The five lines every general contractor actually needs
GL, builders risk, workers' comp, commercial auto and inland marine. What each one does, what each one doesn't, and where buyers most often get caught out.
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Cover · Inland marine
Inland marine & specialty property.
Property that moves, projects under construction, customer property in your custody and freight in transit — the cover that standard property forms don't reach.
What it is
Inland marine is the category of cover for property that moves, sits off-premises, or belongs to others in your custody. It includes contractor's equipment, builder's risk, motor truck cargo, bailee's coverage and fine-art transit — written on dedicated forms with specialty carriers.
When you need it
The triggers
we hear most.
You have tools, equipment or materials that travel between sites.
Standard commercial property covers assets at a fixed location. Anything that moves — contractor's equipment, tools, mobile equipment, materials in transit — needs inland marine, which covers property in motion or off-premises.
You're a contractor with project materials and stored stock.
Builder's risk (a form of inland marine) covers projects under construction, including the structure, materials on site and in transit. It's the cover that fills the gap between project start and when the owner's property policy picks up.
You hold property belonging to others — bailees, repairers, processors.
If customer property sits in your custody — jewellery being repaired, fine art being framed, computers being serviced — bailee's cover (an inland marine form) is what responds when something is lost or damaged.
You ship goods or hold cargo for others.
Motor truck cargo (for carriers) and shipper's interest (for owners) both sit in inland marine. Standard property and auto don't reach freight in transit — the cargo cover does.
What it covers
Inside the
policy.
Contractor's equipment
Tools, mobile equipment, generators, scaffolding and other property that travels with the crew — on site, in transit and stored off-premises.
Builder's risk
Cover for projects under construction — the structure being built, materials on site and materials in transit — until the owner's property cover takes over.
Bailee's coverage
Liability for property belonging to others in your custody — repairers, processors, dry cleaners, fine-art framers and similar bailees.
Cargo and shipper's interest
Motor truck cargo for carriers transporting freight, plus shipper's interest for owners shipping their own goods.
What it doesn't
Where buyers
get caught out.
Property at your fixed location
Building, contents and stock at a permanent location sit with commercial property, not inland marine.
Wear and tear / mechanical breakdown
Inland marine covers sudden, accidental loss. Wear, gradual deterioration and mechanical breakdown are excluded — though some forms add equipment-breakdown sub-coverage.
Property in storage long-term
Long-term off-premises storage may need a different form — warehouse legal liability or a stock-throughput policy — rather than transit-focused inland marine.
Who buys it
Industries we
place this for.
Construction & contractors
Contractor's equipment and builder's risk — for tools, mobile equipment and projects under construction.
See the pageTrucking & logistics
Motor truck cargo for freight in your custody — with cargo forms matched to how you load and stop.
See the pageManufacturing
Goods in transit, machinery and equipment moving between facilities — sized to actual movement.
See the pageArchitects & engineers
Builder's risk and project-data forms — for the property aspects of design-build and integrated delivery.
See the pageReal estate & property
Builder's risk for renovations and improvements — and bailee cover for property held during the project.
See the page Why Nomos
How we place
this line.
Right form for the asset
Inland marine is a category, not a policy — contractor's equipment, builder's risk, bailee, cargo and fine arts are all distinct forms. We pick the form that actually responds to your operation.
Schedules that hold up at claim
Inland marine claims hinge on schedule accuracy. We pressure-test your equipment schedule and SOV every renewal so a missing item doesn't become a denied claim.
Markets that want mobile risk
Many carriers won't write mobile or off-premises property at all. We work with the specialty inland marine markets — including E&S for harder placements — that actually want this risk.
From field notes
What we're writing
on this.
Get a quote
The right form
for the asset.
Tell us about the property and how it moves or where it sits. We'll pick the inland-marine form that actually responds and shop the specialty markets that want this risk.
Form chosen to match the asset
Schedules pressure-tested every renewal
Specialty and E&S markets for harder placements
Cargo and builder's risk handled cleanly