BPP Insurance: What It Is, How to Get It
Business personal property insurance covers items your business owns. It's part of a property insurance policy or BOP.
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Business personal property insurance, or BPP insurance, can pay out to help you repair or replace items your business owns. That includes machinery, furniture and inventory. This coverage is part of most business property insurance policies.
BPP is one of the types of property covered by business property insurance. If you use specialized equipment, carry inventory or have invested in furnishing your space, make sure your property insurance policy includes high enough BPP limits to cover all those items.
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What does BPP insurance cover?
Business personal property insurance covers repairing or replacing certain items your business owns, as long as they're damaged by a covered cause of loss.
Business personal property can include:
- Inventory.
- Furniture.
- Machinery and equipment.
- Improvements you’ve made to a leased space as a tenant.
- The property you’ve leased from another party that you’re required to insure.
All business property insurance policies — which also protect business personal property — provide coverage in case of:
- Fire.
- Lightning.
- Explosion.
- Windstorm or hail.
- Smoke.
- Aircraft or vehicles.
- Vandalism.
- Riot or civil commotion.
- Sprinkler leakage.
- Sinkhole collapse.
- Volcanic activity.
- Fungus, wet rot, dry rot and bacteria, with some limitations.
Some, but not all, business property insurance policies cover losses due to:
- Falling objects.
- The weight of snow, ice or sleet.
- Water damage.
- Collapse.
Some causes of loss, like floods and earthquakes, are usually excluded from business property insurance policies. Read yours closely to make sure you understand what’s covered and what’s excluded.
Save up to 30% on business insurance
NerdWallet Small Business helps you get real-time quotes from 30+ insurers, and instant access to your Certificate of Insurance (COI) through our partner, Coverdash.
How do you get BPP insurance?
To get BPP insurance, you’ll need to buy business property insurance. The, make sure there’s an entry for business personal property on the policy.
It might feel counterintuitive to buy business property insurance if you don’t own a building. But think about how your homeowner's or renter's insurance policy also covers your stuff. Business insurance is similar.
Business property insurance can include coverage for:
- Business personal property.
- Buildings and structures.
- Personal property of others that the business is temporarily holding.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
Business property insurance can also include business interruption insurance, which helps make up for revenue your business loses while fixing property damage. If you'd have to stop operations while repairing or replacing your business personal property, ensure your property insurance policy includes this protection. You can buy business property insurance on its own or as part of a business owner’s policy. A BOP combines business property insurance with general liability insurance, which can protect your business against lawsuits if someone is injured or their belongings are damaged by your operations.
If you need BPP insurance, a BOP is probably your best bet It’ll provide the property insurance you need. Plus, it can help protect you if a customer or another third party sues your business, which is one of the most common risks business owners face.
How much BPP coverage do you need?
For business property insurance policies, you typically need a policy limit of at least 80% or 90% of the value of the covered property.
This is spelled out in what’s called the “coinsurance provision,” which you can find in your policy declarations. The coinsurance provision specifies how much insurance you need for the insurance compay to fully cover your loss. It's usually a percentage, not a specific dollar amount.
For instance, say your inventory would cost $30,000 to replace. You set your BPP insurance limit at $15,000, or 50% of your property value.
If your inventory was destroyed: Your insurance policy would only pay out your limit — $15,000 — and you’d have to pay out of pocket to recover the rest.
If your inventory was only partially destroyed: The insurance company might limit your recovery amount. This is based on how well you complied with the coinsurance provision. For instance, say your coinsurance provision required a limit of 80% of the value of your property, or $24,000. But you only had a $15,000 limit. The insurance company could limit your recovery to 62.5% of the lost value since you complied with only 62.5% of the coinsurance provision.
How much does BPP insurance cost?
Commercial property insurance, which includes BPP insurance, costs $67 per month for the median customer, according to insurance marketplace Insureon .
That said, the cost of BPP insurance depends on how much property you’re insuring. In general, the higher your coverage limit, the more expensive your insurance will be.
Get business property insurance quotes from several insurance providers to find the best coverage at the best price.
Where to get BPP insurance
- If you need coverage fast: Ergo Next lets users to get a quote and purchase a policy online. Users can also download an electronic certificate of insurance and receive a claims advocate they can call or text in the event of a claim. Read NerdWallet's review of Ergo Next.
- If you need a BOP: Chubb users can buy a business owner's policy online. Its BOP includes extra expense coverage, which isn't always guaranteed, and Chubb is one of our top-rated insurance companies. Read NerdWallet's review of Chubb business insurance.
- If you want hands-on help: Look for an independent insurance agent or broker. They can help you understand your risks, decide what coverage you need, get quotes and buy policies. Look for an agent who sells Cincinnati Insurance policies — Cincinnati is another of our top-rated companies, and some businesses have the option to buy policies with three-year terms instead of just one year.
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- 1. Insureon. Comercial property insurance.
