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What Is Inland Marine Insurance?

If your business moves equipment between sites or ships goods, inland marine can cover those property exposures; installation and other forms address different property categories. Match the quote to what you own, rent or hold for others.

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What Does Inland Marine Insurance Cover?

A tool stolen from a jobsite, rented equipment damaged in use and customer goods in your care raise different property questions. 1

If your business moves equipment between sites or ships goods, inland marine can cover specialized property exposures. 1

Mobile Property and Specialized Exposures

Equipment floaters, installation coverage, motor truck cargo, trip transit, accounts receivable and valuable papers are different inland marine coverage types. 1

Match the Coverage to the Property

Compare the property description with what you own, rent or hold for others, and ask which items must be individually scheduled. 2
Property in the discussionInterest to identifyQuestion to ask
Owned diagnostic device taken to customer sitesProperty you own and moveIs it scheduled, and at what value?
Rented construction equipmentProperty you rent or borrow from othersDoes the quote address rented or borrowed items?
Customer goods in your careProperty belonging to someone elseWhich coverage, if any, is proposed for that interest?
2 1

Who Needs Inland Marine Insurance?

Consider inland marine for tools, installation materials or other valuable property that travels between locations. 3,2

Inland Marine Insurance Coverage Examples

What happened

Equipment Is Damaged on the Road

Equipment your team is taking to a customer site is damaged during the trip.

How coverage may help

An equipment floater may cover property in transit. The item, journey and locations need to fit its schedule and territorial terms. 1,2

What happened

Several Tools Are Lost Together

One incident damages several valuable tools carried in the same trailer.

How coverage may help

The policy may have both per-item limits and a cap for a single loss. That cap can matter even when each tool is insured for an adequate amount. 1,2

How Do You Compare Inland Marine Insurance Coverage and Costs?

Locations and Movement

Describe where equipment is stored, used and transported; check territorial limits and any restrictions on property lent or rented to someone else. 2

Values, Limits and Deductibles

Ask how a damaged item will be valued and whether replacement-cost payment depends on repairing or replacing it. 2

Compare the limit on each item with any cap on a single loss involving several items. A trailer full of tools can be worth much more than any one tool. Also check whether the deductible is a fixed dollar amount or a percentage, and how that percentage is calculated. 2

What Exclusions and Conditions Should You Check in Inland Marine Insurance?

Causes of Loss

Ask how the wording treats wear and tear, mechanical breakdown, unexplained disappearance and loss of use. 2

Reporting and Records

Before a loss occurs, find the reporting instructions and ask what records will help establish ownership, value and what happened to the property. 2

Keep purchase records, serial numbers, photographs and current locations with your equipment inventory. 2

How Does Inland Marine Insurance Compare With Related Coverage?

Compare inland marine with any off-site property terms in your commercial property policy, with cargo coverage for goods being shipped, and with equipment breakdown coverage for machinery failure. 1,2
ConcernRelated discussion
Equipment that leaves a buildingInland marine and any off-site property terms
Goods in a shipmentCargo and transit coverage
Machinery that stops workingEquipment breakdown coverage
The building and contents that stay putCommercial property coverage
1,2 1

What Do You Need for Inland Marine Insurance Quotes?

Prepare an equipment or property inventory with descriptions and values, a description of your operations, prior losses, and the limits you want to discuss. 3,2

Build a Usable Property Inventory

PrepareAsk the broker
Item descriptions and serial numbersWhich items must you schedule, including rented or customer property?
ValuesHow should you value each item and a loss involving several items?
Storage and transport locationsWhich locations and movements fit the territorial terms?
Operations and equipment usersWhat details explain why your equipment leaves the premises?
Prior lossesWhat records and corrective steps should you provide?
Limits and deductiblesWhat per-item and shared-loss limits and deductibles are available?
3,2 2 2

Inland Marine Insurance: Key Terms in Plain English

Equipment Floater

A type of inland marine coverage for equipment that moves between locations. 1 1

Scheduled Property

Items individually identified in the policy. Check which owned, rented or borrowed items need listing. 2

Frequently Asked Questions About Inland Marine Insurance

Does Inland Marine Only Cover Goods on Water?

No. Despite the name, inland marine includes specialized protection for equipment moving between locations and goods in transit. 1

Can One Limit Cover Several Items Lost Together?

Yes, a single-loss limit may apply alongside individual item limits. Check both, particularly when several valuable items travel together. 2

Can Inland Marine Insurance Cover Rented Equipment?

Check whether the property description includes equipment you rent or hold for others, as well as equipment you own. Ask which items must be listed individually on the policy. 2

What Information Do I Need for an Inland Marine Quote?

Start with an inventory of the property, including descriptions and values. Have your operations, prior losses and desired limits ready so the quote can reflect the equipment or goods you need to insure. 3,2

What Is Inland Marine Insurance?

Inland marine covers selected property exposures such as mobile equipment and goods in transit; each form covers a different kind of property.

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Why Is It Called Inland Marine Insurance?

It is called inland marine to distinguish specialized land-transit and movable-property coverage from ocean marine; it is not boat insurance.

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Does Inland Marine Cover Cameras?

Possibly, if the policy’s property description or schedule includes your cameras and accessories.

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Does Inland Marine Cover Customer Property?

An inland-marine floater may cover customer property in your care when the policy schedule and limits include it.

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Does Inland Marine Cover Equipment?

An inland-marine floater may cover described equipment; rented, borrowed, and customer-owned items are not automatically included.

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Does Inland Marine Cover Flood?

Flood coverage for equipment depends on the inland-marine form’s flood definition, exclusions, deductible, and sublimit.

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Does Inland Marine Cover Installation?

An installation floater can cover materials during transit and installation, but protection may change at completion and overlap with builders risk.

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Does Inland Marine Cover Inventory?

Commercial property generally covers inventory at your premises, while cargo or transit coverage may cover stock in shipment.

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View all 25 questions

What Coverage Is Related to Inland Marine Insurance?

  • What Is Commercial Property Insurance?

    Commercial property may fit your business if you own a building or rely on equipment and stock. Compare replacement-cost terms, deductibles and any coinsurance condition, and check lost-income protection separately.

  • What Is Builders Risk Insurance?

    Builders risk protects the project you are building, including materials meant for it, against physical loss until construction ends. The gaps that cost owners money are materials in storage or transit, the existing building in a renovation, and coverage ending when you occupy early.

  • What Is Cargo and Transit Insurance?

    Cargo coverage fits a shipper protecting goods it owns or a carrier responsible for another party’s goods. The quote needs to match who bears the loss, the shipment route and storage stops.

  • What Is Equipment Breakdown Insurance?

    Equipment-breakdown coverage can help repair covered machinery or building equipment after a mechanical or electrical failure. It fits businesses that depend on equipment to operate; check whether lost income, spoilage and utility failures are included.

Inland Marine Insurance Guides by State

Which Insurance Providers Offer Inland Marine Insurance?

  • AIG

    AIG Inland Marine (Transportation & Logistics; Construction & Equipment)

  • Alliance Risk

    Alliance Risk arranges inland marine coverage for goods, tools and equipment in transit or off-site.

  • Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

    BHSI lists inland transit, motor-truck cargo, warehouse legal liability, contractor equipment, and floaters under Inland Marine.

  • Chubb

    Chubb offers inland marine insurance.

  • CNA

  • Coverdash

    Coverdash arranges inland marine insurance.

  • Foxquilt

    Foxquilt lists Inland Marine among primary coverages; the ConvertLabs cleaner program describes limited mobile-equipment coverage (also called Inland Marine) commonly used by janitorial providers. This does not establish broad standalone inland-marine terms.

  • Harper

    Harper arranges inland marine coverage for tools and equipment that leave the shop.

  • HUB International

    HUB International arranges inland marine insurance through its marine practice.

  • Insureon

    Insureon markets Tools and Equipment Insurance; description does not establish insurer, policy terms, or individual availability.

  • Kinro

    Kinro arranges tools and equipment coverage through its inland marine offering.

  • Liberty Mutual

    A group brand spanning personal and commercial insurance businesses; its business unit pages describe small-commercial cover for small businesses and commercial, specialty, surety, and reinsurance solutions for mid-size and large businesses.

  • Markel Insurance

    Markel commercial inland marine

  • Nationwide

    Nationwide markets inland-marine products including contractor equipment and installation floaters; product availability and covered property vary.

  • Relm Insurance

    Relm lists inland marine insurance for placement through brokers.

  • Risklytics

    Risklytics arranges inland marine equipment coverage for robotics, hardware and AI businesses.

  • Simply Business

    Small businesses and solopreneurs seeking commercial insurance, as described by Simply Business.

  • StartupInsurance.ai

    StartupInsurance.ai arranges inland marine insurance for startups.

  • TechInsurance

    TechInsurance arranges inland marine coverage for contractors’ tools and equipment.

  • The Baldwin Group

    Baldwin lists inland and ocean marine among coverages that may be considered for digital-infrastructure clients; this entry covers inland marine only.

  • The Hartford

    The Hartford offers inland marine insurance for midsize and large businesses.

  • THREE by Berkshire Hathaway

    Marketed within THREE’s combined commercial policy; the quote and issued form determine the protection.

  • Travelers

    Travelers offers inland marine insurance.

  • Zurich U.S.

    Zurich’s commercial property page separately lists Inland Marine coverages, including contractors’ equipment and warehouse liability; do not equate its broader Marine portfolio with this line.

Updated .

Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with the page URL and supporting source.

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