As a business owner, you have a lot of responsibility on your hands. You work hard to make sure that your business is operational, whether that means maintaining a small storefront and crew or overseeing a large warehouse and team. Whatever the scale, a big part of optimizing your output is accounting for and correcting oversights, big and small. Accidents happen. That much is unavoidable.

In order to simplify the process of covering for and protecting against accidents and other losses, many business owners look to insurance bundles. And one of the most common options they look to is the commercial package policy.

In this guide, we’ll walk through all you need to know about this kind of bundle so you can decide if it’s right for you.

What is commercial package insurance?

A commercial package policy is a bundle of insurance coverages tailored to the needs of a business owner. A commercial package policy has 2 main features and benefits for your business:

  • Simplicity – Bundling together coverages that you’d need to purchase separately allows for a unified, simpler method for purchasing, managing, and making claims against your coverage.
  • Cost efficiency – Most often, the premium for a commercial package policy is less expensive than the combined total of each individual coverage’s premium when purchased separately.

Bundling coverages together in a commercial package often makes for an easier, cheaper way to buy insurance. With that said, what coverages are typically included?

What a commercial package covers

While commercial packages are built specifically for the needs of individual businesses, there are certain kinds of coverage that most, if not all, businesses require. For example, commercial packages often include:

  • General liability coverage – This policy protects your business from third-party lawsuits related to injury. 
  • Property liability coverage – This policy protects your office, building, etc. from property damage and associated costs. It includes repair and replacement due to fires and some other hazards.
  • Commercial vehicle coverage – This policy protects commercial vehicles (cars, vans, trucks) and their operators. It includes legal and medical fees resulting from bodily injury, as well as property damage, for the company vehicle and operator and third parties involved in collisions.
  • Crime protection – This policy protects your business from losses related to crimes committed against it. It includes losses from fraud and embezzlement to direct robbery or theft, and more.

Additional general coverages – Some other common insurance plans that many businesses may bundle together with the above include:

  • Cyber Liability
  • Product Recall 
  • etc.

Additional specific coverages – Some more specific coverages that particular businesses may include, depending on their respective industries, include:

  • Boiler and machinery
  • Inland marine
  • etc.

As you can see, commercial package policies can cover quite a lot of ground. That said, like all insurance, they’re not all-inclusive.

What’s not covered?

As with any kind of policy, there are some key gaps in coverage to watch out for with a commercial package. Here are some examples of things that are not typically included in the package:

  • Workers’ compensation
  • Intentional illegal actions
  • Professional liability
  • Negligence
  • Flooding

Many businesses looking for a commercial package also consider another kind of bundle called a business owner policy (BOP).

Commercial package policy vs. business owner policy

Business owner policies are similar to commercial packages in that both bundles are designed for businesses and group together important, necessary coverages. However, there are two main differences between them:

  • Scale
  • Customization

Business owner policies are usually intended for small to medium businesses, which carry less risk. Commercial packages, on the other hand, are more suited to larger businesses that require more flexibility and can carry more risk. As such, commercial packages are customizable, whereas business owner packages are (typically) preset. In practice, you can pick and choose coverages to add or remove from a commercial package, which you can’t do with a business owner policy.

One of the main benefits of a commercial package policy is the way its flexibility can simplify things for a business owner. By bundling a wide variety of coverages together into one package, the depth and complexity are streamlined into a simple, unified plan.

Instead of having multiple policies (each with their own tricky sets of rules), there’s just one. And instead of multiple points of contact, there’s one document.

One policy, one insurer: that’s pretty simple.

Protect your business

Now that you understand what a commercial package policy is and how it can simplify your insurance coverage, you’re well equipped to shop with confidence. Is a commercial package right for you? Maybe a business owners policy (BOP)? Or on-demand business insurance by Thimble?

To make the decision, you should assess your business and the kinds of coverage it needs. Is it bigger or smaller? Do you require flexibility, or is a prefabricated bundle best for you? Take a look at what’s being offered and find the most comprehensive coverage, at the lowest possible cost—bundle or not—to get yourself protected.

With coverage you can trust, you can get to work with the peace of mind you deserve. Here at Thimble, simplicity is our motto. We make it easy for you to customize the perfect insurance plan for your small business’ needs. Our general liability insurance and professional liability insurance coverages help protect your business from third-party claims of:

  • Third-party, non-employee bodily injury
  • Personal and advertising injury
  • Third-party property damage

Most importantly, we value your time. That’s why we’ve revolutionized insurance coverage by giving you options to cover your business by the hour, day, or month. Our plans work when you do, so you only ever pay for coverage you’ll actually use. Our coverage is also instant. You can sign up for a plan in under 60 seconds. Answer just three quick questions, and we’ll generate a quote and proof of insurance. That’s Thimble.