Although the origins of Inland Marine Insurance have roots back to the times when the main way of moving goods throughout the United States was by rivers, canals and even the oceans.
About Inland Marine Insurance
Inland Marine Insurance covers these cargos from total loss, damage or theft while traveling to its destination. As roads and railroads replaced waterways as the primary way to move goods, the Inland Marine Insurance form kept its name, but it added to goods shipped by boats, it now covers goods that ship by rail and trucks.
Many times small and medium-sized businesses skip this coverage as the policy is an Inland Marine insurance and owners feel that this cover is useless coverage as their business has nothing to do with boats. Without this coverage, products they ship and are lost, damaged or stolen in transit are often limited to the carriers provided per pound insurance – creating a financial loss for the company. Sometimes, it can cause a great enough loss that a company is bankrupt with it.
What is Covered By Inland Marine Policies
Modern Inland Marine Insurance Policies cover many things and comes in four major kinds of policies. Covered by these policies are:
- Property being transported
- Building under construction (also unknown as builder’s risk insurance)
- Heavy construction equipment
- Computer equipment and data
Inland Marine Insurance is also a form used to protect a business with expensive or unique property situation such as:
- Bailee’s Coverage (for property of others accepted for cleaning, repairing, etc.)
- Furriers Block
- Jewelers Block
- Equipment Dealers
- Camera and Musical Instruments
- Fine Arts
- Exhibition Floater
If your business is a service and does not transport goods or products, you don’t need it, right? Wrong! Suppose you are an accountant or financial advisor who sees clients in their homes and offices. You work from your home and your business is kept on an expensive computer. Between appointments you stop for lunch, you left your computer in the car and during lunch someone stole it. Most general business property insurance limits or excludes the protection offered for lost data. Inland Marine Insurance often offers the best solution.
Contractors who own heavy earth moving equipment use Inland Marine Insurance to protect it while on a job site and on the way to the site.
Bailee’s coverage is important for any business that repairs, does other work on customer’s property such as a jeweler, or cleans other’s property benefit from marine insurance
These are only a few examples of how versatile Marine Inland Insurance is for businesses of all kinds. Speak with your insurance advisor to discover if and how this property coverage can work for you – even if your business has nothing to do with boats or water.
