Many businesses think that standard commercial property insurance is good enough for their business until the time cargo theft or collision leads to the loss of their specialized high-valued assets and properties in moving. In that scenario, your commercial property insurance doesn’t offer coverage and your insurer probably asks you if you have inland marine insurance. And you start wondering what inland marine insurance is. We don’t want you to go through these bad scenarios and want you to understand when you need to protect your assets and properties through inland marine insurance. So, let’s get started and know everything about this business insurance in the USA.

What is Inland Marine Insurance?

This business insurance provides coverage for business property if loss happens while it’s stored on another site than your business location or when it is in transit. This insurance provides coverage to high-value assets, which are otherwise not fully protected through standard property insurance.

How to Protect Your Business Through Inland Marine Insurance?

It’s good to have standard commercial property insurance as it provides protection for the tangible assets stored at your business location and coverage extends up to 1000 feet away from your business location. Now if your assets or property is in transit between your business sites, then you won’t get coverage for their loss.

In this case, you need Inland Marine Insurance that provides coverage for property:

• In transit over land between business locations
• That is kept off-site in a facility or warehouse
• Stored in a moving vehicle
• That is part of the infrastructure
• With high value stored at some location.

This insurance doesn’t provide coverage for

• Your business vehicle
• Loss due to earthquakes and floods
• Property damage happened before the shipment
• Property you ship by air or sea

Who needs inland marine insurance?

Not every small business needs inland marine insurance but some specific companies can protect their properties through its coverage.

You need to get this insurance when you:

• Store property at a third-party location
• Ship property by land frequently
• Ship high-value property or assets from time to time
• Store your property in a constantly oving business vehicle.

Marine Insurance vs Inland Marine Insurance

You may confuse marine insurance with Inland marine insurance while both terms are different. Inland marine insurance provides coverage for properties transported over the land while marine insurance offers coverage against physical loss or damage happening over cargo, ships, terminals or any other type of transport via property transferred.

Does your business Need Inland Marine Insurance?

As we made it clear, not every business needs this kind of insurance. Generally, when you have a Commercial Package Policy or Business Owner Policy, you can get sufficient coverage from them; especially when a loss happens at your specific business location.

You need an inland marine insurance policy in the USA when you ship high-value property or material frequently. Your basic insurance policy won’t provide coverage for any loss that happens to specialized high-value business assets, so you need to protect them via an Inland policy.

This insurance policy protects different kinds of business properties and assets, such as

• Construction, contracting equipment
• Scientific equipment
• Medical tools
• Photography tools and equipment

Inland Marine Insurance is a good option for your business when your property is stored at a third-party location. In other situations, when someone’s property is stored at your location, you can get its coverage.

Special kinds of inland marine insurance coverage are as follows:

Bailee’s Customer Coverage

When your client leaves some properties in your possession to take care of, such as in your repair shop or warehouse, you can get this specific coverage.

Protects clients’ property that is left in the care of your business; e.g., if you operate a warehouse or repair shop.

Builder’s Risk

It’s another kind of inland marine insurance that provides coverage for all materials and structures used during a building renovation or construction project.

Exhibition and Fine Art Coverage

When you are planning an exhibition and want to keep valuable items fully protected during transit, when on exhibit or loan, then you need to ask for this specific coverage.

Installation Floater

You need an installation floater when you want to protect material from the time you load it onto the truck until they are finally used or installed.

Motor Truck Cargo Coverage

If you are transporting a client’s goods through a motor truck, you need this specific inland marine insurance. It will protect all the client’s items in transit.

Wrap up

Finally, you understand what inland marine insurance is, and what’s covered and not covered by this policy. If you still don’t know whether you need this insurance to fill the gap in your commercial property insurance then it’s time to consult with Matrix insurance and get answers to all the questions and queries you have. We help your business to protect the most valuable properties. Call us now at (706) 310-0000