Want to learn about Business Owner’s Policy cost?
Review the drives of this business premium.
A package policy for the small business owner
A BOP or Business Owner’s Policy bundles both general liability and commercial property insurance in a convenient lower cost package. This is the perfect option for most small businesses. Your level of risk, the value of your business property, and your policy limits will affect your costs.
The average cost of a business owner’s policy for our customers is approximately $99 per month* or $1,191 annually. This is before considering the differences in coverage selected. The median premium is $55 per month or $642 per year. Generally speaking, medians eliminate outliers (high and low) to help provide a more accurate indication of insurance costs – at least statistically.
Many small business customers (36%) pay between $400 (or the minimum premium) and $800 per year for a business owner’s policy, and 48% pay between $800 and $1,200 per year.
The numbers may change with different agencies, but these are the premiums paid by customers written with our insurance carrier partners and issued through the IronPoint network of member agencies and and the IronPoint agency.
*The numbers used in this analysis comes from IronPoint Insurance Services and our member insurance agents. We tend to write mostly small to mid-sized businesses. Since we don’t write a lot of large commercial risks, our numbers will differ from state or national results.
When buying a BOP we typically think of the general liability coverage. In fact, the general liability insurance portion of a BOP premium is largely, influenced by the business segment or industry your small business operates. Generally, the higher risk your industry represents, the higher premium you can expect to pay. Low-risk business classes enjoy lower avrage premiums.
For example, a busy restaurant is exposed to more risk of customer injury than an management consultant working remotely from a home or an office suite. Alternatively, contractors and retail stores have higher average coverage costs because these types of businesses frequelty have valuable equipment or inventory, as well as increased third-party liability.
*The numbers used in this analysis comes from IronPoint Insurance Services and our member insurance agents. We tend to write mostly small to mid-sized businesses. Since we don’t write a lot of large commercial risks, our numbers will differ from state or national results.
The commercial property insurance portion of a BOP develops premium is based on property values. Therefore, the cost of this portion of the BOP depends, for obvious reasons, on the value of your business personal property. To a lesser degree, where the property is lcoated and the way you elect to protect it, will also influence the final cost.
When considering the amount of insurance you need for your business personal property, you first need to know it’s value. When you know the value the property owned by the business, you will be able to determin the property limits and select a value that is appropriate to cover the cost of replacing or repairing stolen, lost, or damaged property. Don’t forget to include your inventory!
The replacement cost value of your building and its infuence on your premium costs will vary significantly depending on where your business is located. For example, a small restaurant in rural Utah community will typically cost much less to insure than a similar restaurant in Los Angeles, California. Moreover, older buildings are typically more expensive becuase they are more suspesetible to suddent damage (eg. burst pipes).
The cost of a BOP varies depending on how you choose to insure your business personal property. You can insure it for its replacement value (cost when new), or for its actual cash value (depreciated value). The actual cash value will typically cost much less than full replacement cost. Just as a note, we don’t recommend insuring your property for actual cash value as the savings rarely bare out when you suffer a first-party property claim.
If think about your own car insurance premiums, you understand that buying higher limits or more coverage increases you premium. The is true when buying business insurance. If you want a BOP with higher coverage limits, you can expect to pay premium.
The good news when select you liability limit, is that the lower $1 million / $2 million liabilit limit is the most popular selection, and it covers nearly all risks your business may be exposed. This limit of liability covers:
$1 million occurrence limit. While the policy is active and for covered losses, the insurance company will pay up to $1 million to cover any single claim.
$2 million aggregate limit. During the lifetime of a policy (usually one year), the insurance company will pay up to $2 million to cover claims for covered losses.
As stated earlier, the majority of customers select the $1 million / $2 million limit. Infact (92%) chose this level of protection when buy throug IronPoint. While 8% of our customers chose a policy with $2 million / $4 million limits, this doesn’t mean you need to. You need to select the limit that matches your companies risk exposure.
The average cost of a $1 million / $2 million BOP policy for a small business is approximately $1,200 per year, and the median is $642. A BOP with $2 million / $4 million limits has an average cost of $1,295 per year, and a median cost of $715.
*The numbers used in this analysis comes from IronPoint Insurance Services and our member insurance agents. We tend to write mostly small to mid-sized businesses. Since we don’t write a lot of large commercial risks, our numbers will differ froms state or national results.
Your business owner’s policy will offer several payment options. In some instances, paying the premium in full will provide premium savings or help to avoid monthly service fees. If you need to make monthly payments, or there is no discount for full payment, look to pay the installments electronically. This normally allows you to eliminate or reduce any billing fees.
Claims are a certain way to pay more in premium. If you business had no claims, you want to keep up the good work. The best way to do this is to create a comprehensive risk management plan. Things to consdier may be:
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The amount of BOP coverage you need depends on factors such as the type and size of your business, number of employees, and the type of customers you typically work with. However, many small businesses opt for the standard $1 million / $2 million small business policy. This means the policy will pay up to $1 million to cover any one claim, with a $2 million limit for the lifetime of the policy, which is typically one year.
A BOP consists of general liability insurance and commercial property insurance. Neither policy is required by law. However, many of the people you do business with will likely have general liability insurance requirements. You may need this policy if you want to sign a client contract with these requirements. Proof of general liability coverage is also required to apply for certain professional licenses.
Additionally, many commercial landlords require tenants to purchase commercial property insurance. A landlord might ask to see proof of coverage before you can sign a lease.
The general liability portion of your BOP includes what’s known as advertising injury coverage. It provides protection for lawsuits related to libel, slander, and invasion of privacy, as well as copyright or brand infringement. That means if you are sued for writing something negative about a competitor on social media, you’re covered.
A business owner’s policy covers you and your employees, but typically does not include coverage for independent contractors. You can either add contractors to your policy on a temporary basis as an additional insured, or require them to purchase their own general liability insurance. When hiring a contractor, it is best to require them to provide you a certificate of liability insurance as evidence they have the property liability protections for you.
Our online application for a business owner’s policy takes just a few minutes to complete. In most cases, we’ll deliver quotes as directly after you finish the application. Once you purchase a policy, we can email you a certificate of insurance, which is the formal proof-of-insurance document you need to show when you sign certain contracts or apply for professional licenses.
The business owner’s policy application requires some basic information about your business, including where it’s located, number of employees, and estimated revenue for the upcoming year. Since it includes general liability, you’ll need the same application information as you would for general liability – along with information about your business property.
The application will take just a few minutes to complete. When you’re finished, you’ll receive quotes from multiple carriers. Look them over and pick the one that works best for you. A licensed insurance agent is available to assist you throughout the process.
We specialize in small business insurance for a large number of industries. Low-risk businesses with fewer than 100 employees are typically eligible for a BOP.
Our insurance agents have helped more than 125,000 businesses in segments including:
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