Business Owner's Policy (BOP) for Small Commercial Accounts

We place BOPs when the class, occupancy, and square footage fit a package appetite. When they do not — certain contractors, or manufacturing with heavier products exposure — we build a monoline property plus monoline GL program instead of forcing a package that will not last at renewal.

Inside a well-built BOP you typically find building and/or business personal property, business income and extra expense, and general liability including products/completed operations. Many forms also include limited equipment breakdown, valuable papers, accounts receivable, and outdoor signs. Those included sublimits are not always enough; we raise them when the exposure is real.

Business income is the piece owners skip until a kitchen fire or a sprinkler discharge shuts the doors. We ask how long you could stay closed, whether you have a second location, and whether ordinary payroll should be included. A 12-month actual-loss-sustained period is common; some operations need a longer tail.

Hired and non-owned auto, spoilage, food contamination, ordinance or law, and employee dishonesty are frequent add-ons. None of those replace a commercial auto policy if you own vehicles, and none of them replace professional liability if you sell advice.

• Packaged liability and property One policy, one renewal date, and usually a better rate than buying the two lines separately.
• Business income Lost earnings and extra expense after a covered property loss shuts you down.
• Equipment breakdown Often included at a basic limit for boilers, refrigeration, and business equipment — we check the number.
• Class eligibility We will tell you when a BOP is the wrong chassis and a monoline program is safer.