If you’re a business owner with a brick-and-mortar shop, BPP is essential for keeping your equipment, inventory and other expensive items protected. Find out how.
Business personal property (BPP) insurance provides coverage for items that your business uses, rents or owns within your building — but not the building itself. BPP insurance can help cover the cost of repairs or replacement of damaged items, up to the limits of your policy. If your business involves inventory, machinery, furniture and other equipment, you will likely need property insurance as part of your business insurance coverage.
Depending on what caused your business personal property to be damaged, your insurance may or may not be able to provide coverage. BPP insurance covers replacing or repairing personal property in case of:
Most insurance policies exclude certain causes like earthquakes, normal wear-and-tear, vermin and floods, so it's always good to go over your policy carefully to understand what it covers and what is excluded. Remember that BPP covers moveable property; it won't protect the building that you lease or own; you will need a separate property insurance policy if you want extra coverage. BPP won't cover intangible items your business owns, which includes intellectual property like trademarks, ideas, patents, copyrights and more.
BPP allows your business to keep running, even if your business gets vandalized or a burst pipe destroys your inventory. Without being properly covered, business personal property losses can easily cause your business to fail. By insuring your business, you can get critical financial a-sistance in the event of a covered loss, so your business can keep running as smoothly as possible.
When a critical piece of property in your business is damaged or stolen, your business could potentially come to a halt until it is repaired or replaced. Without BPP, you would need to pay out of pocket to replace inventory or equipment. You could even potentially lose clients if your business has to shut down temporarily. Plus, just as personal property is a tax-deductible business expense, so is BPP insurance. To capitalize on this tax deduction, make sure to keep detailed financial records to provide to the IRS.