What is an equipment floater (inland marine), and do roofers need one?

An equipment floater is a type of inland marine insurance that protects your portable business property — tools, ladders, scaffolding, generators, compressors, nailers, and similar gear — wherever it travels. The coverage "floats" with the equipment from one jobsite to the next and while it is in transit or in temporary storage, which is exactly why it suits a roofing crew that rarely keeps its gear in one place. Most roofers who own meaningful equipment, or who finance or lease it, do need one.

Standard commercial property insurance generally covers items at a fixed business address, so it leaves a gap once your tools leave the shop. The Insurance Risk Management Institute defines inland marine coverage as "property insurance for property in transit over land, certain types of movable property that may not remain at a fixed location" — precisely the exposure a roofing contractor carries every working day. As Procore puts it, "An equipment floater provides insurance protection for movable business property that gets damaged or stolen."

What an equipment floater covers

A floater typically responds to common jobsite perils — fire, theft, vandalism, and weather-related damage — affecting equipment at the site, during transit, and at temporary storage locations. Covered items range from hand tools and power tools up to heavier gear like skid steers, forklifts, and conveyors. Many carriers also let you add coverage for leased or rented equipment to the same floater, per Zensurance, which notes that tools-and-equipment coverage "sometimes called inland marine insurance" is "designed to protect mobile equipment, machinery, and portable tools."

There are firm limits. A floater is not liability insurance — it does not pay for injury or property damage you cause to others; that is what a general liability policy handles. It also excludes licensed vehicles: Procore is explicit that "an equipment floater won't cover work trucks, vans or cars—even though they're considered business property and are movable." Your haul trucks and ladder trucks belong on a commercial auto policy instead.

Why lenders and lessors may require one

If you finance or lease your machinery, the coverage often stops being optional. When equipment is financed, the lender holds a security interest in the asset, so Lewis Capital states that "the lender has to be named as a loss payee—that's non-negotiable," and that "the insurance needs to cover the full insurable value of the equipment, not just the equity of the borrower." Naming the lender as loss payee means a covered total loss pays down your balance directly. Rental houses apply the same logic: Zensurance notes equipment rental companies "will want to see your certificate of insurance that lists them as a loss payee" while their gear is in your care. If you are financing gear, see our note on insurance requirements for equipment financing and how it ties into equipment financing.

What it costs

Pricing tracks the value of what you insure and how exposed it is. According to FO Agency, "an inland marine policy usually starts at $750 in premium," with insurers charging "roughly 4% on the value of miscellaneous tools and equipment and 1% on the value of scheduled tools and equipment." Scheduling high-value items individually generally earns the lower rate. Other factors that move premium include your total insured values, deductible, location, and claims history. For a roofing outfit deciding whether the coverage is worth it, weigh the replacement cost of a stolen trailer of tools against a premium that often starts in the mid-three figures.

Sources

• Procore — Equipment Floater Insurance
• IRMI — Inland Marine Coverage definition
• Zensurance — Insurance for leased equipment
• Lewis Capital — Equipment finance insurance
• FO Agency — Cost of inland marine insurance for contractors