When a small medical office leases space, the first insurance request usually comes from the landlord: proof of general liability, an additional insured endorsement, a waiver of subrogation, or primary and non-contributory wording. That raises a common question. Should a small medical office buy general liability only, or is a Business Owners Policy the better option? The answer depends on whether the practice only wants to satisfy a lease requirement or wants broader protection for the business. For this comparison we reviewed four options from Liberty Mutual, Coterie, and The Hartford.
The quotes compared
| Carrier | Policy type | Annual premium |
|---|---|---|
| Liberty Mutual | General liability only | $348 |
| Coterie / Spinnaker | Business Owners Policy | $537 |
| The Hartford | Business Owners Policy with EPLI | $596 |
| Liberty Mutual | Business Owners Policy | $641 |
What general liability covers, and does not
General liability is the basic liability coverage most landlords require, protecting the business if someone claims it caused bodily injury, property damage, or personal and advertising injury. The Liberty Mutual GL option carried $2,000,000 per occurrence, a $4,000,000 general aggregate, and a $4,000,000 products and completed operations aggregate. For a business only trying to satisfy a lease requirement, that may be enough. But it does not cover office furniture, computers, business equipment, business personal property, lost income after a covered property loss, or tenant improvements, and a medical office depends on physical space, equipment, computers, and records to operate.
What a BOP adds
A Business Owners Policy combines general liability with business property coverage, adding protection for business personal property, office equipment, computers, furniture, business income, extra expense, and certain lease-related property exposures. In this comparison, both Coterie and The Hartford offered BOP options with the same core $2M/$4M liability structure but added property and business income protection, which is the difference between insuring the landlord’s requirement and insuring the practice.
Why The Hartford was recommended
The Hartford BOP was not the cheapest, but it was the strongest package. At $596 it included a $2M liability limit, a $4M general aggregate, $10,000 medical payments, $1,000,000 damage to premises rented to you, business personal property and business income coverage, a blanket waiver of subrogation, and employment practices liability. That last point matters: even a small medical office can have employment-related exposure if it has employees or job applicants, and including EPLI made The Hartford stand out. Coterie was the lowest-priced BOP at $537, a strong value with the same $2M/$4M liability, business income, a blanket additional insured bundle, waiver of subrogation, and primary and non-contributory wording. The Hartford still came out ahead on the added strength of the package, especially the EPLI and the higher damage-to-premises limit. Liberty Mutual’s GL-only option was the lowest cost at $348, a good budget choice for satisfying landlord requirements, while its BOP at $641 added property coverage but was more expensive than both Coterie and The Hartford.
Best option by situation
| Situation | Best fit |
|---|---|
| Lowest possible cost | Liberty Mutual general liability |
| Lowest-cost BOP | Coterie |
| Best overall protection | The Hartford |
| Lease requirement only | Liberty Mutual general liability |
| Medical office with employees | The Hartford |
| Office wants property and income protection | The Hartford or Coterie |
Questions to ask your advisor
- Does the landlord requirement call for general liability only, or more?
- Are my office equipment, computers, and records covered?
- Do I have business income coverage if a loss closes the office?
- Do I have employees or applicants who create employment-practices exposure?
- Does the certificate wording meet the lease requirements?
The bottom line
For a small medical office, a Business Owners Policy is usually the better long-term choice than general liability alone. GL may satisfy the landlord, but it does not protect the business property, office equipment, computers, or income stream. In this comparison The Hartford BOP was the recommended package because it provided the best overall balance of liability, business property, business income, and included employment practices liability. The Liberty Mutual GL-only option still had a place as the budget alternative, as long as it is understood for what it is: liability protection only, not a full business insurance package.