Three policies in one — the backbone of a small business.
Most small businesses need the same three things: coverage for their property, protection from lawsuits, and income if a loss shuts them down. A Business Owners Policy bundles all three — commercial property, general liability, and business income — into a single package, usually for less than buying them separately. Here's what's inside, what it deliberately leaves to other policies, and why the business-income piece is the one that decides whether you reopen. Placed through an independent agency that represents Auto-Owners.
The short answer
A Business Owners Policy bundles the three coverages most small businesses need — commercial property for your building and business property, general liability for third-party injury and damage claims, and business income to replace revenue if a covered loss shuts you down — into one package, usually for less than buying them separately. It's built for small and mid-sized, lower-hazard businesses, and it's the foundation you layer commercial auto, workers' comp, and cyber onto. Backed by an A+ (Superior) carrier and placed only through an independent agent like Cribb.
Three core coverages, plus the useful extras.
The heart of a BOP is property, liability, and income — with endorsements to shape it to your business.
Commercial property
Covers your building, if you own or schedule it, plus business personal property — equipment, inventory, furniture, and supplies — against covered losses like fire, wind, theft, and vandalism.
General liability
Protects you if your business causes bodily injury or property damage to someone else — a customer slip-and-fall, damage at a job site — plus personal and advertising injury, with legal defense.
Business income
Replaces lost income and helps pay ongoing expenses — payroll, rent, bills — when a covered property loss forces you to close, typically for up to twelve months, plus extra expense to operate temporarily elsewhere.
Products & completed operations
Part of the liability coverage — protects you if a product you sold or work you completed later causes injury or damage. Essential for contractors, makers, and retailers.
Equipment breakdown
Covers sudden mechanical or electrical failure of the systems and equipment your business runs on — HVAC, refrigeration, machinery — which a base property form treats as wear, not a loss.
Cyber & more
Cyber and data-breach coverage, spoilage, crime, and other endorsements can be added to tailor the BOP — the limits are modest by default, so we size them to your real exposure.
Three coverages, one policy, one price.
The BOP was designed to give small businesses the core protection they need in a single, coordinated package — and to do it for less than buying commercial property and general liability as separate policies.
The convenient choice, and usually the cheaper one.
Buy commercial property and general liability separately and you're managing two policies, two renewals, and two sets of terms that don't always line up. A BOP packages them — plus business income — into one policy at a bundled premium that's typically lower than the parts. For an eligible small or mid-sized business, that's less paperwork, fewer coverage gaps between policies, and a better price.
It's not the right tool for everyone: a business with almost no property might only need general liability, a vehicle-centered business leans on commercial auto, and a large or complex operation may need a broader Commercial Package Policy. Knowing which structure fits — and where the BOP stops — is the part we handle before you buy.
The fire is the easy part. The months closed aren't.
Rebuilding the space is only half the loss. The other half is the revenue that stops while the bills — payroll, rent, loan payments — keep arriving. Business income coverage is what carries a business across that gap.
The coverage that decides whether you reopen.
When a fire, storm, or other covered loss forces you to close, the property claim rebuilds the building — but it does nothing for the income you're not earning during the months it takes. Meanwhile payroll, rent, and loan payments don't pause. Business income coverage replaces that lost revenue and helps cover continuing expenses, typically for up to twelve months, and extra expense coverage pays the added cost of operating from a temporary location so you can keep serving customers.
It's the least visible coverage in the policy and often the most important — a large share of businesses that suffer a major loss without it never reopen. Sizing it to how long you'd realistically be down, not a default number, is a conversation worth having before anything happens.
Three things to get right on a BOP.
First, insure your property at replacement cost and include enough business income for a realistic recovery period. Second, set your general liability limits and products-completed operations to match what your business actually does. Third, add the endorsements that fit — equipment breakdown, cyber, hired & non-owned auto — and layer workers' comp and commercial auto around the BOP so nothing's left uncovered.
What a BOP leaves to other policies.
A BOP is a foundation, not the whole house — a few key coverages sit outside it by design.
Business vehicles
A BOP doesn't cover vehicles used for work — that's commercial auto. We pair the two so the property, liability, and vehicles are all covered and coordinated.
Employees & professional advice
Workers' compensation for employee injuries and professional liability for the advice or services you provide are separate policies. Once you have staff, workers' comp is generally required.
Flood & earthquake
As with any property coverage, flood and earthquake are excluded and need their own policies — worth considering depending on your location and building.
Backed by an A+ (Superior) carrier.
AM Best rates the members of Auto-Owners Insurance Group — the companies behind your Arkansas Business Owners Policy — with a Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "aa" (Superior), stable outlook, per its rating action dated October 31, 2024. A+ (Superior) is the second-highest of AM Best's rating levels and sits in its top "Superior" category. A financial strength rating is an opinion about an insurer's ability to pay claims — its solvency — not a grade of how a specific claim is handled, and not a recommendation. The current rating is at ambest.com.
Where we earn it on a BOP.
The quiet BOP mistakes are property insured for too little, business income set to a default that won't cover a real recovery, liability limits that don't match the work, and assuming the BOP covers vehicles or employees when it doesn't. We value your property and income honestly, set the limits to your operation, add the right endorsements, and coordinate the BOP with commercial auto and workers' comp. We don't adjust your claim and can't overrule an adjuster — but we build the policy to respond, and we quote Auto-Owners against our other commercial markets.
Priced to the business, not a sticker.
BOP premiums vary too widely for a single meaningful figure — a two-person office and a busy retail store with a full building aren't comparable. Price turns on your industry and operations, revenue and payroll, the value of your building and business property, your coverage limits, your location, and your claims history. That's why we price it to the business rather than post a number, though bundling the coverages usually beats buying them separately. This isn't a quote or a guarantee. Tell us about the business and we'll build the real figure with you, Auto-Owners against our other commercial markets.
What the BOP builds on.
Auto-Owners Business Owners Policy questions.
What is a Business Owners Policy and what does it cover?
A Business Owners Policy, or BOP, bundles three core coverages that most small and mid-sized businesses need into one policy. Commercial property covers your building, if you own or schedule it, along with your business personal property — equipment, inventory, furniture, and supplies — against covered causes of loss like fire, wind, theft, and vandalism. General liability covers third-party claims that your business caused bodily injury, property damage, or personal and advertising injury, including legal defense.
Business income, also called business interruption, replaces the income you lose and helps pay ongoing expenses if a covered property loss forces you to close. Bundling the three together is usually less expensive than buying them as separate policies, which is a big part of why the BOP exists.
What's the difference between a BOP and general liability insurance?
General liability is liability coverage only — it protects your business against third-party claims of bodily injury, property damage, and personal and advertising injury, but it does nothing for your own property or your income. A BOP includes that same general liability coverage and adds commercial property coverage for your building and business personal property, plus business income coverage for lost revenue after a covered loss.
In other words, general liability protects you from what you do to others; a BOP protects you from that and from what happens to your own business. For most businesses that own equipment, carry inventory, or occupy space, a BOP is the more complete choice.
Does a BOP include commercial auto or workers' compensation?
No. A standard BOP does not include commercial auto insurance, workers' compensation, or professional liability, and cyber coverage is usually added rather than built in. Those are separate policies. Commercial auto covers your business vehicles, workers' compensation covers your employees' work-related injuries and is required once you have staff, and professional liability covers claims arising from the advice or services you provide.
The good news is that a BOP is the foundation these build on — we assemble the BOP and layer commercial auto, workers' comp, cyber, and other coverages around it so the whole business is protected without gaps or overlap.
What is business income (business interruption) coverage?
Business income coverage — also called business interruption insurance — replaces the income your business would have earned, and helps pay continuing operating expenses like payroll and monthly bills, when a covered property loss forces you to suspend operations. If a fire or storm closes your doors for months, the building damage is only part of the loss; the bigger threat is often the income that stops coming in while the bills keep arriving.
This coverage bridges that gap, typically for up to twelve months, and can include the extra expenses of operating temporarily somewhere else. It's the coverage that most often decides whether a business reopens after a major loss.
Is my business eligible for a BOP?
BOPs are designed for small and mid-sized businesses with relatively straightforward, lower-hazard operations — retail shops, offices, many service businesses, and similar. Eligibility depends on the carrier and factors like your industry, size, revenue, property values, and the nature of your work.
Very small businesses with few assets might only need general liability, businesses built around vehicles may need commercial auto as their primary coverage, and larger or more complex operations may be better served by a Commercial Package Policy that allows more customization. The right way to find out is a quick conversation about your operation, which is exactly what we do before recommending a structure.
How do I get an Auto-Owners BOP quote in Northwest Arkansas?
Start at our commercial quote form or call (479) 286-1066. It helps to have some basics ready — your annual revenue, payroll, the value of your building and business property, and a description of what your business does.
We'll size the property, liability, and business income coverages to your operation, add the endorsements that fit, and coordinate the BOP with any commercial auto or workers' compensation you need, then quote Auto-Owners against our other commercial markets. Because Auto-Owners only sells through independent agents, an agency like ours is the only way to buy it.
If our coverage explainers are useful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas business owners can find our local, plain-English guides.
Cover the property, the liability, and the income — together.
Tell us what your business does, what it owns, and what it earns, and we'll size a BOP to it, add the endorsements that fit, and coordinate the commercial auto and workers' comp around it. If Auto-Owners is the right fit, we'll place it. If another of our commercial markets fits better, we'll tell you that too.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas. We are not Auto-Owners, and this page is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by Auto-Owners. "Auto-Owners" and "Auto-Owners Insurance" are service marks or trademarks of Auto-Owners Insurance Company and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place. Auto-Owners' Arkansas Business Owners Policies are issued by Auto-Owners-affiliated underwriting companies.
This page describes the Business Owners Policy in general, industry-standard terms for informational purposes only. It is not a policy, not an offer of insurance, and not a guarantee of coverage, availability, eligibility, or price. Commercial property, general liability, business income / business interruption and extra expense, products-completed operations, equipment breakdown, cyber, and other endorsements, along with limits, deductibles, covered causes of loss (named-peril or special form), and exclusions, are set by the carrier, vary by state and by policy and over time, are subject to the carrier's underwriting approval and eligibility, and apply only as written in the policy actually issued to you. A standard BOP generally does not include commercial auto, workers' compensation, professional liability, flood, or earthquake, which are separate policies; some coverages such as cyber may be available by endorsement. Eligibility for a BOP depends on the business and carrier; larger or more complex operations may require a Commercial Package Policy. Any references to business income being payable for a period such as up to twelve months, or to bundling being less expensive than separate policies, are general and illustrative and depend on the policy issued.
Financial strength ratings are opinions of an insurer's ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations, are subject to change, are not recommendations to purchase, hold or terminate any policy, and do not address an insurer's claims-handling practices; current ratings are at ambest.com. The A+ (Superior) rating referenced applies to the members of Auto-Owners Insurance Group. Any cost or coverage descriptions are general and illustrative, not a quote, and not a guarantee; your premium and coverage are determined at quote and by the policy issued.
Last reviewed July 2026.