Inland Marine Insurance: Protecting Your Tools and Equipment

Your tools and equipment are the backbone of your business. Without them, you cannot work, earn income, or serve your clients. Yet many contractors, tradespeople, and mobile professionals in Washington State carry no insurance on the very assets that make their livelihood possible. They assume their general liability policy or homeowner's insurance will cover a theft or loss. It will not. Standard property insurance only protects items at a fixed business location, and general liability does not cover your own property at all.

If your work requires you to transport tools, equipment, or materials to job sites, client locations, or anywhere beyond your permanent place of business, you have a significant coverage gap that only one type of insurance can fill: inland marine insurance.

What Is Inland Marine Insurance?

Despite the name, inland marine insurance has nothing to do with boats or waterways. The name is a historical artifact. "Marine insurance" originally covered goods transported by sea. When businesses began shipping goods overland by rail and truck, insurers created a new category for property in transit over land, called it "inland marine," and the name stuck.

Today, inland marine insurance covers movable business property and equipment that is not permanently kept at a single fixed location. It is specifically designed for property that travels, whether that means tools in the back of a work truck, heavy machinery being transported between job sites, or computer equipment carried to client offices.

You may also hear it called tools and equipment insurance, contractors equipment insurance, or mobile equipment coverage. Regardless of the name, the purpose is the same: protecting valuable property that moves with you.

Inland marine policies are typically written on a "scheduled" or "blanket" basis. A scheduled policy lists each piece of equipment individually along with its value. A blanket policy covers all equipment up to a total dollar amount without listing each item. Many contractors prefer blanket coverage for its simplicity.

What Does Inland Marine Insurance Cover?

Here are the main categories of property inland marine protects.

Tools and Hand Equipment

Hand tools are among the most commonly stolen items on job sites and from vehicles. Inland marine covers your hammers, drills, saws, wrenches, measuring instruments, and all the hand tools your trade requires. Whether they are stolen from your truck overnight, damaged in a vehicle accident, or lost in a job site fire, your policy pays to replace them.

Heavy Machinery and Power Equipment

Inland marine covers larger items like generators, compressors, welding machines, concrete saws, and scaffolding systems. These items represent significant investments, often tens of thousands of dollars, and losing them without insurance can cripple a business financially.

Materials and Supplies in Transit

Inland marine can also cover building materials, supplies, and inventory while being transported to a job site or stored temporarily at a location other than your primary business address. If you are hauling $5,000 worth of lumber to a build site and it is destroyed in a vehicle accident, inland marine covers the loss.

Leased or Rented Equipment

Many contractors rent or lease specialized equipment for specific projects rather than purchasing it outright. Inland marine can cover your liability for leased or rented equipment if it is damaged, stolen, or destroyed while in your possession. Without this coverage, you would be personally responsible for the full replacement value of equipment belonging to the rental company.

Computer Equipment and Electronics in the Field

For IT professionals, photographers, videographers, and other technology-dependent workers, inland marine covers laptops, cameras, audio equipment, drones, and testing instruments carried to job sites or client locations. A standard commercial property policy would only cover them at your office.

Inland marine covers your property across a wide range of situations:

• At active job sites while you are working
• Inside your vehicle, whether parked or in transit
• In transit between your business location and a job site
• Temporarily stored at a job site, warehouse, or client location
• At trade shows, exhibitions, or client presentations

What Inland Marine Insurance Does NOT Cover

Like all insurance policies, inland marine has boundaries. Understanding the exclusions helps you avoid surprises at claim time.

• Equipment at your permanent business location: Items stored permanently at your office, shop, or warehouse are not covered. That is the domain of commercial property insurance.

• Vehicles themselves: If your work truck is damaged or stolen, inland marine will not cover the vehicle. That is what commercial auto insurance is for. Inland marine covers the contents of the vehicle, not the vehicle itself.

• Normal wear and tear: Insurance covers sudden and accidental events, not gradual deterioration through normal use. A drill that fails after years of use is not an insurable loss. A drill crushed when a wall collapses at a job site is.

• Mysterious disappearance: Some policies exclude losses where the cause is unknown. If a tool simply goes missing with no evidence of theft or any specific event, the insurer may deny the claim. Policy language varies between carriers.

• Equipment you own but never move: Machinery that sits permanently in your shop should be insured under a commercial property policy rather than inland marine.

Who Needs Inland Marine Insurance?

Here are the professionals and trades that benefit most from inland marine coverage.

Contractors and Construction Trades

General contractors, framing crews, siding installers, roofers, and other construction trades carry thousands of dollars in tools and equipment to every job site. Tools are routinely left on sites overnight or over weekends, making them vulnerable to theft. Inland marine is considered standard coverage for construction professionals.

Electricians and Plumbers

Electricians and plumbers rely on specialized, expensive diagnostic equipment, power tools, and hand tools that travel with them to every service call. A licensed electrician's tool kit can easily exceed $10,000 in value. Plumbers carrying inspection cameras, pipe threading machines, and specialized fittings face similar exposures.

Landscapers

Commercial landscapers transport mowers, trimmers, blowers, and sometimes heavy machinery like skid steers to job sites daily. A stolen trailer full of landscaping equipment can represent a $20,000 to $40,000 loss.

Photographers and Videographers

Professional camera bodies, lenses, lighting rigs, drones, and editing laptops represent substantial investments carried to every shoot. A single camera setup with professional lenses can exceed $15,000. Inland marine protects this equipment at event venues, outdoor shoots, and everywhere in between.

IT Professionals with Mobile Equipment

IT consultants, network technicians, and managed service providers carry laptops, servers, diagnostic tools, and testing instruments to client sites. Inland marine covers it all in your vehicle, at client offices, and during transit.

Anyone Who Takes Valuable Equipment to Job Sites

The common thread is simple: if your work requires you to move valuable property beyond your permanent business location, inland marine insurance exists specifically to protect you.

Why Standard Insurance Is Not Enough

Many business owners assume their existing insurance covers their tools and equipment. Here is why each standard policy falls short.

• General liability insurance: GL does not cover your own property at all. It covers injuries and property damage you cause to third parties. If your tools are stolen or destroyed, your GL policy will not help.

• Commercial property insurance: Commercial property covers assets at your listed business location. Once tools leave your shop or warehouse, they are typically no longer covered. Equipment at a job site or in transit falls outside standard commercial property coverage.

• Commercial auto insurance: Commercial auto covers the vehicle itself. In most cases, it does not cover tools and materials inside the vehicle. Some policies offer limited contents coverage, but limits are usually far too low for a contractor's full tool inventory.

• Homeowner's insurance: Your homeowner's policy almost certainly excludes business equipment. Even if it provides minor coverage, limits are typically $2,500 or less, nowhere near enough to replace professional tools.

Inland marine fills the gap that all of these policies leave open. It is the only coverage designed specifically for valuable business property that moves.

How Much Does Inland Marine Insurance Cost?

Inland marine is one of the most affordable commercial coverages available relative to the value it protects.

• Typical monthly cost: $25 to $75 per month for most contractors and tradespeople
• Premium basis: Based primarily on the total value of equipment you insure. A contractor insuring $15,000 in tools will pay less than one insuring $75,000 in heavy equipment.
• Deductibles: Most policies carry deductibles ranging from $250 to $1,000. A higher deductible lowers your monthly premium.
• Cost relative to risk: If you pay $50 per month ($600 per year) and your policy prevents a single $10,000 tool theft from coming out of pocket, you have received a return of more than 16 times your annual premium.

Factors that influence your premium include total insured value, deductible choice, claims history, equipment type, and whether you choose scheduled or blanket coverage.

How to Determine Your Coverage Amount

Getting the right coverage amount requires a straightforward process you should complete at least once per year.

Inventory all tools and equipment. Walk through your truck, trailer, shop, and storage areas. List every piece of equipment that travels with you to job sites. Do not forget smaller items that add up quickly, such as hand tools, safety equipment, and testing instruments.

Use replacement cost, not depreciated value. Insure your equipment for what it would cost to buy new today. If your five-year-old table saw would cost $800 to replace, insure it for $800. Policies that pay actual cash value (depreciated value) leave you short when replacing aging equipment.

Include rented and leased equipment. Rental companies hold you financially responsible for damage or theft, and commercial equipment replacement costs are often far higher than business owners expect.

Update coverage as you acquire new equipment. Every time you purchase a significant tool, notify your insurance agent and add it to your policy. A policy that reflected your inventory two years ago may be seriously inadequate if you have added equipment without updating coverage.

Real Claims: When Inland Marine Saves the Day

Here is how inland marine performs in real claim situations.

• Contractor's tools stolen from truck overnight: A Washington general contractor parks his work truck in his driveway. In the morning, the toolbox has been broken into and $15,000 in tools are gone. His GL policy does not cover his own property. His auto insurance covers the toolbox damage but not the contents. His inland marine policy pays the full $15,000 replacement cost, and he is back to work within days.

• Excavator damaged in transit: A site work contractor is transporting a mini excavator on a flatbed trailer. The trailer is involved in a highway accident, and the excavator sustains $45,000 in damage. Commercial auto covers the truck and trailer but not the excavator. Inland marine covers the full repair cost, keeping the contractor from absorbing a devastating out-of-pocket loss.

• Generator stolen from job site: An electrical contractor leaves a commercial generator at a job site over a long weekend. The crew returns Monday and the generator is gone. Replacement cost: $3,500. With inland marine, the insurer reimburses the full replacement cost after the deductible. Without it, the contractor pays out of pocket and delays the project.

These scenarios play out regularly. Tool theft and equipment damage are among the most frequently reported losses for Washington State contractors. Businesses with inland marine coverage recover quickly. Those without it absorb the loss and, in some cases, struggle to continue operating.

Protect Your Tools and Equipment Today

Your tools and equipment are both a major financial investment and the means by which you earn your living. Losing them without insurance means paying out of pocket for replacements while losing income during the downtime. For many contractors, a single major equipment loss without insurance is enough to threaten the business.

Inland marine insurance eliminates that risk at $25 to $75 per month for most businesses, making it one of the best values in commercial insurance.

SmartInsured helps Washington State contractors and tradespeople secure inland marine coverage quickly and affordably. We understand the equipment exposures that electricians, plumbers, general contractors, landscapers, and other trades face every day.

Ready to protect your tools and equipment? Get your free quote now and find out how affordable inland marine coverage can be for your business. You can also call us at 425-209-1206 to speak with a coverage specialist who understands the needs of Washington contractors. Coverage starts at just $25/month, and most businesses can be covered the same day.