Protecting movable inventory that drives revenue generation for your business with personal property insurance makes sense for any enterprise with tangible assets that could be stolen or destroyed.
Jessie is a freelance accountant working from her home office. When her laptop was stolen, it caused her to lose work and revenue. BPP coverage will enable her to replace it and resume work immediately.
What is covered?
When your business owns tangible items like furniture, inventory, or equipment that could be damaged or lost due to fire or flood, theft, or wear and tear, the cost can quickly add up – this is why business personal property coverage (BPP) should be prioritized.
BPP policies typically fall under more extensive commercial property policies and cover movable equipment, furnishings, and assets used within your workspace. Unlike building insurance covering the structure itself, this coverage only protects what lies inside.
Small businesses should include BPP in their more extensive property insurance policy; or purchase it separately if your business requires specialized equipment or has to carry large inventory volumes. It may be possible to secure intangible assets like trademarks and patents with coverage under separate commercial intellectual property insurance policies;
BPP policies cover furniture, computers, office supplies, tools, inventory, cash registers, and fixtures. BPP can also cover replacing items lost due to natural disasters like tornadoes or hurricanes. Most BPP policies offer you the choice between insuring your property for its actual cash value or replacement cost – replacing cost is typically more costly but allows your business to resume operations much more quickly in case of loss.
BPP policies typically cover your property for two types of losses: direct and indirect. Indirect losses refer to a loss’s financial impact on your business, such as replacing stolen laptops used for consulting work that you use during this period; However, BPP will cover its replacement; they won’t cover income lost during recovery from theft.
Business personal property policies can be tailored to cover items like off-premises, electronics, and outdoor property. These coverages may be invaluable for many businesses that depend on mobile equipment or store items away from their primary location.
What is not covered?
BPP typically refers to any property you can pick up and carry with you on the job or if moving your business premises. It may even cover the property you rent or lease; many policies provide for rented items with a limit that may exceed that for owned items depending on your insurer’s policy. Some insurance providers even offer special endorsements that expand coverage limits for outdoor property, trees, personal effects, papers, and records.
BPP doesn’t cover everything: building foundations and features permanently installed on buildings/structures aren’t covered either, nor is the cost to restore electronic data on valuable records (unless they’re insured with another policy like cyber insurance). Also absent is damage caused by flooding; this should be covered separately through flood policies.
Simply stated, any small business with tangible assets critical to its operation should consider Business Property Protection Policies (BPP), mainly if their loss would cause significant financial strain on your company. BPP will help restore operations more rapidly after any incident and minimize disruption to business activity.
Consider Jessie, an accountant who travels regularly to client homes to work on quarterly reports. When she brings her laptop and an infant knocks over their coffee and spills water all over it, Jessie will be thankful that she had business personal property coverage, which will pay for its repair or replacement.
Business Protection Plans (BPPs) are essential for businesses that rely on tangible equipment – like retail stores or hardware or electronics shops- where a loss of inventory or equipment could cripple operations and put the company out of business. All types of organizations should regularly review their property values to ensure they have enough BPP coverage.
How much does BPP cost?
Costs associated with business personal property policies depend on many variables: business type and size, industry sector, location of operation, inventory value and equipment value, and coverage chosen. On average, small business insurance costs approximately $63 monthly.
BPP insurance can be an essential tool in safeguarding inventory, movable assets, custom lighting, and built-in cabinets – not to mention the loss of income caused by fire, flood, or any other disaster that forces you temporarily close down your office, shop, restaurant, or studio.
Value can be difficult to accurately gauge for intangible assets like trademarks and patents, which may be harder to define but more costly to replace if damaged or lost. As such, you must carefully consider how much business personal property is worth and your willingness to pay for insurance to cover it.
Thimble offers business owners policies (BOP) as a solution, which provide coverage for items in overland transit or stored away from your place of business. BPP does not typically extend coverage for such things if they’re stored elsewhere than at their original place of business; for this purpose, you could purchase either separate inland marine insurance policies to address this or combine your BPP and commercial auto coverage into one bundled policy known as the Thimble BOP policy.
A business operating policy does not cover damages to third-party victims caused by its operations. You may wish to obtain separate general liability policies for these expenses or add business interruption coverage as part of a BPP policy to safeguard against financial losses should operations become disrupted and cause significant financial losses.
How do I get a quote?
Business Personal Property insurance provides businesses additional coverage against equipment and assets that might become damaged, stolen, or lost while at work. Often this coverage option can be added onto an existing commercial general liability policy as an add-on or extension policy.
Establishing and running a small business takes hard work, money, and dedication – so protecting these investments through business personal property insurance is essential.
BPP coverage is often misunderstood or overlooked, yet it covers any items easily transportable if your business moves locations. BPP differs from standard homeowners’ or renters’ policies, including your business equipment, which might not cover it all.
For instance, if an accident were to break a window in your office and damage was done to its contents, business personal property insurance can help cover the cost of replacing them (up to an agreed-upon limit). This type of coverage is precious for freelancers or contractors operating out of their homes.
Another advantage of business personal property insurance is that it can be combined with other policies to form a small business package, helping you save money and get all of what you need at once. Look for policies with extra expense coverage, which reimburses you for lost revenue while repairs are performed.
When seeking business personal property insurance, it’s essential to work with an experienced agent who can guide your search for coverage options appropriate for your company and answer any questions that arise along the way. Speak to an agent today about how business personal property insurance could benefit your organization; they’ll also provide an accurate quote.
