Your general liability policy does not cover your own tools, machines, or materials — and your standard property policy only covers property at a fixed address. The coverage that follows your gear from the yard to the truck to the jobsite is inland marine, and for a contractor it shows up as three pieces: a contractors' equipment floater (owned and rented machines), small-tools / blanket-tools coverage, and an installation floater (materials you've bought but not yet installed). Cost is driven mostly by the total insured value of the gear you schedule, the theft exposure, and your loss history — a small trade contractor often pays a few hundred to a couple thousand a year, while a heavy civil or utility contractor with millions in equipment pays proportionally more.
Ask a contractor what their general liability covers and many will say "everything on the job." It doesn't. GL responds when you injure someone or damage their property. It has no obligation to your own skid steer, your compressor, your laser level, or the switchgear sitting in a Conex box waiting to be installed. Commercial property insures property at the described premises — your shop, your yard — and stops caring the moment that property rolls onto a truck. Inland marine is the line built for property that moves, which is most of what a contractor owns.
That's why "does my GL cover stolen tools?" is one of the most expensive questions in the trades. The answer is no — and the contractors who learn it after an overnight trailer theft usually learn it the hard way.
This covers your owned and rented mobile equipment — excavators, skid steers, bucket trucks, trenchers, directional-drill rigs, compressors, generators, trailers. Larger units are usually scheduled item-by-item on a valued or actual-cash-value basis; smaller equipment can be covered on a blanket basis. It follows the machine wherever it works, and it typically responds to theft, fire, collision, overturn, vandalism, and similar physical loss.
Hand tools, power tools, and the loose gear that never appears on an equipment schedule are covered under a blanket sub-limit — a per-item cap and a per-occurrence cap. This is the coverage that answers the "tools stolen from a locked truck overnight" claim that GL and commercial auto will not pay.
An installation floater covers materials and equipment you've bought for a project — HVAC units, switchgear, cabinetry, fixtures, conduit, pipe — while in transit, in temporary storage, and on site up until they're installed and accepted. Those materials aren't your equipment, and they aren't the owner's property yet, so both the equipment floater and the owner's builders risk can leave a gap. Installing trades — electrical, mechanical, plumbing, low-voltage, utility — frequently need one, especially when they front large material buys.
Inland marine is rated primarily on the total insured value of what you schedule, times a rate that reflects the equipment type, its theft appeal, your deductible, and your loss history. As a rough illustration:
| Contractor profile | Typical insured values | Illustrative annual range |
|---|---|---|
| Small trade (hand + power tools, light gear) | $25,000–$75,000 | a few hundred to ~$2,000 |
| Mid-size trade (trucks, trailers, mid equipment) | $150,000–$500,000 | ~$2,000–$8,000 |
| Heavy civil / utility (rigs, excavators, fleet) | $1M–$10M+ | tens of thousands+ |
These ranges are illustrative to show the mechanics, not a quote. Your real number depends on the exact equipment schedule, the carrier's rate and appetite, your deductible, and how well theft is controlled on your jobs. New, high-theft, and easily-resold gear (compressors, generators, small skid steers, copper-heavy material) rates higher than fixed, hard-to-move equipment.
When you rent a machine, the rental contract almost always makes you responsible for damage, theft, and often loss-of-use rental charges while it's in your care. Many contractors assume "the rental house has it insured." They don't insure it for you — they'll bill you. A contractors' equipment floater can cover rented and leased units, but only up to the limit and terms the policy actually specifies. Check your rented-equipment sub-limit before you sign the rental agreement, not after a stolen mini-excavator turns into an invoice.
Builders risk covers a structure under construction and the materials that will become part of it, usually arranged per project and often carried by the owner or general contractor. Inland marine covers the contractor's own movable property and the materials the contractor is installing before they're built in. The two overlap at the edges — and that overlap is exactly where a covered-or-not dispute happens after a loss. On any sizable project it's worth having one agent read the builders risk, the installation floater, and the equipment floater together so nothing important falls between them.
See also our guides to general liability cost for Southeast trades and cyber liability for Southeast contractors — the other pieces most contractors underinsure.
Bettr Coverage builds the whole contractor stack — equipment floater, tools, installation floater, GL, workers' comp, commercial auto, and bonds — as one program, so the coverage lines up and the gaps don't show up at claim time. One agency, the full picture.
Get a free coverage reviewNo. GL covers injury or damage you cause others. Your own tools, machines, and materials are covered by inland marine — an equipment floater and tools coverage — which is separate from GL and from workers' comp.
It's rated on the total insured value of your scheduled gear, times a rate for equipment type, theft exposure, and loss history. A small trade contractor often pays a few hundred to a couple thousand a year; heavy civil and utility contractors pay proportionally more.
Coverage for materials and equipment you've bought for a project — in transit, in storage, and on site until installed and accepted. It fills the gap between your equipment floater and the owner's builders risk.
Only if your floater is written to include it, and up to its rented-equipment sub-limit. Rental contracts usually make you responsible for damage, theft, and loss-of-use charges — check the limit before you sign.
Yes — that's a core inland marine loss, subject to your per-item and per-occurrence sub-limits and deductible. GL and commercial auto won't pay for your own stolen tools.
Builders risk covers the structure under construction; inland marine covers your movable equipment and the materials you're installing before they become part of the building. They overlap at the edges — have one agent read them together.
For general information only. Not a quote or contract of insurance. Premium ranges are illustrative and vary by carrier, equipment schedule, insured values, deductible, valuation basis, theft controls, and loss history. Inland marine, general liability, workers' compensation, commercial auto, and builders risk are separate coverages. Coverage subject to policy terms and carrier appetite. Serving Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama.