Austin Business Owners Policy (BOP)
Many small- and medium-sized businesses are in a business class the insurance carriers describe as low risk. If your business is considered low risk, you are eligible to purchase a low-cost package of policies – known as a Business Owner's Policy, or BOP – which includes the most important types of commercial insurance.
The BOP is a Texas business insurance policy that combines property, liability and business interruption coverage for small to medium-sized companies. This is a package of coverage that is usually cheaper than purchasing the policies separately.
Many professional services companies qualify for this valuable, low-cost protection. Get a quote today!
A BOP Protects Your Business and You
A BOP’s general liability insurance protects you from the cost of defending yourself or paying the damages if an employee, contractor, customer or other business-related third party claims that your business caused them bodily injury or harmed their property. This is also known as commercial general liability (CGL) insurance.
For property losses, a BOP typically insures your damaged or lost property for its replacement value. This means that your reimbursement would cover your cost to replace the property, without any deduction for depreciation based on the age of the property. The property insurance included with a BOP also covers the potential that your business might be held legally responsible for damage to someone else’s property while it is in your possession. When your customer’s property is in your care, custody or control, it is normally covered as if it were your property.
A general liability policy insurance policy also covers many of the other people involved in your business. If you have a joint venture or partnership, all of your partners, members and their spouses are protected if they are sued for something they do in an official capacity related to your business. As a corporation, your policy covers all of your business’s executive officers, stockholders and directors while they are acting in their official capacities. If you have subsidiaries, your policy’s liability coverage extends to any subsidiary where you own at least 50 percent of the stock.
Your employees are also protected from claims that result from actions they take in their capacity as employees. If you have a written agreement to indemnify a person or organization, such as a vendor, that person or organization would be protected against liability claims for property damage or bodily injury as a result of selling or distributing your products. During the first 90 days after you acquire a new business, it is automatically covered by this policy. After that timeframe, you would need to update your policy to continue this protection for the new part of your business.
Anyone legally associated with your business, including volunteers working under your direction, are covered for liabilities that result from the work they do for you, and for the use or maintenance of your property that is in their care.