The 7 Best Inland Marine Insurance Companies of 2020

Best Overall: The Hartford

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The Hartford offers unrivaled scope, coverage, and terms through its broad spectrum of inland marine policies and is best overall in our review.

Modern inland marine insurance is a loose categorization of many different types of policies, and The Hartford offers just about all of them. The provider groups its inland marine coverage into five categories: construction, technology, transportation, equipment, and miscellaneous inland marine, which includes items from collectibles to vending machines. Within each category, you’ll find highly specific policies that target industries at a micro level. Just to name a few: renewable energy companies, vending machine operators, and musical instrument collections all get their own inland marine policy with The Hartford.

As a well-known business insurance provider, The Hartford offers its clients 24/7 customer phone service and easy online claims. The company didn’t fare well in the 2019 J.D. Power U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study, but it does hold solid A+ ratings from both AM Best and the Better Business Bureau.

Although The Hartford’s robust inland marine policies can be purchased on their own, you can also choose inland marine coverage as an add-on to certain policies such as a business owner policy. You can also create a custom policy by combining inland marine coverage with business property insurance, workers’ compensation, commercial auto coverage, and more. Pricing for business policies through The Hartford depends on company size and type of coverage, but the average monthly premium for basic general liability coverage is around $42. Adding inland marine coverage will increase this based on the total value of the property you want to insure.

Unfortunately, The Hartford doesn’t advertise inland marine policies for certain small businesses that commonly need them, such as food trucks. Policies are better geared toward established small businesses with at least a few employees all the way up to larger companies.

Best Bailee Insurance: Great American Insurance Group

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If you regularly have customers’ property in your possession, Great American Insurance Group provides the most comprehensive policy options to protect you from being held liable if they are damaged or stolen. For this reason, Great American was picked as best bailee insurance in this review.

Bailee’s customers’ insurance, or simply bailee insurance, is a crucial type of inland marine insurance for any type of business that takes temporary possession of customers’ property. A few common examples are dry cleaners, valets, storage units, and electronics repair shops. This type of policy protects you from financial responsibility if a customer’s belongings are damaged or stolen while in your care, a liability that is excluded from your commercial property insurance policy.

While many commercial insurers offer bailee insurance as optional riders to other policies, Great American Insurance Group stands out with both standalone and combined coverage. The provider offers two different types of bailee insurance: Bailee Legal Liability Coverage, which applies to B2B companies, and Bailees’ Customer Coverage for businesses that offer retail and consumer services.

Each policy covers a long list of perils not included in all comparable policies from competitors, such as property that can’t be returned due to misidentification and property that must be moved to a third-party location in an emergency. One thing to note is that floods and earthquakes aren’t automatically included as named perils and must be added separately. If for some reason your specific need isn’t covered under Great American Insurance Group’s bailee policy, the provider’s inland marine miscellaneous floater probably will.

Great American Insurance Group is a longstanding insurance company that has been in business for nearly 150 years and currently holds an A+ (Superior) financial stability rating from AM Best. The provider has a dedicated property and inland marine division staffed with 30 experts. Policies are available in all 50 U.S. states and Canada.

Best for Contractors: Chubb

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Through every step of the building process, Chubb policies offer the most complete coverage for structures, equipment, and tools, and Chubb ranks as our top pick for contractors in need of inland marine protection.

We know the term “contractor” is a wide umbrella that covers general contractors, tradesmen, major construction firms, and everyone in between. But each of them can benefit from inland marine insurance, and they’ll all find it with Chubb. In fact, Chubb first opened its doors in the late 18th century as an issuer of marine insurance policies and later became one of the first to offer what we now call inland marine insurance during the California Gold Rush.

Chubb’s inland marine policies cover a variety of different needs for contractors. Builder’s risk insurance is available for both residential and commercial contractors as well as small single-location builders, designed to protect structures as they are being built or renovated. An additional policy is available for contractors’ tools, which covers owned equipment, leased equipment, and employees’ personal tools. For major infrastructure projects, Chubb offers engineered risk insurance to protect against property damage and lost revenue due to human error or catastrophic events. All customized inland marine policies include basic risk management services with their premiums.

In terms of industry ratings, Chubb does better than most competitors across the board. The company holds the topmost A++ financial stability rating from AM Best and took third place in the 2019 J.D. Power U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study. Chubb is currently the largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer in the world.

Best for Accounts Receivable: Nationwide

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Selected as best for accounts receivable in our review, Nationwide’s inland marine policies cover a broad range of perils to help you protect your cash flow and grow your business faster.

Accounts receivable coverage is a perfect example of how inland marine insurance has evolved throughout the years. This type of policy covers losses typically caused by damage to accounts receivable records. While accounts receivable insurance is a fairly common type of coverage for businesses to carry, many people don’t know that it technically falls within the inland marine family.

Nationwide offers an inclusive accounts receivable policy that covers not just damaged records, but also additional named perils like unexpected cancellation of import/export permits or contracts and refusal of clients to accept goods. This coverage is offered as part of a top-rated lineup of business insurance products, which is good news since this particular insurer won’t allow you to purchase an accounts receivable policy on its own. Nationwide typically offers accounts receivable as optional coverage that can be added to a business owner policy.

Unfortunately, Nationwide falls a bit short in failing to include accounts receivable coverage in its online quote tool. Most businesses can get an instant quote through the Nationwide website for basic types of coverage, but you’ll have to call to get pricing information on accounts receivable. You should also know that Nationwide business insurance is only available in the continental United States.

Best for Jewelry: Jewelers Mutual

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Jewelers Mutual’s policies provide more thorough coverage than homeowners insurance riders and commercial property insurance, which is why the company's inland marine protection is best for jewelry.

Businesses aren’t the only inland marine insurance customers. Individuals also take out these types of policies, albeit frequently without realizing it. Jewelry is a great demonstration of this; since most homeowners insurance policies don’t cover fine jewelry, many homeowners have to purchase an inland marine policy to make sure their high-value pieces are protected.

Jewelers Mutual is a dedicated jewelry insurer that underwrites both individual and business inland marine policies for jewelry. Individual customers can get instant quotes online by simply providing the type of jewelry, replacement value, and location. The company estimates that coverage costs approximately 1% to 2% of the piece’s value each year. When we asked for a quote on a $10,000 ring, we were given prices between $10 and $14 per month with deductibles that started at $0 and went up to $5,000. Note that you’ll need to get an appraisal before your quote is finalized.

Businesses can also take advantage of an impressive range of jewelry insurance options through Jewelers Mutual. These include policies for jewelers and pawn shops, shipping coverage, and customer care plans. Unfortunately, online tools are limited for business customers. Coverage can only be obtained through an agent and there’s no online claims process.  

Jewelers Mutual is an established insurance underwriter that has been around since 1913. The company has earned an A+ financial stability rating from AM Best and is trusted by major carriers such as Geico as an official jewelry insurance partner.

Best for Photographers: Allstate

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Allstate has the best understanding of photographers’ unique insurance needs, including inland marine coverage for transporting equipment, making Allstate our top inland marine insurance pick for photographers.

Photographers are among the professionals who often travel with their equipment, and an inland marine policy can help make sure their business assets are protected. Allstate’s policies for photographers include inland marine combined with additional types of coverage to make sure there are never any gaps. Equipment including cameras, lenses, computers, lighting kits, and more are all covered under the policy, and inland marine coverage ensures that protection is extended wherever your next shoot takes you.

Allstate’s policies for photographers are incredibly affordable. For a home-based photography business with $50,000 in equipment to insure, we were quoted under $30 per month for the entire business owner policy. That includes general liability and commercial property in addition to inland marine elements such as accounts receivable and property off-premises. The only drawback is that coverage isn’t as customizable as some competitors allow. In our quote, we were only given three different coverage levels to choose from without the option to change the amount of coverage on specific line items.

Allstate is a well-established insurer mainly known for its home and auto policies. The company has been around for nearly 90 years and currently holds an A+ rating from AM Best. Allstate is frequently recognized for its online tools and was awarded second place for service in the 2020 J.D. Power U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study.

Best for Food Trucks: Food Liability Insurance Program

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Food trucks need highly specified insurance policies that combine inland marine coverage with traditional food service coverage. The Food Liability Insurance Program is the leading industry expert in these policies and our choice as best for food trucks.

Food trucks are booming in popularity; just between 2018 and 2019, the total industry grew by 20% from $800 million to $950 million in the United States. But food trucks are unique businesses to insure as their assets don’t remain in the same location. An inland marine insurance policy is needed to protect the contents of a food truck as it operates throughout various locations. The Food Liability Insurance Program offers specialized food truck insurance policies that include inland marine coverage as a core component.

The Food Liability Insurance Program’s policies include two options for inland marine coverage: $5,000 per item and $10,000 per policy year or $10,000 per item and $50,000 per policy year. Each has a $250 deductible per claim. Premiums start at $25 per month, although our policy price doubled when we chose the higher inland marine limit option. Annual payments must be made upfront, and the company doesn’t offer refunds if you cancel before the end of the term.

Although the Food Liability Insurance Program was created somewhat recently in 2012, policies are underwritten by Great American Insurance Group, a well-established insurer that appears as its own contender on this list. Great American Insurance Group has been in business since the mid-19th century and has an A+ financial stability rating from AM Best.