Business Owners Policy.
Liability, property and lost income in one contract, usually for less than buying two of them separately.
A BOP is the most efficient policy in commercial insurance for the businesses that qualify. One renewal, one
deductible structure, one carrier to deal with after a loss, and business interruption included rather than
forgotten.
The question is eligibility, and it is narrower than most owners
realise. Industry, revenue, square footage and hazard all decide it, and carriers draw the lines
differently. Tell us what the business does and we will find who wants to write it, and price the package
alternative alongside so you can see both.
Three policies, one contract
The value is not only the discount. It is that the three coverages are written to work together, so there is no argument about which policy responds when a single event triggers all three.
General liability
Third-party injury, property damage you cause, and personal and advertising injury, with legal defence. The coverage your clients and landlord ask you to prove.
Commercial property
Your building if you own it, and everything inside it: equipment, inventory, furniture, and the tenant improvements you paid for if you lease.
Business interruption
Lost income and continuing expenses while you cannot trade. Built in rather than bought separately, which is exactly why BOP holders are less often caught short here.
One deductible conversation
A single event that damages the building, destroys stock and stops trading is handled under one contract by one adjuster, rather than three carriers each pointing at the others.
Who qualifies, and who does not
Every carrier draws these lines differently, which is precisely why one decline means very little.
Usually eligible
Offices and professional services, retail shops, salons, restaurants and cafés, light wholesalers, most artisan contractors, small medical and dental practices, and service businesses operating from a single modest premises.
Carriers assess revenue, square footage, number of locations and how hazardous the operation is. The thresholds move and they differ substantially between companies, so a business that is marginal at one is comfortably inside the appetite of another.
Usually needs a package instead
Manufacturing, heavy construction, anything with significant product liability, businesses handling hazardous materials, large multi-location operations, and habitational property at scale.
That is not a downgrade. A commercial package is assembled coverage by coverage, which gives you control that a pre-built bundle cannot. It is simply a different tool, and for the right business it prices competitively too.
What a BOP does not include
This is where owners get comfortable too early. A BOP is broad within its two coverages and silent on everything outside them. Most of these can be endorsed on, which is cheaper than standalone policies.
Workers’ compensation
Mandatory in almost every state once you have employees, and never part of a BOP. Penalties for operating without it are substantial.
Commercial auto
Any vehicle used for business. A personal auto policy will not respond, and hired and non-owned auto is needed even if the business owns no vehicles but staff drive their own.
Professional liability
Errors in the advice or service you provide. Essential for anyone selling expertise rather than goods, and frequently required by client contracts.
Cyber liability
Breach response, notification, ransomware and funds transfer fraud. Often available as an endorsement on the BOP, and increasingly required by clients.
Employment practices
Wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment claims. The most common serious claim against small employers, and one of the most expensive to defend.
Equipment breakdown
Mechanical and electrical failure is excluded from the property side. An inexpensive endorsement, and essential for anyone dependent on refrigeration or HVAC.
Bundle it, and price the alternative anyway
Two things decide a BOP premium: your classification code and which carriers currently want your industry. Both change, and neither is visible from inside a single company. We quote the BOP, then quote the same coverages as a package, and show you the total either way.
Class code first
As with any commercial policy, the code describing what you do drives the price more than anything else. Miscoding is common, particularly when the business has evolved since the policy was written.
Bundled beats separate, usually
For eligible businesses the BOP discount plus included business interruption typically wins. We show you the arithmetic rather than asserting it.
Endorse rather than buy standalone
Cyber, equipment breakdown, EPLI and hired auto added onto the BOP almost always cost less than separate policies for the same protection.
Review at renewal, not after
Outgrowing BOP eligibility is common and it is far easier to plan the move than to react to a non-renewal. We flag it before the carrier does.
Send us your current policy, and we will price the bundle against it.
Whether you hold a BOP already or separate liability and property policies, the declarations pages tell us your classification, limits and endorsements. From there we can show you both structures side by side. No cost, no obligation.
How we place a BOP
We start with what the business actually does rather than the label on the paperwork. That conversation decides the classification code, and it usually surfaces two or three exposures the owner had not connected to insurance at all.
Then we test eligibility across carriers rather than one. Appetite for a given industry moves year to year, and a decline from one company tells you almost nothing about the market. Where a BOP genuinely does not fit, we say so and price a package instead.
We also set the business interruption properly. It is included, which means it is easy to accept the default and discover later that the period of restoration was optimistic. Working out how long you would really be shut takes ten minutes and changes the outcome entirely.
And we handle the certificates, endorsements and renewals, reviewing each year against how the business has changed rather than rolling it over unchanged.
Assuming the BOP covers employees.
It does not. Workers' compensation is separate, mandatory in almost every state once you hire, and carries real penalties for going without. If you have staff, that is the first thing to confirm.
Check what else I need →The Business Owners Policy, answered plainly
What is a BOP?+
A Business Owners Policy bundles general liability and commercial property into one contract, and almost always includes business interruption cover. It is designed for small and mid-sized businesses, and for those that qualify it is usually cheaper than buying the same coverages separately.
Who qualifies for one?+
Carriers apply eligibility rules around industry, revenue, square footage and hazard level. Offices, retail, professional services, restaurants, contractors and light wholesalers commonly qualify. Manufacturing, heavy construction, and anything with significant product or environmental exposure usually needs a commercial package instead.
Is a BOP always cheaper?+
Usually, but not always. Bundling earns a discount and reduces administration, and business interruption is often included rather than bought separately. Where a business sits at the edge of eligibility, or needs coverage a BOP restricts, a package policy can price better. We quote both.
Does a BOP include business interruption?+
Almost always, and that is a large part of its value. On separately purchased policies, business interruption is frequently overlooked or bought too thin. In a BOP it is built in, though the period of restoration and the limit still need setting sensibly rather than accepting the default.
What does a BOP not cover?+
Workers' compensation, commercial auto, professional liability, employment practices, and cyber. Some carriers allow those to be endorsed onto the BOP, and others require separate policies. None of them are automatically included.
What is the difference between a BOP and a commercial package?+
A BOP is a pre-assembled bundle with standard terms, which is what makes it efficient. A commercial package policy is assembled coverage by coverage, which is more flexible and necessary for larger or higher-hazard operations. Businesses commonly start on a BOP and move to a package as they grow.
Can I add coverage to a BOP?+
Yes, and most businesses should. Common additions include equipment breakdown, cyber liability, employment practices liability, hired and non-owned auto, and higher liability limits. Adding them to the BOP is usually cheaper than standalone policies.
When should I move off a BOP?+
When you outgrow the eligibility rules, when a carrier declines your revenue or square footage, or when the restrictions start costing more than the bundle saves. Growth in headcount, a second location, or a change in what you actually do are the usual triggers, and it is better to review before renewal than after a decline.