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Insurance for Supply Chains and Logistics
For each shipment or stored lot, record who owns and handles the goods, where the business has custody, which equipment moves them and which partners can interrupt delivery. Ask the insurer to identify applicable forms and triggers; cargo, auto and interruption response cannot be inferred from a line name.[1][4]
Which Insurance Should You Consider?
Consider commercial property, tools, equipment and inland marine, cargo and transit, equipment breakdown, commercial auto, and workers’ compensation. Start with the coverages tied to your day-to-day operations, then use the situations and buying questions below to compare your options.
Commercial property
Inventory, packaging, forklifts or other equipment is stored at a company-controlled site.
List sites, property interests, values and causes of loss, then check the actual schedule and exclusions. Customer property in your custody may require separate clarification.[2][1]
Ask Before Buying
Which sites, stock, equipment, values and causes of loss are scheduled, and how are property belonging to customers handled?
Tools, equipment and inland marine
Tools, samples or business property move between warehouse, customer and operating sites.
Ask whether inland-marine wording should schedule movable property and identify the covered items, routes and stages in the actual form.[1]
Ask Before Buying
Which property, routes, handlers, loading and unloading periods and destinations are listed?
Cargo and transit
The company takes custody of customer goods or arranges shipment through carriers and warehouses.
Cargo-transit terms remain a question for the insurer. Describe the custody chain and obtain the applicable form before treating any goods or liability as insured.[1]
Ask Before Buying
Which form addresses goods in transit or in a carrier’s custody, who is insured, when responsibility starts and ends, and what exclusions or valuation rules apply?
Equipment breakdown
A conveyor, refrigeration unit, forklift or other machine is critical to fulfillment.
Ask about equipment-breakdown terms separately from commercial property, including the failure trigger and resulting-loss wording.[1]
Ask Before Buying
Which named equipment and breakdown causes are included, and does any form address resulting damage, income loss or extra expense?
Commercial auto
The company owns vehicles or employees drive for delivery, pickup or facility operations.
Commercial auto is a separate quote question from personal auto. Ask which vehicles, drivers, routes, states and delivery uses the proposed terms include, and which filings apply to your operation.[2][1]
Ask Before Buying
Which vehicles, drivers, routes, states and delivery uses are declared, and what policy or filing requirements must be checked for this operation?
Workers’ compensation
You hire warehouse, delivery, dispatch or operations employees or add another work state.
California generally requires employer workers’ compensation coverage even with one employee. Verify current requirements in every other state where staff work.[5][6]
Ask Before Buying
Which entities, states, sites and job duties are reported, and who will confirm each state’s requirements?
Trace Goods Through Each Custody Handoff
Trace goods from supplier pickup through carrier, port, warehouse partner, repairer and customer delivery. At each handoff, record who owns and handles the goods and what the contract says about values, custody periods and delays. Give this information to the broker to identify forms to review; it does not show that contract liability is insured.[1]
Ask which form addresses the goods, when it starts and stops, valuation, loading and unloading, subcontractors and delay losses. Review that wording before describing any protection.[1]
Prepare Site, Equipment and Workforce Details
Describe each facility, stored inventory, customer goods, machinery, chemicals and manual-handling tasks. OSHA identifies warehouse hazards such as powered industrial trucks and material handling; use the actual site and task list when preparing the account, not as a claim that a particular policy responds.[4]
Ask which locations and machines are scheduled, what breakdown causes apply and whether resulting income loss or extra expense is addressed.[1]
Name the Dependencies That Could Stop Fulfillment
List suppliers, ports, warehouses, utilities, cloud systems and customer facilities that could interrupt delivery. Some contingent business-interruption forms require physical damage at a dependent property; ask whether each named dependency and trigger meets the proposed wording.[3]
For vehicles and employees, list routes, states, vehicle ownership and duties. Ask which proposed terms apply and which state or federal filings should be checked for this operation.[2][1]
Providers to Compare by Coverage
Commercial property
Alliance Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
CFC
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Tools, equipment and inland marine
Alliance Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Cargo and transit
Alliance Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Amelia Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
2.0/ 10Equipment breakdown
Alliance Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Commercial auto
Alliance Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Amelia Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
2.0/ 10Workers’ compensation
Alliance Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Amelia Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
2.0/ 10Common Questions
Does a supplier delay trigger business-interruption coverage?
Not necessarily. Contingent business interruption may require physical damage at a dependent business. A delay alone should not be assumed to meet the form’s trigger; check the actual wording.[3]
Read the Full AnswerIs responsibility for customer goods the same as insurance on those goods?
A contract can allocate responsibility, but it does not by itself establish that an insurance policy covers the goods or the liability. Cargo-transit coverage terms depend on the applicable form.[1]
Read the Full AnswerSources and Further Reading
- Commercial Insurance Guide — California Department of Insurance. Revised June 14, 2024; commercial property, inland marine, boiler and machinery/equipment breakdown, commercial general liability, commercial auto, umbrella, and workers compensation. California-focused guidance; confirm other jurisdictions and actual policy wording.
California commercial guide on property, inland-marine, equipment breakdown and auto topics.
- Small Business Insurance — National Association of Insurance Commissioners. BOP and exclusions; general liability and exclusions; professional liability, crime and cyber; business property. General educational descriptions, not policy terms.
- Business Interruption and Business Owner Policy — National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Business interruption and contingent business interruption; covered physical damage and dependent-business trigger qualifications.
NAIC explanation of business-interruption and contingent-interruption trigger limits.
- Warehousing: Hazards and Solutions — Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Material handling, powered industrial trucks, slips/falls, chemicals and ergonomic hazards; conditions depend on actual tasks and sites.
OSHA warehouse hazards to help describe actual sites and handling tasks.
- DWC Employer Information — California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation. California employer workers compensation information; California-specific, including stated out-of-state employer examples.
- DWC FAQs for Employers — California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation. Employer FAQ on California workers compensation requirements; one-or-more employee statement and separate sole-proprietor treatment.
- Cybersecurity for Small Business — Federal Trade Commission. Supplier risk, response planning and cyber-insurance buyer questions. Educational guidance, not policy wording.
Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this guide and works in the commercial insurance market. This is general buyer education; policy terms and state-specific obligations determine coverage and requirements.
Updated 2026-09-28. Editorial Policy
Get Help With Insurance Buying and Renewals.
Get help buying coverage and managing renewals, with less paperwork for your team. Start with a free consultation.