Inland Marine Insurance

What inland marine covers

Inland marine fills a gap in commercial property: standard property covers fixed assets at your stated location, but as soon as the property leaves the premises, the policy often stops responding. Inland marine extends coverage to:

• Contractor tools and equipment in transit, at job sites, and overnight in trucks
• Rental inventory at customer events and in warehouse storage
• Computers and electronics carried by mobile employees
• Trade-show booths, exhibits, and demo equipment
• Signs, displays, and outdoor property
• Camera, surveying, and specialty professional equipment

Why "inland marine"

The name is a historical artifact. Ocean-marine policies covered cargo at sea; when goods moved inland from ports, the same underwriters extended coverage with policy language that became known as "inland marine." Today the term covers any movable property regardless of transport mode. The name confuses business owners but the coverage is exactly what it sounds like — insurance for things that move.

Scheduled vs blanket structures

• Scheduled inland marine lists each item individually with its own value, model, and serial number. Best for high-value items like camera gear, drone fleets, surveying equipment, and specialty tooling.
• Blanket inland marine covers all property of a class up to a stated aggregate. Best for fungible inventory: small hand tools, replaceable rental items, fixed-class inventory.

Most contractors carry a hybrid: scheduled high-value items plus a blanket layer for small tools. We structure based on actual inventory composition during the quote.

The contractor tools floater

A "floater" is the inland marine endorsement that schedules contractor tools. The coverage follows the tools wherever they go: your truck, the job site, the warehouse, a customer's home. Theft from a locked truck overnight is the most common claim. Document the inventory annually so the policy responds at current replacement value.

Rental inventory and bailee's coverage

Party rental, AV rental, and equipment rental operators all need inland marine on the inventory while it is in transit and at the customer's event. Bailee's coverage extends to inventory in customer custody between setup and breakdown — for example, a tent left up overnight at a wedding venue.

What inland marine does NOT cover

• Property at a stated fixed location — that is commercial property
• Vehicles themselves — those are commercial auto
• Liability for damage your operations cause to third parties — that is GL
• Buildings or fixed building improvements
• Property excluded by policy form (cash, securities, intangibles)

Frequently asked questions