Insurance Blog

Inland Marine insurance is an important coverage for many types of businesses. Contractors specifically face an elevated risk compared to other types of business. Their equipment is expensive and their work is dangerous. While insurance can’t necessarily make operations any safer, it can provide financial protection against theft and damage. A contractor can’t efficiently perform their duties without the proper tools, equipment and materials. Inland Marine insurance is designed to cover this type of stuff, which is commonly excluded on a regular commercial property policy.

What is an Inland Marine Policy?

An inland marine policy is specifically designed for property that is in transit, stored at another location, or being used away from a business’s regular premises. Some of the equipment that is commonly insured by an inland marine policy includes:

• tools: this includes things like hand tools, power tools, and other day to day tools commonly used by contractors.
• equipment: this includes stuff used in construction like cranes, excavators and bulldozers.
• supplies & materials: lumber, steel, concrete, wiring, etc.
• temporary structures: temporary fencing, scaffolding, portable offices, etc.
• mobile equipment: things that are not licensed for street use such as a fork lift or skid steer.

Apart from supplies and materials, most of these things will be excluded in a commercial property policy. The reason for this is that property policies usually only cover things within 100 feet of their insured premises. If you are bringing tools and equipment to a job site, you are going to be over 100 feet away from the insured premises and therefore will not have coverage on this kind of property. If you are on a job site and your $75,000 excavator somehow catches fire, do you know how you will pay for the loss? Instead of losing thousands of dollars fixing or replacing it, it is easier to be proactive and have it properly insured with an inland marine policy before leaving the premises.

Builders Risk

A builders risk policy is a type of insurance that is designed specifically for buildings and structures under construction or renovation. This type of policy provides coverage during the construction phase until it is completed. It usually begins when construction starts and ends when construction is completed. Coverage extends to the structure itself as well as materials and supplies on site that are going to be used in the build.

Installation Floater

An installation floater is a type of policy that is designed to protect materials, fixtures, and equipment during the installation process. Coverage lasts for the duration of the project and may include installation specific risks, such as damage caused by faulty installation. It is essentially a builders risk policy that is written to cover a specific type of property during its installation. It is commonly purchased by subcontractors installing highly valued equipment or materials. Some examples of high value equipment and materials could be a generator or some sort of a compressor.

Contractors Equipment Coverage

Contractors equipment coverage offers protection to the tools, machinery and equipment that contractors use day to day. Contractors can’t efficiently perform their tasks without these items, so it is vital that they are covered in case something were to happen to them. Builders Risk policies almost always exclude this kind of equipment because it isn’t destined to become part of the final structure.

Transportation Insurance

Transportation insurance provides protection for property that is in transit. If a contractor is shipping building materials from a supplier on the east coast to the job site on the west coast, they should get a transportation insurance policy. Depending on your shipping needs and frequency there are different transportation policies available. Here are the five different types of transportation insurance:

Inland Marine Summary

To summarize, inland marine is protection for property that is being used or stored away from the insured’s premises. It is crucial for contractors because there are usually exclusions in a commercial property policy limiting coverage to within 100 feet of the premises. To read more about inland marine coverages, visit here for more information from one of our carriers, The Hartford. Contact Narrows Insurance today to review your coverage needs with an experienced agent.