What is a business owner's policy?

A Business Owner's Policy (BOP) is a packaged commercial insurance product that combines Commercial General Liability and Commercial Property coverage under one policy and one premium. It usually adds Business Income coverage. Designed for small to mid-size businesses, it covers lawsuits, injury and property damage claims, plus your building, equipment, and inventory.

What does a business owner's policy include?

A BOP includes two core coverages: general liability (Section II) for bodily injury, property damage, advertising injury, and lawsuits, and commercial property (Section I) for your building, equipment, inventory, and contents. Most policies also include business income coverage, which replaces lost revenue if a covered event forces you to suspend operations.

What does a business owner's policy not cover?

A BOP excludes workers' compensation for employee injuries (required in nearly all states), professional liability or errors & omissions for service mistakes, and commercial auto for business vehicles. Those are bought separately. You can add endorsements to a BOP for risks like cyber liability or equipment breakdown.

How long should I keep my business owner's policy?

Keep your current BOP declarations page permanently while active. Keep expired policies at least 7 years, because occurrence-based liability claims can arise long after an incident, and the policy in force at the time of the event is what responds. Retaining old declarations pages proves you carried coverage during that period.

What's the difference between a BOP and general liability insurance?

General liability is a standalone policy covering only liability claims — injury, property damage, and lawsuits. A Business Owner's Policy bundles that same general liability with commercial property coverage (and usually business income) under one policy number. A document showing only a liability section, with no property coverage part, is general liability, not a BOP.

Is a business owner's policy the same as a certificate of insurance?

No. A BOP is the actual insurance policy with full coverage limits and terms. A Certificate of Insurance (COI) is a one-page summary that proves coverage exists, typically given to landlords or clients. The certificate references the policy but isn't the policy itself, and it can't be used to file a claim.

Insurance

Business Owner's Policy (BOP)

A Business Owner's Policy (BOP) is a packaged commercial insurance product that bundles Commercial General Liability and Commercial Property coverage on a single declarations page, under one policy number from one carrier. It usually also includes Business Income (interruption) coverage. It is the standard insurance package for small and mid-size businesses.

Small businesses pay an average of $83 per month for a business owner's policy, with annual premiums ranging from roughly $400 to over $6,000.

Source: Insureon — Business Owner's Policy Cost

Written & maintained by the Granite team · Last updated June 2026

Overview

A Business Owner's Policy combines the core coverages small businesses need most — liability protection (Section II) for bodily injury, property damage, and lawsuits, and commercial property protection (Section I) for your building, equipment, inventory, and contents. Most BOPs also add Business Income coverage to replace lost revenue if a covered event forces you to close. Bundling these into one policy is typically cheaper than buying each separately, and you manage one premium and one renewal date.

A BOP is issued by a commercial insurance carrier (such as The Hartford, Travelers, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, or State Farm), usually sold through an independent agent or broker. The named insured is the business owner or entity, and the declarations page lists the insured business address, coverage limits, deductibles, and the policy term. It's the document a landlord, lender, or client will ask to see as proof of coverage. A BOP does not cover everything — workers' compensation, professional liability (errors & omissions), and commercial auto are bought separately.

When you’ll get your Business Owner's Policy (BOP)

You started a small business and bought your first packaged commercial insurance
A commercial landlord requires proof of property and liability coverage before lease signing
A client or general contractor requires you to carry liability insurance to win the work
A lender or franchisor mandates property coverage on financed equipment or premises
You renewed coverage and received an updated declarations page for the new term
You bundled separate liability and property policies into one BOP to lower your premium

What’s on your Business Owner's Policy (BOP)

These are the fields Granite reads and extracts automatically the moment you upload one.

Carrier & Policy Number: The insurance company issuing the policy and the unique policy number identifying your coverage.
Insured Business Address: The location of the insured business covered under the policy.
Each Occurrence Limit: The most the liability section (Section II) pays for a single covered claim or incident.
General Aggregate Limit: The total liability the carrier will pay across all claims during the policy term.
Products / Completed Operations Aggregate: The liability cap for claims arising from your products or completed work.
Building Coverage (Coverage A): The Section I property limit for the building structure itself.
Business Personal Property: The property limit for your contents — equipment, inventory, furniture, and fixtures.
Business Income Limit: Coverage that replaces lost income if a covered event interrupts your operations, when included.
Property & Liability Deductibles: The amount you pay out of pocket before the property (Section I) or liability (Section II) coverage applies.

How long to keep it

Keep the current policy permanently; keep expired declarations pages at least 7 years

Liability claims (injury, defective products, completed-work damage) can surface years after an incident, and many BOP liability coverages are written on an occurrence basis — so the policy in force when the event happened is what responds, even if you've since switched carriers. Keeping every prior declarations page proves you had coverage during that window.

How Granite handles your Business Owner's Policy (BOP)

Drop your BOP declarations page into Granite and it reads the document, extracts the carrier, policy number, each-occurrence and aggregate liability limits, building and business-personal-property limits, business income coverage, and your deductibles — then files it into your Business Insurance collection automatically. It indexes every field so a search for your policy number, carrier, or "general aggregate limit" surfaces the exact page, and it reminds you before the policy term expires so coverage never lapses.

FAQ

Business Owner's Policy (BOP): common questions

What is a business owner's policy?: A Business Owner's Policy (BOP) is a packaged commercial insurance product that combines Commercial General Liability and Commercial Property coverage under one policy and one premium. It usually adds Business Income coverage. Designed for small to mid-size businesses, it covers lawsuits, injury and property damage claims, plus your building, equipment, and inventory.
What does a business owner's policy include?: A BOP includes two core coverages: general liability (Section II) for bodily injury, property damage, advertising injury, and lawsuits, and commercial property (Section I) for your building, equipment, inventory, and contents. Most policies also include business income coverage, which replaces lost revenue if a covered event forces you to suspend operations.
What does a business owner's policy not cover?: A BOP excludes workers' compensation for employee injuries (required in nearly all states), professional liability or errors & omissions for service mistakes, and commercial auto for business vehicles. Those are bought separately. You can add endorsements to a BOP for risks like cyber liability or equipment breakdown.
How long should I keep my business owner's policy?: Keep your current BOP declarations page permanently while active. Keep expired policies at least 7 years, because occurrence-based liability claims can arise long after an incident, and the policy in force at the time of the event is what responds. Retaining old declarations pages proves you carried coverage during that period.
What's the difference between a BOP and general liability insurance?: General liability is a standalone policy covering only liability claims — injury, property damage, and lawsuits. A Business Owner's Policy bundles that same general liability with commercial property coverage (and usually business income) under one policy number. A document showing only a liability section, with no property coverage part, is general liability, not a BOP.
Is a business owner's policy the same as a certificate of insurance?: No. A BOP is the actual insurance policy with full coverage limits and terms. A Certificate of Insurance (COI) is a one-page summary that proves coverage exists, typically given to landlords or clients. The certificate references the policy but isn't the policy itself, and it can't be used to file a claim.

Sources

This page is checked against primary and authoritative sources:

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