For your best business protection and savings, we recommend bundling GL with some other important coverages on one Business Owners Policy!
We’re sure that you want to get faultless protection for your business. That’s why when it comes to insurance, it’s important to know which options work best. One that never fails to satisfy the needs of many is a business owner’s policy. Read this guide to know what it is, how much it costs, and the best companies.
Also read:
In a nutshell, a business owner’s policy is a coverage that bundles commercial property insurance and general liability insurance.
However, the business owner’s policy from different carriers doesn’t only offer general liability and commercial property insurance but other business insurance policies too.
And so, another way of defining a business owner’s policy, is to say that it’s a combination of different insurance products.
Purchasing a business owner’s policy insurance is more cost effective than when you bought different types of insurance separately. But this isn’t the only reason. Get a BOP policy because:
Accounts for all of the common business exposures
It functions well regardless of your business size, experience, and history
Easy to monitor and manage
Insurance companies give all customers the freedom to purchase a business owner’s policy. But note that there are insurance companies still following the ISO BOP policy requirements and only offer the coverage if your business has any of the following:
Annual revenue not exceeding $6 million
Owns or rents a physical location not more than 35,000 square feet in size
If you’re a contractor; payroll must be $300,000 or less and no work done more than three stories high
Office building, not more than 100,000 square feet
Get all the best quotes from leading providers in a click of a button!
Depending on where you decide to get it, a BOP can only offer two insurance products or it may have five or more. Nonetheless, the following are the most common inclusions in a business owner’s policy:
General liability insurance
Commercial property insurance
Business interruption insurance
Professional liability insurance
Equipment breakdown insurance
Cyber liability insurance
Crime insurance
Employment practices liability insurance
Proceed to the next sections for a discussion of the above policies included in a business owner’s policy.
All insurance companies include general liability insurance in their business owner’s policy. General liability insurance helps when your business is liable for the injuries or property damage of a customer, visitor, or any other third party.
You can use general liability insurance if your business caused injuries or property damage because:
Of an accident that happened within its premises
An employee is negligent
The premises of your business contributed to the occurrence of the accident
Your business didn’t employ the proper safety measures while operating
In connection, the following are the costs covered by general liability insurance if a third party files a claim for bodily injuries or property damage:
The medical treatment of the claimant and compensation for pain, suffering, and punitive damages
Refunds for the property of the claimant that got damaged
Attorney fees, court fees, investigation costs, and other legal defense expenses in case the claimant refuse to settle and take the matter to a court of law
The general liability insurance included a business owner’s policy will also have the following optional coverages:
Advertising injury coverage-Advertising injury coverage helps cover settlements and defense costs if your business committed slander, libel, or copyright infringement against a third party
Rented premises liability coverage-Rented premises liability coverage refunds the landlord if a rented space is damaged by fire due to your business’s negligence
Most business owner’s policies offer a BOP liability coverage with a $1 million-$2 million per occurrence limit. However, it’s not impossible to find a carrier whose business owner’s policy has a general liability coverage with a $3 million per occurrence limit.
Commercial property insurance never goes missing in every business owner’s policy.
With commercial property insurance added, a business owner’s policy doesn’t only protect your business against its liability for the injuries or property damage of others but also against the damage or destruction of its important assets.
Commercial property insurance helps you recover losses if your business’s building, equipment, and stocks become damage or lost due to:
Fire
Theft
Vandalism
Riot
Civil commotion
Sinkhole collapse
Volcanic action
Hail
Snow
Storm
Lightning
Impact
Vehicle
Aircraft
Sprinkler leakage
Commercial property insurance found in a BOP is underwritten as a replacement cost policy. This means that it reimburses losses based on the non-depreciated value of the covered property.
Insurance companies leave it up to you to decide how much coverage commercial property insurance can provide. Usually, the minimum business property coverage is $10,000-$35,000 and the minimum business contents coverage is $15,000-$25,000.
If your business is in the professional services sector, then expect a business owner’s policy to offer professional liability insurance.
Professional liability insurance protects you from claims filed because there’s an issue with regard to how you performed a service on behalf of a client.
You use professional liability insurance to provide indemnification and cover defense costs after a client sued for economic or financial losses because your business committed:
Negligence
Misrepresentation
Violation of good faith
Violation of fair dealing
Breach of confidentiality
Missed deadlines
The professional liability insurance of most BOPs is underwritten as a claims-made policy. Also, it will have a $1 million-$2 million per occurrence limit.
You might be forced to close business in order to relocate, renovate, or wait for an economic crisis to resolve.
Suspending operations will result in a lot of losses if you don’t have the appropriate countermeasure in place. And to provide help, insurance companies allow you to avail business interruption insurance from a business owner’s policy.
While your business is closed and not generating income in order to renovate, relocate, or wait for an economic crisis to pass, business interruption insurance provides the money for payroll, electric bills, loans, taxes, and other operational costs.
Business interruption insurance can even supplement a portion of the income your business lost.
Note that your business can’t receive money from business interruption insurance forever. The coverage it provides only lasts for 30 days. However, this can be extended for 1 year if you get an endorsement.
You can use a business owner’s policy to cover out of pocket expenses in case business equipment goes haywire. This is because it has an equipment breakdown insurance policy.
Equipment breakdown insurance covers the cost of repair or replacement if your business’s equipment sustained damaged and became unusable due to:
Electrical surge
Electrical short
Operator error
Impact
Water damage
The equipment breakdown insurance in most business owner’s policies provides $5,000-$15,000 coverage. However, the insurance company can give more upon your request.
Cyber liability insurance is offered in a business owner’s policy if your business stores and handles the data of customers or if it’s an:
App development firm
Website design firm
Software development firm
Online marketplace
Video game development firm
A business that relies on information and the internet to make money is highly vulnerable to data breach. This is why insurance companies sell cyber liability insurance that will take care of the resulting costs such as:
Settlements for the economic losses sustained by third parties after the breach happened
Defense costs
Public relations
Lost income (in case you need to stop business operations to contain the breach)
Professional services needed to contain the breach
Some business owner’s policies offer crime insurance. You can use this to recover losses if third parties and employees commit any of the following against your business:
Theft
Destruction of money and other securities
Fraud
Embezzlement
Social engineering
A business owner’s policy can have employment practices liability insurance. Employment practices liability insurance will pay for settlements or lawsuits if an employee accuses your business of committing:
Discrimination
Sexual harassment
Missed employment benefits
Missed wages
Wrongful termination
Breach of employment contract
The minimum policy limit of employment practices liability insurance is $500,000-$1 million. However, if availed as an inclusion in business owner’s policy, it provides a $1 million-$2 million per occurrence limit.
You can include workers compensation insurance to your BOP insurance coverage. But this depends on which carrier you choose. By adding workers compensation insurance to a BOP, your business can cover the lost wages, hospitalization, medication, retraining, and funeral of an employee who sustains a work-related injury or disease.
Carriers will recommend you to get commercial auto insurance as an optional policy to BOP if your business owns a commercial vehicle. This functions to:
Cover the medical treatment of persons your commercial vehicle injured in an accident
Cover the losses of persons whose property got damaged by the accident your commercial vehicle caused
Cover the hospitalization of the driver and passengers
Protect your commercial vehicle against uninsured/underinsured motorists
No two customers pay the same price for a business insurance quote. Many factors are used to determine how much BOP insurance cost. Based on our research, the average BOP insurance cost is $101 per month or $1,212 per year.
To get more idea about the business owner’s policy insurance cost, we suggest you take a look at this table showing the rates of the recommended companies.
Cost per Month | Cost per Year | Best for | |
---|---|---|---|
NEXT | $40 | $480 | Best overall; BOP with comprehensive commercial property insurance |
CoverWallet | $45 | $540 | Comparing business owner’s policy quotes online |
Tivly | $50 | $600 | BOP that offers numerous business insurance products |
Hiscox | $52.58 | $630.96 | IT businesses |
Thimble | $107.95 | $1,295.40 | BOP that can have liquor liability insurance |
The Hartford | $261 | $3,132 | Startups |
Chubb | $400 | $4,800 | International businesses of any size |
To find the best insurance for business owners, then you have to compare business owners insurance quotes. We encourage you to compare quotes by clicking the “Get Quotes” button on this page to find the best prices, policy deals, discounts, and coverage from the best and most reliable BOP insurance companies for any type of business.
The sections below quickly discuss the factors that affect business owner insurance costs.
The kind of business you run and its industry affects its BOP insurance rates. A good example is damage to a business that has equipment, supplies, and appliances that workers use is more significant and expensive to cover compared to simple IT or home based businesses of either freelancers or just office employees. The greater the risk involved with a business, the greater its BOP insurance cost.
If your business has had no claims in the past and has a good history, it will be easier for it to get cheap BOP insurance quotes.
The scope of the coverage you choose for your business significantly impacts your business owner’s policy cost. A simple office (or home office) with $3,000 maximum repair cost has a significantly lower risk (and cost) to insurers compared to a commercial facility that requires over $1M to renovate or repair its property damage.
Additionally, your BOP insurance liability limits choices affect your BOP insurance cost. The typical liability limit for most BOP insurance policies is $1M. However, if you believe your business requires more than that, your insurer can provide more but it will affect the rates you pay for your BOP.
Carriers have different pricing for their business owner’s policy. That said, some carriers charge significantly less than others. This is why it’s very important to compare the offers of different companies before getting insured.
Business Owner's Policy premium rates are determined based on business size as well. Your number of employees will affect some coverage sections of the business owners policy. Also, the more employees a business has, the more it is exposed to risk and potential lawsuits.
A deductible is an amount a business pays out of its own pocket before the insurance policy kicks in to cover loss. The higher your deductibles are, the cheaper your business owners policy insurance quotes will be.
Insurance companies will lower your BOP insurance premium rates as you share more of their risk and carry a more significant proportion of your setback.
Always remember that you will be required to actually pay this price before or after you are able to file a claim and activate your BOP insurance policy, so that the insurance carrier can reimburse your financial loss.
Get all the best quotes from leading providers in a click of a button!
Read the reviews below to know the pros, cons, and rate of the best companies for BOP insurance coverage.
Best overall
Issues an online proof of insurance you can easily show to anyone
Great customer service and reputation
Excellent rates
Outstanding value for money
Bundle two or more policies in a BOP and get a 10% discount
BOP doesn’t offer cyber liability insurance
BOP might not be available depending on your business profile
NEXT’sbusiness owner’s policy offers commercial property and general liability insurance.
The general liability insurance has a $1 million per occurrence limit and a $2 million aggregate limit. Moreover, employment practices liability and professional liability insurance are automatically offered as optional coverages in general liability insurance.
As for the commercial property insurance of NEXT’s BOP, it has a $110,000 minimum building coverage and $10,000 contents coverage. Employee dishonesty insurance is included in its terms.
Depending on your business’s industry, NEXT’s BOP can offer workers compensation insurance at an additional cost.
Best for:Best overall; BOP with comprehensive commercial property insurance
Average cost:$40 per month
Our rating:10/10
Compare the features and rates of the business owner’s policy from different carriers online
BOP can have workers' compensation insurance
BOP for professional service businesses offers professional liability insurance
Cancel your BOP anytime
No hidden charges
Only a seller and not the underwriter of the business owner’s policy customers can avail
CoverWallet sells a BOP to all of its customers. This company’s business owner’s policy only offers general liability and commercial property insurance. But note that you can get workers compensation insurance as an add-on.
The general liability insurance of CoverWallet’s BOP has a $1 million-$2 million per occurrence limit. You can add hired/non-owned auto liability coverage to its terms. You can even name additional insureds for free.
As for the commercial property insurance included in this company’s BOP, it provides a replacement cost coverage and you get to decide how much to get from it.
Note that CoverWallet’s BOP can have professional liability insurance if your business is in the professional services sector.
Allow us to mention that CoverWallet has an online quotes comparison platform you can use to find other companies selling business owner’s policies for small and big businesses.
Best for: Comparing business owner’s policy quotes online
Average cost: $45 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Responsive customer service
Takes you to its partners if your business profile doesn’t match its underwriting appetite
Compare quotes over the phone
Doesn’t issue an online copy of your BOP insurance quote
Tivly (formerly CommercialInsurance.NET) sells a business owner’s policy that you can customize freely. In other words, it can have as many business insurance policies as possible. Note that Tivly allows you to apply for a quote online. However, you’ll need to call or wait for an agent to contact you in order to start creating a custom-made business owner’s policy for your business.
Call Tivly now and compare BOP insurance quotes over the phone.
Best for: BOP that offers numerous business insurance products
Average cost: $50 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Fast online BOP quotes
BOP can have liquor liability insurance
Cancel your BOP and get a refund
Thimble’s BOP doesn’t offer employment practices liability insurance
Thimble’s business owner’s policy offers commercial property and general liability insurance.
The general liability insurance included in this company’s BOP has a $1 million per occurrence limit with a $250-$1,000 deductible. Inclusions to general liability insurance are rented premises liability coverage, medical payments coverage, and downtime coverage.
On the other hand, commercial property insurance offers $25,000-$500,000 building and contents coverage with a $500-$2,500 deductible.
At an additional cost, Thimble allows you to include equipment breakdown insurance and professional liability insurance in your BOP. The BOP of food businesses can be added with liquor liability insurance.
Best for: BOP that can have liquor liability insurance
Average cost: $107.95 per month
Our rating: 9/10
Hiscox Business Owners Policy can be quoted and bought online, either directly or through a broker/agent if you prefer
Its BOP insurance can be customized for a variety of sectors
Global coverage: the claims have to be filed in US/Canada though
In contrast to other major insurers, Hiscox is much more straightforward in both claims process and payments with 24/7 online claim filing available for their customers
Licensed to sell insurance in all 50 states
Less ideal for larger businesses
Some of their offers are completed through their partners
Hiscox insurance will be helpful for your business whether you are a freelancer, the developer of a rapidly developing technology company, or a business owner in a difficult-to-cover sector. Hiscox providessmall business insurancefor a wide variety of businesses, sectors, and industries.
Best for: IT businesses
Average cost: $52.58 per month
Our rating: 9/10
Chubb BOP insurance saves you a significant amount compared to purchasing commercial general liability insurance and commercial property insurance policies separately
Chubb offers discounts and are quite helpful for start-ups
Chubb barely have any customer complaints and excels in customer satisfaction ratings
Chubb business owners policy is provided to all business sizes
Excellent claim experience
Available online
Online option is less friendly than that of other providers
If you're thinking of getting a BOP insurance quote through Chubb, you are in a good direction. Chubb is among the leading casualty and property insurers in the world, issuing different types of insurance policies for both individuals and businesses.
Best for: International businesses of any size
Average cost: $400 per month
Our rating: 8/10
The Hartford is known to be the world's most flexible BOP provider for a variety of industries
BOP claims could be made 24 hours a day and 7 days a week
Easy online BOP insurance quoting process makes getting business owners policy quote from The Hartford very simple
Provides up to $2 million coverage for every general liability business insurance claim (which is included in their BOP) and $4 million for the business owner policy aggregate
Strong financially
More than 200 years of experience
Not available in every state
For small businesses that require BOPs,The Hartford is another excellent business insurance company. It offers flexible BOP payment methods. Also, the general liability insurance of its BOP has a $2 million per occurrence limit and a $4 million aggregate limit.
Best for: Startups
Average cost: $261 per month
Our rating: 9/10
This company does not care about the people they insure or the people that work for the company. They do stupid meets all day long about quality on calls while injured workers sit in pain waiting for answers but can never get to anyone to help them. This company hires uneducated people to run the company so that nothing important get done. I have heard so many stories about injury workers having bad service. They can’t never get their claims adjuster on the phone and the doctors that this company tells people to go to do not care about their patients causing their injuries to become worse. This company neglect on taking care of people’s injured employees have caused people to end up with disabilities for the rest of their life. if you get insurance under this company you will end up having to hire a lawyer to fight them in court. Do not get a policy with this company. Your employees will pay the price and so will the owners of the company. Honestly they need to get shut down. Avoid at all cost do not get this insurance and do not work for this company.
Terrible customer service. I got this insurance for my Amazon store when I ran one, took a break and cancelled all my subscriptions. I called these guys and they recommended sending an email. They never responded and have been charging me since then. Definitely going to dispute via the bank. Hate when businesses take advantage of other small businesses for their own gain.
I purchased a year long policy for my small business I paid for the year up front. First they sent me the incorrect paperwork and acted as if I had something to do with the mistake. About three weeks later I received a bill for the policy. I then sent countless email as the payment did clear my account. About a week later I'm told they have no record of my payment. Now I have to send any documents proving I said then. It went on for weeks. More requests of proof from this person then another. Every conversation had an under lying tone of me being dishonest. Finally I just gave up with them and filed a despite with my bank which took all of three days.. So now I'm continuing to receive emails that my policy is past due and will be cancelled. Funny, I was told I didn't have a policy because they couldn't locate it.
Purchased the General Liability policy I needed to fulfill a contract for my hiring party. Simply Business made it very easy to complete an application and review multiple quote options. Ended up purchasing a policy for 1/2 of what I originally was told by my agent.
I insured my small business with them from early 2016 to January 2022. I had a workman's compensation policy with them the entire time for my staff of approximately 10 people which fluctuated up and down minimally over the years. We ran a very safe operation and never had so much as one claim. I sold my business in early 2022 and cancelled my policy which triggered a final audit of $2871.00 which was owed back to me. Of course I dissolved my LLC immediately after selling the business and thus closed my bank checking account at the advise of my accountant. Though my name was on the business policy, Employers Preferred Insurance Company refused to issue a check to me directly as the policy holder due to...you guessed it, policy. Long story short, if you sell your business keep a small amount deposited in the checking account because it's almost a guarantee that companies such as Employers will use their policy to weasel their way out of money owed after the dissolution of a business. I should have known that I would be treated a just another number shortly after I signed with them as the sales agent just disappeared after I was set up for an online account to manage my policy. My next business venture will entail me working with an actual insurance agent who has an office in an actual brick and mortar building!