BOP Insurance for Outdoor Items

Running a business doesn’t mean just taking care of things inside your premises. You also have a responsibility to take care of outdoor items. These are important and functional parts of your business, after all. However, your property insurance policy won’t always apply to all outdoor items. It is important for you to understand both where coverage will and won’t apply to outdoor items.

Property Insurance in BOPs
You might find your commercial insurance solution in a business owners policy, also called a BOP. Your BOP can offer several critical types of protection, property insurance among them. It can insure both structures owned by the business and items inside.

So, if you own your storefront, then your policy will likely compensate you in case the structure sustains damage. Your structure coverage might pay in cases of fire, vandalism, severe weather and other occurrences.

For non-structural items like furnishings or stock, then possessions coverage will apply. Upon setting up coverage you can choose your coverage limits based on the cumulative value of these items. The policy will agree to compensate you up to that amount for property losses.

Keep in mind, damage from certain events won’t have coverage. Flood damage, for example, might have no coverage under a standard BOP. You will likely need to buy commercial flood insurance to address such damage.

Attached Outdoor Furnishings, Fencing and Signage
If you store certain item outside your business, the way your property insurance applies to those items might differ. In many cases, it will apply as normal to thinks like attached signage or outdoor furniture or stock. Because these items are essential business materials, the policy will likely pay.

So, suppose that during a storm, an awning collapses and crushes your patio furniture. The good news is that your property insurance will likely extend to the damaged items. All the same, policy limits and deductibles will still apply, however. Some policies will also only pay a damaged item's cash value at the time of the loss.

Yet, certain items like landscaping or detached signage might not have automatic coverage. Still, you might be able to insure the signage by requesting a detached signage rider on your policy. When it comes to landscaping, however, you might not be able to gain any assistance. This often is not considered an essential business expense.

There are exceptions to these rules, however. So, don’t hesitate to talk to your BOP provider to determine where your policy will and won’t insure outdoor items. Your agent can help you build your policy to include adequate help in case of property losses.

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