About $48 a month
Inland marine, all small businesses
Insureon median for its small-business customers, updated May 2026
Coverage guide
Inland marine insurance for tools and equipment
For contractors and other businesses whose tools, equipment or materials travel to jobsites: what an equipment floater covers, what it leaves out, typical premiums and what equipment rental agreements ask for.
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What similar businesses pay
- Inland marine, all small businesses
- About $48 a month
- Inland marine for contractors
- About $42 a month ($502 a year)
- Inland marine, small trades
- About $26 a month
Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.
Cost
What inland marine insurance for tools and equipment costs
About $42 a month ($502 a year)
Inland marine for contractors
Insureon median for contractor customers, updated August 10, 2026
About $26 a month
Inland marine, small trades
Simply Business customer median, policies bought July–December 2025
Insureon’s small-business customers paid a median of about $48 a month, with annual premiums from around $150 to over $4,500, and its contractor customers paid about $42 a month. Simply Business reports a lower median of $26 a month, ranging by trade from $27 for electrical, HVAC and plumbing contractors to $37 for general contractors and carpenters and $43 for landscaping and excavation. A trade contractor insuring hand and power tools should expect the low end; a business scheduling excavators, skid steers or other heavy equipment will pay more because the insured values are far higher.
What moves your price
- The total value insured and whether items over $2,500 are scheduled individually.
- The type of equipment and how it is valued, replacement cost or actual cash value.
- Your trade: Simply Business reports $43 a month for landscaping and excavation versus $27 for plumbers.
- Open perils or named perils form.
- Location, including local tool theft and severe weather.
- Deductible and prior equipment claims.
- How often items travel and where they are stored overnight.
Who it’s for
Who needs inland marine insurance for tools and equipment
Tools are stolen from a truck or jobsite
Commercial property insurance only covers property at the location listed on the policy, Insureon notes, so tools in a van or on a site usually fall outside it. Inland marine is a floater: the coverage goes where the tools go, including theft, vandalism and fire.
You rent a machine and it is damaged or stolen
Rental terms often put the risk on you. Herc Rentals’ supplemental terms make the customer solely responsible for loss or damage from any cause while on rent, up to the equipment’s full value. Inland marine can cover rented, leased or borrowed equipment.
Materials are lost before they are installed
Insureon’s example is copper wire awaiting installation on a construction site. An installation floater covers materials and appliances being transported, stored or installed at a jobsite until the work is done.
Customer property in your care is damaged
General liability excludes property in your care, custody or control. Bailee coverage, a form of inland marine, protects customer items entrusted to your business, from laptops at a repair shop to items handled by a cleaning crew.
Equipment is damaged in transit
Insureon notes that property in transit over land is typically excluded from commercial property insurance. Inland marine covers equipment while it is hauled between your shop, storage and jobsites.
Coverage
What inland marine insurance for tools and equipment covers
Tools and equipment floater
Covers mobile tools and equipment at jobsites, in transit and in storage. Insureon describes miscellaneous tools coverage for items valued under $2,500 and scheduled equipment coverage for items over that amount.
Contractor’s equipment
The Hartford describes contractor’s equipment coverage for loaders, backhoes, excavators and skid steers, plus power and hand tools, against damage or loss at a jobsite, in transit or in temporary storage.
Rented, leased or borrowed equipment
Contractor’s equipment policies may cover equipment you rent, lease or borrow under a written agreement, helping with the contractual responsibility rental companies place on you.
Employee tools
The Hartford’s form can include employee-owned tools and work clothing, subject to policy limits, which matters when workers bring their own gear.
Installation floater
Covers materials and appliances being transported, stored or installed at a jobsite, such as copper wire awaiting installation, until the job is complete.
Bailee coverage
Covers property owned by customers but entrusted to your business, such as customer laptops at a computer repair shop.
Covered causes of loss
Insureon says tools and equipment insurance typically covers fire, vandalism, theft and hail. The Hartford adds accidental damage and certain weather events, depending on policy terms.
What it doesn’t cover
- Normal wear and tear.
- Equipment breakdown.
- Earthquakes and floods.
- Vehicles, which need commercial auto with physical damage coverage.
- Spoilage.
- War or civil unrest.
- Causes of loss not listed, if you buy a named perils policy.
Rules
Requirements and filings
No law requires inland marine coverage, but equipment rental agreements routinely make you responsible for the full value of what you rent and ask for property insurance proof before the equipment leaves the yard. These are examples of the terms you will see.
| Requirement | Applies to | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Herc Rentals supplemental rental terms (Sourcewell contract file, December 2025) | Business customers renting Herc equipment | Property insurance for the full replacement cost of the equipment against all risks, covering owned and non-owned equipment in your care, custody and control, with Herc named as additional loss payee. |
| Herc Rentals: property insurance or Rental Protection Plan | Customers renting equipment not licensed for road use | Must either name Herc as loss payee on property insurance or buy Herc’s Rental Protection Plan, which the terms state is not insurance. |
| Atlas Copco Rental US general terms (revised June 27, 2023) | Customers renting Atlas Copco Rental equipment | Insure the equipment for at least its retail replacement value and provide a certificate naming Atlas Copco Rental LLC as loss payee and additional insured at the time of rental. |
| Atlas Copco Rental: no certificate at rental | Customers who do not provide equipment insurance proof | The customer is charged for the Reduced Risk of Equipment Loss Option on the rental invoices. |
Compare inland marine insurance for tools and equipment options.
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Pay less
How to lower the cost
- Schedule only high-value items and insure smaller tools under a blanket miscellaneous tools limit.
- Keep an inventory with serial numbers, photos and receipts so claims settle on documented values.
- Lock tools in the vehicle or a jobsite box and store heavy equipment in a secured yard overnight.
- Choose a higher deductible if you can replace small hand tools yourself.
- Before you rent, compare the rental company’s damage waiver fee against adding rented equipment to your own policy.
- Compare named perils and open perils quotes; Insureon notes a named perils policy usually costs less because its coverage is narrower.
Before you start
What underwriters ask for
- A list of tools and equipment with descriptions, serial numbers and values
- Any single items worth more than $2,500
- Whether values are new replacement cost or current market value
- Where equipment is stored overnight and how it is secured
- Equipment you rent or borrow, and for how long each year
- Employee-owned tools you want covered
- Materials you install and the largest value on one jobsite
- Equipment and property claims from the past five years
Common questions
Inland marine insurance for tools and equipment: questions
Why is it called inland marine?
Insureon explains that it is an offshoot of ocean marine insurance, which protects property transported over water; marine insurance came first, so coverage for land transportation became inland marine.
Does commercial property insurance cover my tools?
Only at the location listed on the policy. Insureon and The Hartford both note that commercial property covers equipment at a fixed business location, while inland marine covers it at jobsites, in transit and in temporary storage.
Does a business owner’s policy cover tools at a jobsite?
Insureon describes a BOP as general liability bundled with commercial property, and commercial property only covers business property at the location listed on the policy. Tools and equipment that travel to jobsites need inland marine coverage.
Does inland marine cover rented equipment?
It can. The Hartford says contractor’s equipment coverage may apply to rented, leased or borrowed equipment under a written agreement. Confirm the policy has a rented equipment limit large enough for what you rent.
Does it cover my truck or trailer?
No. Insureon lists vehicles among the exclusions; physical damage to business vehicles belongs on a commercial auto policy.
Is a rental company’s protection plan the same as insurance?
No. Herc Rentals’ terms say its Rental Protection Plan is not insurance, and customers who decline it must carry the property insurance the terms require. An independent broker that compares options from several insurers can check which is cheaper for how often you rent.
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Sources (8)
- Insureon: inland marine insurance (updated May 13, 2026)
- Insureon: inland marine insurance cost (updated May 21, 2026)
- Insureon: tools and equipment insurance cost (updated May 27, 2026)
- Insureon: contractor insurance cost (updated August 10, 2026)
- Simply Business: inland marine insurance cost (updated August 25, 2026)
- The Hartford: contractor’s equipment insurance
- Herc Rentals: supplemental terms and conditions for rental of equipment (Sourcewell, December 2025)
- Atlas Copco Rental: US general terms and conditions (revised June 27, 2023)
Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated October 2026.