Inland Marine Insurance

About Inland Marine Insurance

Inland marine coverage was formalized in 1933 when the National Association of Insurance Commissioners adopted the Nationwide Marine Definition to clarify that “floaters” insure movable property tied to transportation or communication instead of fixed buildings.^1,2

Subsequent revisions in 1953 and 1976 aligned the definition with ISO property forms, expanding inland marine to cover contractors' equipment, installation floaters, communication towers, and other specialty property that routinely leaves a scheduled location.³

Today's market layers those definitions with flexible scheduling tools so families and businesses can satisfy lender clauses without leaving gaps when property travels between job sites.^4,5

Coverage Highlights

These floaters keep your mobile assets, customer goods, and work in progress protected from pickup through delivery.

• Contractors Equipment & Rental Reimbursement:  Schedule big iron, blanket small tools, extend automatic acquisition, and add rental reimbursement so work continues while a damaged machine is repaired.¹
• Installation Floaters & Builder's Risk:  Covers materials from warehouse to jobsite until the owner accepts the work, with available endorsements for flood, quake, or testing.²
• Bailee, Warehouse & Riggers Liability:  Protects customer property while you lift, store, or transport it so a sprinkler leak or crane slip doesn't become an uninsured loss.³
• Fine Art & Exhibition Floaters: Provide agreed-value, nail-to-nail protection for galleries, film sets, and traveling collections.⁴
• Accounts Receivable, Valuable Papers & EDP:  Recreates billing records, blueprints, and electronic data following fire or theft so you can keep invoicing during repairs.⁵
• Motor Truck Cargo & Transit: Extends coverage to goods you haul for others or your own property in transit, filling the gap between commercial auto and property forms.⁶

Rising Costs

CargoNet logged 884 North American supply-chain thefts in Q2 2025, a 13% jump year over year totaling $61.5 million, so inland marine underwriters are pricing schedules assuming higher theft frequency.¹

Overhaul's Q2 2025 analysis shows U.S. cargo theft up 33% from last year, concentrated in California and Texas, hotspots that also feed Rockland County projects, signaling a national loss trend carriers can't ignore.²

Equipment makers estimate heavy-equipment theft costs $300 million to $1 billion annually, and remote job sites are prime targets, so carriers increasingly require telematics or curfews before offering preferred inland marine pricing.³

Inflation compounds the issue: Marsh warns that builders' risk limits set before recent labor and material spikes can be inadequate, while 2025 construction cost surveys still show double-digit increases for electrical, structural steel, and mechanical components.^4,5

Because Hudson Valley contractors source copper, glass, and prefab components through downstate ports, we infer those national inflation and theft trends quickly ripple into local inland marine renewals, making annual value checks essential.⁶

Cheaper Premiums

• Install geofencing & asset trackers: Firms using GPS-enabled geofences have prevented multi-million-dollar equipment thefts, and underwriters reward that transparency.¹
• Leverage remote immobilization: Telematics suites like Bobcat Machine IQ add curfews, geofences, and remote disable features, reducing loss severity and satisfying carrier security criteria.²
• Keep serialized inventories current: Detailed check-out logs, photos, and serial numbers deter insider theft and accelerate claims handling, which can secure better deductibles.³
• Trend values before renewal: Following Marsh's guidance to re-benchmark replacement costs and soft expenses helps you avoid coinsurance penalties and pays premiums on accurate schedules only.⁴
• Segment schedules strategically: Using carrier options that separate high-value equipment from blanket tool limits ensures you only pay for the exposures you actually have while preserving automatic acquisition and rental reimbursement benefits.⁵

What We Do

We partner with top carriers to keep premiums competitive without sacrificing coverage and review schedules with you to verify values and clarify coverage gaps so your property is always protected. Packaging inland marine with your personal or commercial policy may also unlock multi-policy discounts that lower your total cost.