Inland marine

Despite the name, inland marine has little to do with boats. It is a class of property insurance that grew from coverage for goods moving over land and has expanded to cover property that is mobile, hard to fit into a standard property form, or both. The category is defined by the Nationwide Marine Definition, a long-standing industry and regulatory standard that lists what insurers may write as marine.

Typical commercial uses are contractor's equipment and tools, goods in transit, installation work at job sites, a customer's property held by a bailee, fine art, musical instruments, camera gear, accounts receivable and valuable papers. Many of these are written as floaters, a policy or endorsement that follows the property wherever it goes. Cover is often on an open perils basis, which is broader than the named perils on many property forms.

Why it matters: standard property forms limit or exclude coverage for property away from your premises, in vehicles or at job sites. A contractor with $80,000 of tools in a truck (a hypothetical) is usually uncovered by a BOP beyond a small tool sublimit. Terms, valuation and exclusions vary more between inland marine forms than between standard property forms, so read the schedule, the valuation clause and theft conditions. The guides on inland marine insurance for tools, equipment and goods in transit and contractor's equipment insurance: covering tools, machinery and rentals cover scheduling and limits.