Real Estate Professional

Small Business

Real Estate Agent

If you are a real estate agent, you are not immune from liability during the course of your business’ operations, even if you work from home. A business owner’s policy, or BOP policy, provides the protection you need to face lawsuits and claims against your business without sacrificing your business’ reputation and finances. In your line of work, you likely face specific risks, including property damage, data loss, employee errors, and accidents. With a BOP policy, you can mitigate those risks and protect your business’ assets.

 What Can a Business Owner’s Policy Do For Real Estate Professionals?

A BOP combines three basic coverage types into one policy, making it easy to choose the coverage level that your business needs and stay protected without a lot of research into specific policy types. As a real estate agent, you likely know that you face inherent perils every day. You may damage a client’s home while showing it, or a customer may walk into your office and trip over a throw rug. Finding the right level of insurance protection for your business while avoiding unnecessary coverage is a smart move and a big part of running a successful real estate business. With a BOP policy for your real estate business, you can enjoy the benefits of three necessary business insurance policies in one streamlined package. The most common coverage types included in most BOP policies are:

• Liability coverage. Protect yourself from liability in your own building or when you’re showing properties to others with this type of coverage, which comes standard in most BOP policies. This coverage protects you from lawsuits arising from injuries caused to clients and employees during the course of operations. For example, if a client in your office for a meeting falls in your place of business and breaks a leg, this policy protects you from any liability claims arising from the event.
• Business property damage coverage. If your business or any of your furnishings and equipment are damaged due to a covered peril – such as a tornado or fire – then this policy helps you replace the lost items.
• Loss of business income. When your business is forced to shutter its doors due to a covered event, this policy type pays for the lost revenue your business would have received if it were operational. For example, if the wind tears your roof off, forcing you to close for repairs, then the amount of income you lose as a result is payable under this type of insurance.

Do You Need A BOP Policy?

Most all small businesses need a BOP policy, at minimum, to ensure that their businesses are fully protected from potential perils. You should consider purchasing such a policy if any of the following apply to your business’ particular situation:

• You have the potential to face a lawsuit or claim from someone else. For instance, if it is possible that a client could become injured in your office.
• You do business from a physical location. Whether you have an office downtown or you run things from home, a BOP policy is essential.
• You or your business own assets that could be damaged or stolen. This includes any furniture, equipment, or even digital information.

Additional Insurance for Real Estate Professionals

Most standard BOP policies offer the coverage outlined above, but your real estate business may require additional coverage types. A seasoned insurance agent can help you identify the types of Real estate agents insurance Florida coverage your business needs and help you bundle them with your BOP policy for all-around protection from every angle. Based on your situation, your agent may recommend:

• Professional liability insurance. This type of coverage is also called errors and omissions coverage for a reason. If your error or the omission of information when dealing with a client leaves a client with damages or losses, then you can be sued. Mitigate that risk with this type of coverage.
• Data breach coverage. You store sensitive data, and hackers want it. Consider data breach coverage to protect yourself and your clients from any loss that results from jeopardized data.
• Commercial auto insurance. You insure your personal vehicle for personal use, but if you use your vehicle in the course of business to drive between open houses or for other purposes, your personal policy may not be enough. Commercial auto insurance provides the most reliable means of coverage for the vehicle you use during the course of running your business.

In addition, if you employ other agents in your business or other employees in general, then you may be required by law to carry worker’s compensation insurance on those employees. This insurance pays monetary awards to employees who become injured or ill due to a work-related cause.

No one package of business insurance fits each business, but a BOP policy is a start. Work with a licensed insurance agent to find the best level of coverage and coverage types for your individual needs.

General liability for real estate brokers is critical to the operation of any brokerage that helps consumers buy and sell real property.  It is designed to provide your real estate agency with a broad level of protection.  Without it, a broker leaves himself or herself open to a variety of legal dangers.

What Does General Liability Cover?

General Liability can protect you from advertising liability, customer bodily injury and property damage caused to a customer’s belongings.  It covers most potential business losses such as fire, vandalism or even water damage as long as they are not specifically excluded from your commercial insurance policy contract.

The most important question to consider is what does a general liability policy cover. The answer is relatively simple. It covers most situations where you, as a broker, might be liable to a consumer for damages. This covers a few different situations.

Bodily Injury

If a client slips and falls or injures themselves while visiting your office, you could be liable for their medical expenses. This can involve a significant cost to you if you do not carry liability insurance.

Property Damage

Being a real estate broker means you are taking strangers into someone’s home. If your buyer accidentally or purposefully breaks or steals something in that home, you could be responsible for the damages. This is another situation that can result in financial loss.

What About Lawsuits?

Depending on the lawsuit, general liability or professional liability covers your and possibly your client’s costs. These lawsuits can result in thousands of dollars worth of damages, not to mention the damage to your reputation.

General liability protects you in your office and when you are showing other people’s property. It can aid you by paying the costs associated with injury, theft or property damage, which is why it is a vital part of any real estate broker’s insurance policy.