Despite the name, Inland Marine has nothing to do with boats — it’s the coverage for tools, equipment, and materials once they leave your shop, which is exactly the gap a standard property policy tends to leave open for contractors.
The Gap It Fills
A typical property policy covers your shop and what’s inside it. The moment a tool, piece of equipment, or material leaves that location — riding in a job trailer, staged at a jobsite before installation, or out on loan to a crew — standard property coverage often stops applying. Inland Marine picks up exactly that gap.
Scheduled vs. Blanket Coverage
Scheduled coverage lists specific high-value items individually, each with its own coverage amount — appropriate for expensive equipment you can name and value precisely.
Blanket coverage covers a broader category of tools and equipment under a single limit, without listing every item — more practical for a large volume of smaller tools.
Rented and Leased Equipment
If you rent or lease equipment for a project, check whether your Inland Marine coverage extends to non-owned equipment in your care, custody, and control — a common point of confusion, since rental agreements often shift liability for damage back to the renter.
Common Gaps
Newly purchased equipment not yet added to a scheduled policy, and rented equipment assumed (incorrectly) to be covered by the rental company’s own insurance, are two of the most common coverage gaps we see contractors discover the hard way.
Adding new equipment or taking on a rental-heavy project? Request a Quote to confirm you’re covered before it’s on-site.