Florida Inland Marine Insurance — Tools, Equipment, Installation Floaters and Cargo
Despite the name, inland marine has nothing to do with boats. It is the insurance category for portable, mobile, or in-transit property — contractor tools and equipment, builder’s materials in transit, customer property in your care, fine art, scheduled jewelry, and cargo in motion. If a Florida BOP or commercial property policy stops at the building walls, inland marine picks up everything you take outside.
- Contractor tools and equipment (CTE)
- Installation floaters for in-progress work
- Customer property in your care (CCC)
- Cargo, transit, jewelers block, fine art
Inland Marine Quote in 60 Seconds
$1K–$10M+
Scheduled values
Blanket
Or itemized
Worldwide
Transit available
25+
IM markets
What inland marine actually covers
Inland marine is one of the broader and more flexible categories in commercial insurance. The original idea came from ocean cargo policies that extended coverage once cargo went “inland” by truck or rail — and the category has expanded to cover almost any movable property exposure. For Florida contractors, jewelers, art dealers, and businesses with high-value mobile equipment, it is often the most important policy they own.
Contractors Tools and Equipment (CTE)
Power tools, hand tools, ladders, generators, compressors, welders, scaffolding. Covered at your job sites, in your trucks, in your shop, and in transit. We write CTE on both scheduled (each item listed) and blanket (single overall limit) bases.
Installation Floater
Building materials that are not yet installed but are on the job site, in your truck, or in temporary storage. Covers fire, theft, vandalism, wind, and water damage to materials you are about to install. Critical for contractors handling expensive customer materials.
Mobile Equipment / Contractors Equipment
Larger equipment — skid steers, backhoes, lifts, generators, mobile cranes, attachments. Often scheduled with specific values; written for owned, leased, or rented equipment.
Coverage details that matter
Customer Property (Bailees)
Covers property your customers have left in your care — jewelry being repaired, electronics being serviced, art being framed, vehicles being detailed. Standard GL excludes this; bailees coverage is the right tool.
Fine Art and Scheduled Items
High-value art collections, antiques, jewelry, watches, rare books, musical instruments. Scheduled at appraised values with no theft sub-limit. Worldwide coverage available for traveling collections.
Motor Truck Cargo
For trucking operations: the freight being hauled, owned or for-hire. Required by most shippers under bills of lading. We write owner-operators through large fleet operations.
Florida contractors lose more to truck-tool theft than to job-site theft
According to NICB data, Florida ranks in the top five states nationally for contractor tool theft. The most common loss pattern is overnight theft from a parked truck or van — sometimes the entire vehicle, sometimes just the tools through smashed windows. A solid CTE policy with a $25K–$100K blanket limit pays the replacement cost of all stolen tools, often without requiring itemized lists for losses under $5K. We write CTE for thousands of Florida contractor trucks.
- Florida top-5 in contractor tool theft
- Blanket limits of $10K–$100K most common
- Replacement cost on most policies
- Per-occurrence vs. aggregate structures matter — we explain
Jewelry, art, and collectibles — schedule them properly
Standard homeowners and BOP policies sublimit jewelry, watches, fine art, and collectibles. A $20K Rolex on an unendorsed homeowners policy might be paid at $2,500 after theft (or denied entirely). For Florida high-net-worth households and jewelry/art businesses, scheduled inland marine policies pay agreed value with no theft sub-limit, worldwide, with no deductible on most carriers. The premium is small relative to the protection.
- Schedule jewelry over $1,500 per item
- Fine art scheduled at appraised value
- Worldwide coverage including travel
- Mysterious disappearance covered (most policies)
Frequently asked questions
How is inland marine different from commercial property?
Commercial property is fixed to a building or location. Inland marine is for property that moves, sits in transit, or sits in the care of someone other than the owner. Most businesses with mobile equipment, tools, or customer-care exposure need both — commercial property at the location and inland marine for the moving pieces.
How much does inland marine cost in Florida?
Contractors tools and equipment runs about $250–$800 per year for a $25K–$50K blanket limit on a single-truck operation. Larger equipment schedules ($500K+) scale with item values and theft exposure. Scheduled jewelry typically runs about $1.50 to $2 per $100 of value annually.
Should I list each item or use a blanket limit?
Both have a place. Blanket is simpler and covers anything within the category up to the limit (good for general tool inventories). Scheduled is required for high-value individual items (a $30K piece of equipment, a $50K watch, a $100K painting) so the insurer knows the value before the claim and pays without depreciation argument.
Is theft from my truck covered?
Yes — that is one of the core reasons to buy CTE. The truck itself is covered by your commercial auto policy. The tools inside the truck are covered by your inland marine policy.
Does my BOP already cover my tools?
Most BOPs include a small “tools off-premises” sublimit (often $5K–$10K). For real contractor operations that is grossly inadequate — we typically add a separate $25K–$100K CTE policy that costs only a few hundred dollars more annually.
What about leased or rented equipment?
Leased and rented equipment can be added to most CTE/contractor equipment policies. The rental company often requires you to provide proof of insurance before they release the equipment — we issue same-day certificates listing the rental company as additional insured.
Do you write jewelers and pawn brokers?
Yes. Jewelers Block and pawn broker policies are specific inland marine products that cover inventory, customer property in care, and in-transit shipments. Florida has a very active jewelry and pre-owned watch market and we write coverage for jewelers and pawn brokers throughout the state.
Florida inland marine for tools, equipment, and high-value items
Tell us what needs covering — tools, equipment schedules, jewelry, art, customer property. We will shop the inland marine markets and email you a tailored quote.