Tools and equipment insurance.

Tools in the van are generally not covered by the auto policy. Commercial auto insures the vehicle and the driving, and it usually stops at the loose gear inside. If the van is emptied overnight outside a tech’s house, the auto claim covers the cut lock and the door, and the drills and press tools are a tools and equipment claim. That is why the two policies are placed to meet at the van door. What changes the answer is whether a piece of equipment is permanently attached to the vehicle, because a mounted crane or rack is treated as part of the van rather than as a tool.

You do not have to list every tool. The policy splits gear into two groups: big items scheduled by name and serial number, and everything else under one blanket amount for small tools. A plumbing shop might schedule the sewer camera, the jetter, and the press tool kit, then carry a blanket limit for hand tools, drills, and cords. The blanket has a per item cap, so anything worth more than that cap belongs on the schedule. What changes the answer is the value of a single item, so we walk the inventory with you and move the expensive pieces onto the list.

Rented equipment can be covered, but it is not automatic. Most tools and equipment policies offer rented and borrowed equipment as an added coverage with its own limit, and the rental contract usually makes you responsible for the machine from pickup to return. If you rent an excavator for a week and it comes back with a damaged boom, that coverage answers for the yard’s bill. Without it, the bill is yours. What changes the answer is the rental contract itself, since some yards sell their own damage waiver, so we check the contract against the policy before the pickup.

Your employees’ own tools can be covered if the policy says so. Employee tools coverage is an option that pays for a tech’s personal gear when it is stolen or damaged while being used for your work, up to a separate limit. When the van is emptied and half the drills belonged to the tech, that option is what replaces them instead of the tech’s own pocket or a fight over whose loss it was. Many shops add it because it keeps good techs. What changes the answer is whether you chose the option and set a limit, because it is not in the base policy.

It pays new for old when the policy is written at replacement cost. Replacement cost pays what it takes to buy the same tool new today. Actual cash value pays that amount minus depreciation, so a used drill pays like a used drill. After a van theft, that is the difference between restocking the van and buying back half of it. Most carriers will write tools at replacement cost, and it is usually worth the small added premium. What changes the answer is the age and type of the gear, because some older or specialty equipment is only offered at actual cash value.

Inland marine is the policy name for coverage on property that moves, and tools and equipment coverage is one kind of it. The name is a holdover from ocean cargo insurance that grew to cover goods on land. A contractor’s tools in the van, a rented excavator on site, and a jetter riding between jobs all sit on an inland marine form because property coverage stops at the shop walls. When a quote says inland marine, this page is what it means. What changes the answer is what else the form carries, since installation floaters and builders risk are inland marine too and are placed separately.