Tools and equipment insurance — also called inland marine or contractor’s equipment coverage — covers the physical loss or damage of your tools and gear wherever they go: the jobsite, your vehicle, or temporary storage. We place this coverage for contractors, trades, and field service businesses across all 50 states.
A plumber’s van gets broken into overnight and $8,000 of tools are gone. An electrician’s power tools are ruined when a jobsite floods. A landscaping crew leaves equipment on site and it’s stolen over the weekend.
In all three cases, standard commercial property insurance won’t respond. Property policies cover equipment at your fixed business address — they don’t follow your tools to the jobsite, into your vehicle, or into temporary storage.
That gap is exactly what tool and equipment insurance closes.
$8,000
in tools gone after a single overnight van break-in
$15,000+
typical replacement cost of a fully loaded trade van
100+
carrier portals we submit across to place your coverage
Not sure what your equipment is worth? Talk to our team and we’ll help you scope the coverage.
What We Cover
Tools and equipment coverage follows your property. It responds when your gear is damaged, stolen, or destroyed at a jobsite, in transit, in a vehicle, or in temporary storage. Covered causes of loss typically include theft, fire and smoke, vandalism, accidental damage in transport, weather events on open-peril forms, and collision while in transit.
Hand & power tools
Blanket limitWhat it pays for
Drills, saws, nailers, grinders, and the everyday tools carried in your vehicle
Common example
A packed tool bag stolen from a locked van overnight
Heavy equipment
ScheduledWhat it pays for
Excavators, skid steers, compactors, and high-value machinery listed individually
Common example
A skid steer damaged when a trailer overturns in transit
Leased & rented equipment
Where includedWhat it pays for
Equipment you rent or lease for a project, on forms that extend to it
Common example
A rented lift destroyed by fire at the jobsite
Employee-owned tools
On some formsWhat it pays for
Tools your crew owns and uses for business purposes
Common example
A foreman’s personal tools taken from a company truck
Materials & supplies
In transit / on-siteWhat it pays for
Materials and supplies while being transported or staged on-site
Common example
Copper pipe stolen from a staging area before install
The insurance industry calls this coverage "inland marine" for historical reasons — a category built specifically for property in transit or temporarily off-premises. Inland marine insurance explained covers the background in full. It's the same policy structure whether your broker calls it tool insurance, an equipment floater, or contractor's equipment coverage.
How Coverage Is Structured
Tool and equipment coverage looks simple, but a few structural decisions determine what you actually get back at claim time.
High-value machinery is typically scheduled individually for precise coverage, while smaller tools sit under a single blanket limit. Most contractors use a mix of both.
ACV depreciates older tools — a five-year-old drill worth $400 might pay out $150. Replacement cost pays what it actually costs to replace the item. The premium difference is usually modest and worth paying.
Named-peril forms cover only the causes of loss they list. Open-peril forms cover everything except stated exclusions — broader protection, and what we recommend for most trades.
Who It Is For
Any business that moves tools or equipment between locations carries the exposure. That’s most trades and field service businesses.
General contractors
Managing multiple subcontractors and jobsites means high-value equipment spread across locations at any given time.
Electricians, plumbers, and HVAC contractors
Daily vehicle loads of tools represent thousands of dollars of exposure on every service call.
Roofers and structural trades
Heavy equipment, scaffolding, and specialty tools carry high replacement costs in a hazardous jobsite environment.
Landscapers and groundskeepers
Mowers, blowers, and trailers left at sites overnight are a consistent theft target.
Cleaning and restoration contractors
Specialized equipment used at client premises is typically not covered by a standard commercial property policy.
Independent tradespeople
Solo operators often underestimate their tool inventory until it’s stolen. A loaded trade van can easily exceed $15,000 in replacement cost.
For a full coverage overview built around the trades, see our construction and contractors industry page.
These exposures fall outside a tools and equipment policy and need separate coverage.
Third-party injury or property damage
What you need instead
General liability coverage
Employee injuries on site
What you need instead
Workers compensation
Tools at your fixed premises
What you need instead
Commercial property coverage
Business vehicles in an accident
What you need instead
Commercial auto policy
Lost income after a covered loss
What you need instead
Business interruption coverage
Mechanical breakdown or wear and tear
What you need instead
Equipment breakdown policy
The structure being built
What you need instead
Builder’s risk insurance
Fine Print
Three exclusions account for most of the surprises contractors hit at claim time.
Wear and tear
Gradual deterioration, mechanical breakdown, and maintenance issues are excluded from every standard policy. Only sudden, unexpected physical loss or damage is covered.
Unattended vehicles
Many forms exclude theft from an unattended, unlocked vehicle, or require tools to be in a locked compartment. If your crew leaves tools in open truck beds overnight, confirm your form covers it.
Your own liability
Tools and equipment coverage pays for your gear. It does not pay for what your gear does to someone else’s property or person.
If your equipment damages a client’s property or injures a third party, that’s a general liability claim, not a tools and equipment claim.
Pricing
Tool and equipment insurance is one of the most affordable business policies. Small contractors typically pay around $14 per month — roughly $170 per year — for coverage on tools valued under $10,000. Premium scales with the value of equipment insured, generally 1.5% to 12% of total insured value annually.
Total insured value
How it affects premium
The primary driver; premium scales with the replacement cost of equipment
Deductible
How it affects premium
A higher deductible reduces premium significantly
Trade type
How it affects premium
Higher-theft or higher-damage trades pay more
Replacement cost vs. ACV
How it affects premium
Replacement cost coverage costs more but pays more at claim time
Storage and security
How it affects premium
Locked storage, GPS tracking, and alarm systems can lower rates
Claims history
How it affects premium
Prior equipment theft or loss claims affect renewal pricing
Scheduled vs. blanket coverage
How it affects premium
Scheduling high-value items individually gives more precise coverage
For context: a contractor with $50,000 in equipment might pay $125 to $200 per month; one with $10,000 in tools might pay $15 to $30. The only accurate figure is a quote for your specific inventory.
Tool and equipment coverage looks simple on paper. In practice, the form matters — policies differ on whether theft from an unattended vehicle is covered, whether rented equipment is included, whether the form is named-peril or open-peril, and whether high-value items need to be individually scheduled. Most contractors don’t find out about these differences until they file a claim.
Service: Certificates of insurance are delivered in under two minutes, any time of day. Claims go to a real person who knows your file.
We read the form against how your business actually operates, so the coverage matches your real exposure instead of a generic template.
Theft from a locked vehicle, rented equipment, open-peril versus named-peril — we confirm the form covers the scenarios your crew actually runs into.
We find the carriers with appetite for your trade and equipment profile and bring back the best form at the right price.
A roofing contractor with $80,000 of heavy equipment needing scheduled, replacement-cost, open-peril coverage; a plumbing company needing tools in locked vehicles explicitly covered after a prior break-in claim — we confirm the form covers it before binding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tell us about your tools, equipment, and how your crew operates, and we’ll come back with real carrier options for your trade.
GET STARTED
Protect the Tools Your Business Runs On
Whether you’re insuring a van full of hand tools or scheduling $80,000 of heavy equipment, we can place coverage that follows your gear wherever the job takes it.