Florida/Texas—When businesses are purchasing the necessary insurance policies to keep their businesses well covered, they bring up a lot of questions. That is because commercial insurance is a much more complex equation to understand than our personal insurance protections. A BOP (Business Owners Policy) coverage is a perfect example of what should be considered by small to medium sized businesses, which combines general liability and commercial property insurance on a package.

A Business Owners Policy (BOP) will include the following:

• Property insurance for the building and its contents which are owned and used by your business. It’s a coverage included in a business owners policy.Note that a BOP coverage would be available in two different forms, 

1. standard and 
2. special, which provides a more comprehensive coverage.

• Business interruption insurance— this type of coverage will take care of the loss of income resulting from a fire or other catastrophe that disrupts the operation of your business. It can also include extra expenses related to operate your business out of a temporary location.

• Then the Liability protection— this part of your policy will cover your company's legal responsibility for the harm it may cause to others. It can be a result of things that you and your employees do or fail to do in your business operations, that may cause bodily injury or property damage due to defective products, faulty installations and/or errors in services provided. A BOP package combines both your general liability and property insurance policies into one and makes it so much easier to manage. General liability protects your business from third-party liability claims, including bodily injury, property damage and personal injury. There's no need for an additional general liability insurance policy if you have a BOP.

While a BOP package does provide a greater protection for your business, you still need to consider other options in order to make sure you don’t end up underinsured and vulnerable in some other areas. For example, a BOP insurance package does not include coverage for  professional liability, worker’s compensation (which is required in the vast majority of the states) or health and disability insurance. Also, auto insurance since you need the same kinds of insurance coverage for the car you use in your business as you do for a car used for personal travel -- liability, collision and comprehensive, medical payments and coverage for uninsured motorists. If you have a personal umbrella liability policy, there's generally an exclusion for business-related liability. Make sure you have sufficient auto liability coverage.

At Garzor Insurance we care about your business. Our experienced professionals are dedicated to providing commercial insurance, including BOP coverage and business general liability coverage in Florida as well as Texas, and now many other states across the U.S. If you also have questions about truck or other commercial vehicles insurance, or any other business insurance aspects, please do not hesitate to visit us online at Garzor Insurance, or you may want to call us directly at (321) 206-8035. 

Mariana Morante

Licensed Insurance Agent