Inland Marine &
Tools & Equipment Insurance.
Your truck is covered. Your liability is covered. But the tools and equipment that actually make your business run — the chainsaws, the mowers, the pumps, the meters, the gear in your trailer — those aren't covered by either one. Inland marine is what covers them.
What Inland Marine Insurance Covers
Coverage that follows your equipment — wherever the work takes it.
Inland marine insurance — also called tools and equipment coverage — protects the physical assets your business uses to do its work. Tools, machinery, equipment, and specialized gear are covered against theft, damage, and loss whether they're at your shop, in transit, or on a job site. The name "inland marine" is historical — it evolved from marine cargo coverage — but what it does for modern businesses is simple: it covers property that moves.
Commercial property insurance covers what's at your fixed business location. Commercial auto covers your vehicles. General liability covers damage you cause to others. None of those cover your own tools and equipment while they're being used or transported for work. That's the gap inland marine fills — and for any business that depends on physical equipment to generate revenue, it's a critical one.
"If your equipment was stolen from a job site or a trailer overnight, could you keep working tomorrow? Inland marine is what makes the answer yes — instead of no."
Inland marine policies can be written as a blanket policy covering all equipment up to a set value, or as a scheduled policy listing specific items with individual values. Scheduled policies provide clearer coverage on high-value items — blanket policies are simpler to manage for businesses with a lot of smaller tools. We walk through both and recommend the right fit for your operation.
What inland marine / tools & equipment coverage pays for:
Theft from job sites
Equipment stolen from an active job site, an unattended work area, or left on a client's property overnight
Theft from vehicles & trailers
Tools and equipment stolen out of your truck, van, or trailer — one of the most common claims for field-based businesses
Damage in transit
Equipment damaged while being transported between your shop and job sites, or while being loaded or unloaded
Accidental damage on the job
Equipment that's dropped, broken, or damaged accidentally during normal use at a job site or work location
Fire, vandalism & weather
Equipment damaged by fire, vandalism, or weather events while stored, in transit, or on a job site
Equipment at your location
Tools and equipment stored at your shop or yard — coverage that bridges the gap when commercial property limits fall short for equipment
Why Your Other Policies Don't Cover It
GL, commercial auto, and commercial property each leave your equipment exposed.
Most business owners assume their existing coverage handles their tools and equipment. It doesn't — or it covers far less than they think. Here's exactly where each policy falls short.
General Liability
GL covers damage you cause to other people's property — not damage to your own. If your chainsaw is stolen from a job site or your drill is damaged in a fall, that's your loss. GL won't pay for it. GL is third-party coverage; inland marine is first-party coverage for your own assets.
Commercial Auto
Commercial auto covers your vehicle — the truck or van itself. It does not cover the contents inside it. Tools, equipment, and materials stored in your vehicle are not covered under commercial auto when they're stolen or damaged. Your trailer may be covered as a scheduled vehicle, but the contents of the trailer are not.
Commercial Property
Commercial property covers assets at your fixed business location — your shop, office, or yard. Once your equipment leaves that location for a job site, it's no longer covered by commercial property. The moment your tools are in the truck headed to the job, commercial property stops applying and nothing else picks up without inland marine.
The gap in plain terms: Your GL, auto, and property policies each have a specific job — and none of them cover your own tools and equipment while they're being used or transported for work. Inland marine is specifically designed for that exposure. Without it, every theft, transit loss, or job-site damage is an out-of-pocket cost.
Who Needs Inland Marine Coverage
Any business where equipment leaves the building to do the work.
If your business uses physical tools or equipment on job sites, in the field, or at client locations — and replacing that equipment would affect your ability to operate — inland marine coverage belongs in your program.
Landscaping & Lawn Care
Mowers, trimmers, blowers, irrigation equipment, trailers — theft from job sites and overnight trailer break-ins are among the most common claims in this industry.
Tree Service
Chainsaws, climbing gear, rigging hardware, stump grinders, and chippers are expensive and prime targets for theft. Equipment left on job sites or in trailers overnight is consistently at risk.
Contractors & Trades
Power tools, hand tools, laser levels, generators, compressors — contractors carry significant equipment value to every job site. Theft and damage are daily exposures.
Pool & Spa Contractors
Pumps, vacuums, test equipment, chemical dispensing systems, and service tools all qualify. Both builders on job sites and service techs on routes carry equipment that needs protection.
HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical
Specialized tools and diagnostic equipment for the mechanical trades can represent tens of thousands of dollars in value — often carried in vehicles left in neighborhoods overnight.
Cleaning & Janitorial
Commercial cleaning equipment — extractors, floor buffers, pressure washers — is valuable, portable, and frequently left in vehicles or at client locations between visits.
Photography & Media
Cameras, lenses, lighting equipment, and production gear are high-value, portable, and frequently transported between locations — a classic inland marine exposure.
Any Field-Based Business
If your team takes equipment to client locations, job sites, or project locations — and losing it would cost you money and time — inland marine is the coverage that protects it.
Real Scenarios
What inland marine actually protects you from — and what it costs when you don't have it.
These are the situations that happen regularly to field-based businesses. Without inland marine, every one of them is an out-of-pocket loss.
Your trailer is broken into overnight
You park your equipment trailer at a job site or at home and wake up to find the lock cut and thousands of dollars in tools missing. Your commercial auto covered the trailer itself — but not what was inside. Your GL covers damage to others — not your own property. Without inland marine, you're replacing every stolen tool out of pocket before you can finish the job.
A chainsaw is stolen from an active job site
Mid-job, while your crew is working in the backyard, someone walks off with a chainsaw from the front of the property. It happens in minutes. The chainsaw isn't in a vehicle and it's not at your shop — it's on a client's property being used for a job. Neither your auto policy nor your commercial property covers it. Inland marine does.
A piece of equipment is damaged in transit
A compressor or generator shifts during transport and is damaged before you arrive at the job site. Commercial auto covers the vehicle — not the cargo. Inland marine covers equipment damaged in transit, which is one of the most common loss events for contractors who haul heavy equipment regularly.
Specialized tools are dropped and destroyed
An expensive diagnostic tool, a specialized measuring device, or a high-end piece of trade equipment is dropped from height or hit during a job and destroyed. Accidental damage during work is a covered cause of loss under most inland marine policies — something that neither GL nor commercial property addresses.
Equipment left at a job site is vandalized
You leave equipment staged at a multi-day job site and return in the morning to find it vandalized. It's not at your business location, so commercial property doesn't apply. It's not stolen — but vandalism damage is still a covered cause of loss under inland marine and it still costs money to repair or replace.
You can't work while waiting to replace stolen gear
The financial loss from a theft or equipment loss isn't just the replacement cost — it's also the jobs you can't complete while you're waiting to replace the equipment. Some inland marine policies include rental reimbursement or expediting expenses to help you get back to work faster. That coverage detail is worth discussing when we set up your policy.
Why Get Your Inland Marine Coverage Through McKnight
The right policy matches how your equipment actually moves through the world.
Inland marine isn't one-size-fits-all. A landscaper hauling mowers and trimmers in a trailer has different coverage needs than an electrical contractor with a van full of specialized tools, or a pool service tech running a route of residential properties. The coverage structure — blanket vs. scheduled, the per-item limits, what causes of loss are included — needs to match your actual operation.
We look at what equipment you own, how much it's worth, how it's transported, and where it's at risk. We also make sure the limits actually reflect replacement cost — not depreciated value. A policy that pays out $1,200 on a $3,500 chainsaw that's two years old isn't adequate coverage, it's a gap dressed up as coverage.
For businesses with high-value individual items — specialty equipment, expensive diagnostic tools, or a specific piece of machinery — we make sure those are scheduled specifically so there's no dispute about value at claim time. For businesses with lots of smaller tools, a blanket approach may be simpler and equally effective. We walk through both and recommend the right fit.
Coverage structured for your operation
Blanket or scheduled, we match the policy structure to how your equipment actually moves and where it's at risk.
One account manager for your full program
Your inland marine sits alongside your GL, auto, and workers' comp — one person sees the complete picture and closes the gaps.
100+ carriers
We shop the market for the right inland marine program for your industry, equipment type, and coverage needs.
Real answers when you call
817.277.6166, weekdays 8:30–5pm. Questions about coverage structure or a theft that just happened — we pick up.
FAQ
Inland marine & tools coverage questions we hear all the time.
Get Started
Let's make sure the equipment your business depends on is actually covered.
Call us or request a quote. We'll review your equipment, identify the right coverage structure, and make sure your tools are protected wherever the work takes them.
McKnight Insurance Services · Mansfield, TX · Same-day certificates · Weekdays 8:30am–5pm