Property & equipment

Inland Marine Insurance

Protection for business property away from your premises, such as tools, equipment, goods in transit and work being installed, plus options for customers' property in your care.

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Inland marine insurance is built for property that doesn't stay put. A standard commercial property policy usually focuses on your building and the contents at your listed address, with limited protection once items leave the premises.

Inland marine fills that gap with "floaters" (coverage that follows the property from place to place): tools and equipment at job sites, materials on your truck, goods shipped to customers and work you are installing until it is accepted. Each form is written for a specific type of property. Some list the causes of loss they insure (named perils); others insure loss unless the cause is excluded (open perils).

For contractors, distributors and service businesses, inland marine is often the piece that protects what is on the truck or at the job site. Customers' items you hold for cleaning, repair or service are a separate question, explained below.

Customers' property in your care

If you clean, repair or service items customers leave with you, ask about coverage for those goods. A standard property policy may give only a small amount of protection for other people's property, or none, and ordinary tools or transit coverage usually doesn't include it.

Bailee forms (a bailee is a business holding someone else's property) can work differently:

Bailee coverage, often written on a bailees customers form, can pay for customers' goods damaged or stolen while in your care whether or not you were at fault, depending on the form.
Bailee legal liability pays only when your business is legally responsible for the loss, for example through negligence.

Businesses that store goods for others may also ask about warehouse legal liability, which likewise depends on the business being legally liable. We can help you compare the items, limits and conditions included in the available options.

What's typically included

Exact coverage depends on the policy form, endorsements and insurance company.

Installation floater

Can protect materials and equipment you are installing, on the truck, stored at the site and during installation, until the work is accepted by the owner.

Tools and equipment floater

Typically protects hand tools, power tools and smaller equipment at job sites and in vehicles. Theft from vehicles often carries special conditions.

Transit

Can protect your own goods while shipped on your trucks or by a common carrier. This differs from motor truck cargo, which protects freight a for-hire carrier hauls for others.

Property at other locations

Can extend to business property temporarily at customer sites, trade shows or storage locations away from your premises.

Builders risk

Can protect a building under construction or renovation, including materials on site and sometimes in transit or stored offsite. The owner or general contractor usually buys it, depending on the contract.

Contractors equipment

Heavy and mobile equipment such as excavators, loaders and lifts is usually written on its own contractors equipment form.

What to watch for

Assuming your property policy follows you. Many property forms limit off-premises and in-transit property to small amounts.
Customers' items in your care. Tools and transit forms usually don't include them, and bailee forms differ on whether you must be at fault for a loss to be paid.
Theft from unattended vehicles. Many tools forms require the vehicle to be locked with visible signs of forced entry, and some limit overnight theft from vehicles.
The installation floater end date. Coverage typically ends when the work is accepted or the owner takes possession, so the handover date matters.
Builders risk responsibility. Construction contracts usually say who buys builders risk; if neither party does, the structure may have no protection during construction.
Valuation and coinsurance. Many floaters settle at actual cash value unless replacement cost is chosen, and some apply a coinsurance penalty when values are underreported.

What affects price and eligibility

Type and value of property, and whether it is valued at actual cash value or replacement cost
Where property is kept, transported and stored, including overnight security
Theft protections such as locked vehicles, job site fencing, GPS tracking and inventory controls
Loss history
Deductible and the perils selected (open perils or named perils)

Helpful information for a quote

Have what you can — we'll ask for anything else an insurance company needs. Starting a new business? You can begin without prior policies or loss runs.

List of tools and equipment with values, separating higher-value items from smaller tools
Typical value of materials on a truck or at a job site at any one time
For installation floaters: annual installation volume and your largest single job
For transit: annual value shipped, how goods ship and your largest single shipment
For customers' property: what you take in, what you do with it and the most value you hold at one time
For builders risk: project address, construction type, completed value and timeline
Loss runs (claims history reports) for the last 3–5 years, if you've been insured before

Written by ALP Insurance

Who typically needs it

Contractors carrying tools, materials and equipment between job sites
HVAC, electrical, plumbing and other installers whose work stays at their risk until accepted
Distributors and manufacturers shipping goods on their own trucks or by common carrier
Businesses with property at other locations, such as trade shows or customer sites
Owners and contractors on new construction or renovation projects (builders risk)
Cleaners, repair shops and other service businesses that hold customers' items
Service businesses with valuable mobile equipment such as diagnostic tools, cameras or laptops

Talk it through with an agent

Not sure what you need? Start a request and choose "Not sure" — a licensed ALP agent will talk through the options with you.

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Industry guides

Inland Marine FAQs

Why is it called inland marine?

It grew out of ocean marine insurance, which protected cargo at sea. Inland marine applied the same idea to property moving over land and now includes a wide range of mobile and specialized property.

Doesn't my business property policy already protect my tools?

Often only at your listed location, or with a small off-premises limit. Tools and equipment that travel to job sites are usually better handled with an inland marine floater.

Can inland marine insurance cover customers' items left with my business?

Some forms can. Bailee coverage can pay for customers' goods whether or not you were at fault, depending on the form, while bailee legal liability pays only when your business is legally responsible. Tell us what you take in, what you do with it and the most value you hold at one time, and we'll review suitable customer-property coverage rather than assume your standard property policy includes it.

What is the difference between an installation floater and builders risk?

An installation floater protects one contractor's materials and work until it is accepted. Builders risk is usually for the whole structure under construction and is typically bought by the owner or general contractor.

Who needs transit coverage?

Businesses that ship their own goods on their own trucks or by common carrier. A common carrier's liability for your goods is often limited, so transit coverage can help fill the difference.

Is inland marine part of a BOP?

Some business owners policies (BOPs) include small inland marine limits or can add a tools endorsement. Larger or specialized exposures usually need a separate inland marine policy.