Inland Marine Insurance: What It Covers, How to Get It
Inland marine insurance covers your business’s materials or equipment while they’re in transit or stored off-site.
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Inland marine insurance is property insurance that covers materials and equipment while they’re in transit or stored off-site. For instance, it can protect your tools while they're on a construction site or your inventory while it's in a warehouse. It also covers certain specialized items that traditional business property insurance won’t cover.
Despite the word “marine,” this coverage has nothing to do with waterways. Inland marine insurance only protects property that is transported over land or stored on land. You'll need a different type of coverage to protect property you ship via air or sea.
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Best inland marine insurance companies
Many insurance companies sell inland marine insurance. However, you’ll probably have to work with an agent to get coverage since online business insurance providers don’t typically sell inland marine insurance policies.
If you already have commercial property insurance, general liability insurance or a business owner's policy — or BOP — start by asking your carrier if it offers inland marine coverage as an endorsement or separate policy. Here are some of our top options.
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Travelers
Travelers offers insurance policies for highly specialized industries, including inland marine insurance for museums and fine art collectors and for businesses that transport or store medical equipment. You can buy Travelers insurance through an independent agent in your region. Read NerdWallet’s review of Travelers business insurance.
Chubb
Chubb sells inland marine insurance designed for a variety of specific industries, like civil engineering firms. You can also buy inland marine insurance for property your business is leasing or financing. Chubb insurance is available through independent agents nationwide. Read NerdWallet’s review of Chubb business insurance.
Ergo Next
Ergo Next is an online business insurance company. It sells "tools and equipment insurance," which covers your materials in transit. It lacks some of the broader coverages provided by inland marine insurance, though, like protection for specialized items. Construction and cleaning businesses can buy a policy online in just a few minutes. Read NerdWallet's review of Ergo Next business insurance.
Do you need inland marine insurance?
If you regularly transport property or store it away from your business location, inland marine coverage probably should be part of your business insurance package.
These types of businesses should consider inland marine coverage:
- Contractors and freelancers who travel between job sites.
- Construction businesses.
- Food truck vendors and caterers.
- Business owners who attend trade shows, exhibitions and conventions.
- Businesses that ship raw materials or finished goods over land.
- Businesses that have specialized types of property, such as veterinarians who transport animals or art dealers who store artists’ work.
Inland marine insurance vs. business property insurance
You probably already have a commercial property insurance policy. Commercial property insurance covers buildings themselves as well as business personal property, which includes assets stored at a stationary business location.
However, say you’re moving inventory between two business locations. If the truck bed malfunctions and your inventory falls out and gets damaged, standard commercial property insurance may not provide coverage. You'd need inland marine insurance for that.
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What does inland marine insurance cover?
In general, inland marine insurance covers the following:
- Property in transit: This is property that you move over land from one location to another.
- Property stored off-site: This includes property that you keep at a warehouse or storage facility.
- Property on movable vehicles: For example, an inland marine policy would cover the cooking equipment and raw ingredients that are stored in a food truck.
- Property that provides the means of transportation: Inland marine insurance can cover businesses that own bridges, roads or communication towers.
Inland marine policies can also provide custom coverage for specialized property. For example:
- Art dealers and galleries need to store art that belongs to other people.
- Veterinarians might need to transport live animals to a clinic.
- Vending machine owners store machines long term on other people’s property.
The name of your inland marine policy might differ based on exactly which risks you’re insuring against and what type of business you have. For example, inland marine insurance is called “bailee’s customer insurance” in instances where you are transporting a customer’s property. Builder’s risk insurance covers construction tools and machinery kept at job sites and storage yards.
What doesn't inland marine insurance cover?
Normally, inland marine insurance does not cover:
- Stationary property: This is covered by standard commercial property insurance.
- Vehicles: To cover vehicles you use for business purposes, you need to purchase commercial auto insurance. However, inland marine insurance can protect the contents inside your vehicle.
- Earthquake and flood damage: Businesses in earthquake or flood zones should purchase separate commercial flood insurance or commercial earthquake insurance.
- Property transported by sea or air: You would need ocean marine insurance or air cargo insurance, respectively.
- Property damaged before shipment: Inland marine insurance typically only covers damage or loss that occurs in transit.
Be sure to review your policy for other exclusions, too.
How much does inland marine insurance cost?
The cost of inland marine insurance can vary significantly depending on the type of property that you’re insuring.
These factors can affect the cost of inland marine insurance:
- Business size.
- Type of business and property insured.
- Coverage limits.
- How often, how far and in what conditions the property is transported.
All-risks policies cover a variety of types of damage. These are usually more expensive than named perils policies, which cover only the types of damage that are specifically mentioned in the policy.
The best way to estimate the cost of your inland marine insurance is to get quotes from multiple insurance providers and compare them.
How much coverage do you need?
You can’t necessarily predict the size of a future loss accurately. Instead, start by evaluating the value of your insured property.
For instance, if you’re a contractor who leaves 10 pieces of equipment valued at $10,000 each at a storage yard, you would want inland marine coverage to compensate you up to $100,000. If only half of those items are in storage at any given time, $50,000 in coverage might be enough.
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