and fixtures. Whether you own your building or lease your workspace, commercial property insurance can be purchased separately or can be combined with other necessary coverage to protect your business’ physical assets.
Business Income
Risk Factor: What would you do if a fire impacted the operation of your business? Or instead, a pipe leak caused a system outage or extended downtime? These and other events can destroy your ability to serve clients and bring in revenue, which can have a major long-term impact on the viability of your business.
Solution: Business income insurance compensates you for lost income if the business cannot operate as normal due to damage that is covered under your commercial property insurance policy, such as fire or water damage. Business interruption insurance covers the revenue you would have earned, based on your financial records, had the incident not occurred. The policy also covers operating expenses, like electricity, that continue even though business activities have come to a temporary halt.
Business Auto Insurance
Risk Factor: An auto accident can cause bodily injury or property damage to others for which you are responsible, and could potentially put your business in financial jeopardy.
Solution: Business auto insurance provides coverage for vehicles owned or leased by a commercial enterprise and provides coverage for bodily injury, property damage, and other coverages, and includes both comprehensive and collision coverage.
Systems Breakdown
Risk Factor: With technology performing many tasks in today’s world, a breakdown can cause a significant financial burden, including the cost to repair the equipment, the interruption of your business, as well as any lost income and extra expenses.
Solution: Comprehensive coverage provides protection against equipment mechanical breakdown. Talk to your risk advisor for details on what is covered.
Cyber Liability
Risk Factor: The internet has spun a whole new web of liability exposures. E-commerce, social networking. cloud storage, and other technologies bring great benefits to large and small business alike. But with these benefits also come challenges, including protection of privacy, data, and financial information of your customers.
Solution: Cyber liability coverage covers unauthorized access to electronic data or software within your network. It also provides coverage for spreading a virus, computer theft, extortion, or any unintentional act, mistake, error, or omission made by an employee. This coverage is quickly becoming more and more important as you embrace technology to help run your business.
Did you business experience a cyber hack? Click here to read one of other blogs about what to do.
Directors and Officers Liability Insurance (D&O)
Risk Factor: Directors and officers (such as board members) are exposed to increased risk factors and are held accountable for acts that claim negligence in the performance of their duties. Any resulting lawsuits are typically expensive to defend, resulting in potentially large settlements.
Solution: Obtain comprehensive coverage to protect senior individuals of your company. Directors and officers liability insurance provides coverage for the legal costs to defend a covered lawsuit and provides the money necessary for any settlement beyond the defense costs.
Workers Compensation and State Disability
Risk Factor: If one of your employees receives an injury or becomes ill due to a work-related occurrence, you are required by law to have the proper coverage in place.
Solution: State disability and workers’ compensation protects your employees should a job-related injury or sickness occur during the course of employment. Be sure you have this coverage, it is required by law.
General Liability
Risk Factor: Businesses are susceptible to many risks, such as claims due to bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and more.
Solution: General liability insurance is an absolute necessity for any business. It provides broad coverage when you are deemed responsible and liable, and will also pay to defend any covered lawsuit or action regardless of its merit.
Business Owners Policy (BOP)
Risk Factor: As a business owner, you’ve worked hard to build a solid business. But what happens when the unexpected happens? Are you covered?
Solution: A business owners policy is uniquely designed to protect your most important assets, including your business, its continuation, your employees, and your way of life. Discuss the details of this coverage with your agent and ensure that you’re protected.
Errors and Omissions Liability (E&O)
Risk Factor: If you perform services for others, you are at risk of not doing the work correctly (errors) or not doing it at all (omissions). Additionally, lawsuits can arise claiming the error or omission harmed your client and caused them a financial loss.
Solution: Errors and omissions liability insurance protects any business that gives advice, makes educated recommendations, designs solutions, or represents the needs of others. So if that’s you, ensure you have this important coverage.
Crime and Fidelity Bond
Risk Factor: What will you do if one of your trusted employees is found guilty of doing something dishonest?
Solution: Crime and fidelity coverage is designed to provide coverage for employee dishonesty, forgery and depository, theft, destruction and disappearance, and more.
Commercial Umbrella
Risk Factor: What happens when your business faces a large liability loss that exceeds the basic limit of your standard policy?
Solution: A commercial umbrella policy provides high limits of insurance, typically between $2,000,000 and $10,000,000. Coverage is extended over your general liability insurance, workers’ compensation, business auto, as well as directors and officers liability coverage. It provides a great safety net and helps ensure your business is well protected.
We can help design a business owners policy (or BOP) that works best for you and your business. To start, just reach out!
Contact us!
Do you need a quote? Click here! Or call one of Risk Advisors at the location closest to you. We know you still have questions, and we are ready to answer them.
AMERY: 715-268-6624
CUMBERLAND: 715-822-3355
FOREST LAKE: 651-464-2168
OSCEOLA: 715-294-2510
PRESCOTT: 715-262-3216
STILLWATER: 651-430-0085
OR visit our website at www.noahinsurancegroup.com