Best Business Personal Property Insurance for 2024

What is business personal property insurance?

Business personal property insurance (BPP) is a specialized type of commercial property insurance that covers the property held within your business’ building. It’s broad-reaching insurance that can cover many types of tangible assets from loss, theft, damage, or complete destruction.

Because BPP coverage is so broad, it can sometimes be referred to as simply “business property insurance” or “business contents insurance”.

Is BPP the same as commercial property insurance?

There are several types of property insurance for small businesses. Business personal property insurance is a specialized type of commercial property insurance, but it is not as expansive as some broad commercial property insurance plans as it will not cover the building – only its contents.

For this reason, BPP is often called business contents insurance.

BPP insurance can be a good alternative to broader commercial property insurance for people who rent their business’ primary location. Most landlords already have commercial property insurance to protect the building itself.

Read about commercial property insurance

What does business personal property insurance cover?

BPP covers financial losses due to the damage, destruction, or theft of business property and will reimburse you or pay to replace the affected assets. Coverage can include protection from vandalism or unforeseen incidents like a burst pipe or a fire.

As a general rule, BPP insurance plans cover items that you can see, touch, and have moved from one location to another.

This includes things like:

1. Supplies
2. Equipment
3. Tools & machinery
4. Furniture & fixtures
5. Inventory & merchandise
6. IT systems

Take a look at the following examples to understand what assets you may need coverage for.

Supplies & equipment

Most businesses have some form of expensive supplies or equipment needed to operate. BPP coverage pays for repairing or replacing raw materials, supplies, and equipment if they are stolen, damaged, or ruined. It can also provide coverage for any leased supplies such as copiers or postage machines.

Furniture & fixtures

Furniture, fixtures, and equipment are essential for the day-to-day operation of many businesses, so it’s important to protect these items with some form of commercial property insurance for small businesses. Property insurance can also include coverage for outdoor lighting, signs, and fences, which are often overlooked but can be expensive to repair or replace out of pocket.

Inventory & Merchandise

Especially true for retail or e-commerce businesses, inventory is another common asset you should protect with commercial property insurance.

This may also include raw materials and finished goods your business produces. For example. if you own a construction or fabrication business, this could also cover semi-finished projects or on-site works that are still in progress.

IT systems

Business property insurance will protect things like computers, servers, software, and phone systems—all of which are critical infrastructure for most companies to operate.

Time is also money. Having business property insurance in place means that hardware and software components can be replaced quickly if they are damaged or stolen allowing you to replace essential data processing systems with less downtime and lost productivity.

What’s not covered by commercial property insurance?

As a general rule, BPP insurance does not usually provide coverage for intangible items like patents, copyrights, and trademarks—nor does it protect a business against liabilities arising from injuries sustained by customers, employees, or other members of the public.

Commercial property insurance can be an invaluable asset when you own or manage a business, but it doesn’t cover everything.

Here are some examples of things that business personal property insurance doesn’t cover:

Be sure to read the fine print on any policy you’re considering to ensure you have the right coverage for your business and to avoid unanticipated expenses down the line.

If you have any coverage questions or are unsure of what type of insurance you need, we recommend speaking to an insurance professional as an initial step.

Who needs business personal property insurance?

Any business that has physical assets can benefit from a business property insurance plan, but this type of coverage is especially good for businesses that rent the building they currently operate from.

This includes homeowners running home-based businesses, since most homeowner policies typically do not cover technology, files, and equipment related to your business.

These are some examples of types of businesses that can benefit from BPP insurance:

Contractors & builders

For contractors and builders, BPP insurance can cover the cost of tools, equipment, and materials used on job sites. A commercial property policy can provide coverage against direct physical losses such as fire, theft, and vandalism that might occur on a construction site.

Home-based businesses

Home-based businesses can benefit from this coverage by protecting important office equipment, such as computers and printers, as well as product stock, raw materials, or any other necessary supplies.

Handymen & electricians

For handyman and electrician businesses, BPP insurance can help cover the cost of tools and equipment used for repairing and maintaining electrical systems, appliances, and fixtures. This can include electrical testing equipment, circuit breakers, fuses, wire connectors, and more.

Photographers

Photographers can benefit from this type of coverage by protecting their valuable camera equipment, lighting, and studio props. Also, tools you use for editing such as your computer setup, hard drives, etc can all be covered.

Salons & estheticians

For businesses in the beauty industry, such as estheticians and salons, commercial property insurance can cover the cost of equipment and supplies. Some examples could include your salon chairs, shampoo sinks, hair dryers, razors, dying products, and all other materials and equipment needed to keep your business running smoothly.

Personal trainers & gym boxes

Business personal property insurance for personal trainers would cover the cost of fitness equipment such as weights, resistance bands, and exercise machines, as well as any other equipment used during training sessions.

E-commerce businesses & shops

Online stores & e-commerce businesses can safeguard their digital equipment, such as computer servers and inventory stored in warehouses, with business personal property insurance. Depending on the policy, this may include damage to the store’s brick-and-mortar locations, inventory, costly displays, equipment, or other assets.

Food-based businesses

For food businesses, commercial property insurance can protect kitchen equipment and inventory such as food supplies, ingredients, and packaging materials. If you have a restaurant, this coverage would also be extended to the on-site dining room and the manager’s office equipment. However, if you have a food truck, you may want to consider inland marine insurance instead.

Landscapers & lawn care

Lawn care businesses can benefit from BPP insurance by covering the cost of lawn equipment such as mowers, trimmers, and other tools used to maintain lawns and landscapes. This material would be covered when it is at your main facility, but for a mobile business, you may also want to look into inland marine insurance.

How much does BPP insurance cost?

Based on sales data from our partner Insureon, business property insurance costs an average of $67 dollars a month. That said, the cost of business personal property insurance varies based on several factors.

In general, small business owners can expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to several thousand dollars per year for comprehensive business property insurance coverage.

Some of the factors that influence the cost of business property insurance include:

1. The type of property you have
2. The value of your business property
3. The activities your business engages in
4. The level of risk your business faces
5. The state you operate in

There are multiple types of small business insurance available to companies, and sometimes insurers offer discounts for bundling multiple policies and incentives that can reduce costs even further.

The LA Times comparison tool can help you evaluate prices and coverage options, making it easier to find a policy that fits within your budget and provides adequate protection.

Alternatively, if you have specific questions, you can speak directly to a representative and get personalized assistance.

Best plans to combine with business personal property insurance

Business personal property insurance can be combined with other coverage types to create a more comprehensive policy. Depending on the type of business you have you may need several types of business insurance.

These are some of the best plans to add to your business personal property insurance:

Business owner’s policy (BOP)

A business owner’s policy (BOP) is an all-in-one package that combines property, liability, and other coverages into one convenient plan. BOPs are typically less expensive than buying several separate policies but provide the same level of protection and may even include additional umbrella coverage.

General liability insurance

General liability insurance provides protection from claims of bodily injury and property damage. This type of coverage is essential for businesses that interact with customers or clients, as it can help cover the costs associated with any legal judgments against your company.

Workers’ compensation insurance

Workers’ compensation insurance provides coverage for employees who get sick or injured while on the job. Required in most states, workers’ comp coverage will help to protect your business from any potential legal action taken by an injured worker.

Errors and omissions insurance

Errors and omissions insurance—also called professional insurance—provides coverage for professional negligence or mistakes made while providing services to customers. E&O policies can help cover the costs associated with any lawsuits stemming from mistakes that your business makes while performing its duties.

Home-based business insurance

Home-based business insurance can help protect your assets and provide coverage for any legal issues that may arise from running a business out of your home. Instead of being a specific type of coverage, these policies may include a business owner’s policy, general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, and other coverage types.

Cyber liability Insurance

Cyber liability insurance covers expenses related to data breaches, cyber-attacks and other online risks businesses face. Though less commonly bundled with business personal property insurance, this type of coverage can help protect your business from losses related to identity theft, stolen customer information, and other malicious activities.

Inland marine insurance

In contrast to commercial property insurance that protects a business’s brick-and-mortar facilities on-site personal property, inland marine insurance provides coverage for movable property such as tools, equipment, and materials used off-site. This type of policy can also help protect your business from losses related to theft, damage, or destruction while the property is in transit.

How to buy commercial property insurance

Business personal property insurance is an important investment for many companies, but there are steps you can take to get the best policy for your needs.

Follow these tips when buying commercial property insurance:

• Consider a business owner’s policy that includes property coverage.
• Understand the coverage limit and deductible options available to you and select the one that makes the most sense for your business.
• Look for discounts such as those offered to businesses with safety measures in place or those that offer multi-policy discounts.
• Accurately calculate property values based on actual cost value, book value, and replacement value to understand your true cost if the property is damaged or destroyed.
• Choose additional coverage types to build a comprehensive policy that’s tailored to your business.
• Shop around and compare policies to find the best coverage for your needs using a comparison tool like the one offered by LA Times.

How do you determine property value for insurance?

Determining the value of your property for insurance can be tricky, but knowing how to determine property value for insurance purposes accurately is an important part of owning a business.

There are three ways that property can be valued:

1. Replacement cost: The replacement cost of property is how much it would cost to replace your items at current prices. Notably, this value does not include depreciation.
2. Actual cash value: Actual cash value looks at the replacement cost of a piece of business property and deducts depreciation. Therefore, this calculation results in a lower figure than that for replacement cost.
3. Extended replacement cost: Extended replacement cost accounts for price increases that may occur due to inflation related to unforeseen circumstances, like natural disasters. This results in a higher final figure than a simple calculation of replacement costs and may be a more accurate representation of costs under certain conditions.

Replacement cost and extended replacement cost both factor in current market trends, while the actual cash value amount considers depreciation and age at the time of loss.