WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
When you are insuring your small business, you want both affordability and manageability out of your benefits portfolio. Commercial insurers usually offer an insurance package known as a business owners policy (BOP) to help them get critical, essential coverage in one place and at a favorable price.
However, in the greater scheme of things, BOPs are just starting points for business insurance. Most of the time, even if you have a BOP, you must enroll in other coverage that is not available within the package, but that will still prove essential to your business, nonetheless.
Understanding BOPs
BOPs are designed to provide small businesses with their most-essential insurance coverage in one place. Policies usually offer: 
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Property & Structure Coverage
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Possessions/Contents Coverage
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Commercial General Liability (CGL) Coverage
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Business Interruption Coverage
You can choose the coverage limits and deductibles within your plan to reflect the comprehensive value of your policy. You also can adapt the terms of the BOP to address any special circumstances within your operation.
However, all BOPs have a stopping point, which is why you often must invest in other policies, too. Therefore, your BOP will be only one part of a comprehensive portfolio of commercial insurance options that your business carries.
How Can You Get Extra Coverage?
As you are enrolling in your BOP, your insurance agent will work with you to determine the precise terms of your plan. At that time, they can also help you figure out precisely which additional policies you will need.
In some cases, you can add extra coverage into your BOP as a policy endorsement that expands the package. However, in others, you have to buy separate policies. There are many stand-alone policies that are essential (and often required) for all small businesses.
Additional Policies
Just a few of the policies that you might purchase alongside your BOP include:
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Workers’ compensation insurance to pay for the costs of injuries sustained by employees on the job. Most states require businesses to have these benefits.
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Commercial auto insurance that insures company-owned vehicles and employee-drivers.
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Cyber liability insurance that will protect clients and the business in case of data breaches, cyber theft or other system failures.
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Errors & omissions (E&O) insurance to apply to third-party liability losses arising from mistakes in your professional services or advice.
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Equipment breakdown insurance that pays for repairs and lost income from failures in critical equipment.
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Umbrella liability insurance that can cover your existing CGL (and other policies’) liabilities in excess of the basic limits.
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Flood insurance if your property lies in an area of flood risks.
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Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) policies will pay in case you face accusations of mishandling of employment terms, harassment, discrimination, etc.
Talk to your agent about how you need to augment your business insurance beyond having a traditional BOP. They can help you deduce your coverage needs so you never have to select benefits arbitrarily.
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