Tool theft
Tool theft is the most common loss contractors file. What inland marine covers, the overnight vehicle exclusion, and scheduled versus blanket.
Construction sites are targeted because the property is portable, valuable, and often unattended. A loaded truck or a locked gang box is worth more than most people assume, and it is gone in minutes.
The coverage problem is that general liability never pays for your own tools. It pays other people for damage you cause. Tools need inland marine, and many contractors discover this after the first theft rather than before.
This is the single most common reason a tools claim is denied, and it is worth understanding before you buy rather than after.
Many inland marine forms exclude theft from a vehicle that was unlocked, or that was left unattended overnight. Contractors who leave tools in the truck because it is convenient are, in effect, uninsured for the most likely loss they will have. The wording differs between carriers, which means it is a question worth asking directly rather than assuming.
One limit covers everything. Fast to set up and easy to maintain, and the right answer for a large number of ordinary tools. The weakness is that after a loss you have to prove what you owned and what it was worth, which is exactly when records are hardest to produce.
Each significant item is listed at an agreed value. Slower to set up, and the better answer for expensive equipment, because the value is settled before the loss rather than argued about after it.
Most contractors do both: schedule the items where a value dispute would hurt, and blanket everything else. Photograph the contents of your truck and keep a list. It costs nothing and it is the difference between a paid claim and a negotiation.
No. General liability pays other people for injury or damage you cause. Your tools are your own property, so they need inland marine coverage. This is the most common coverage gap in construction.
Usually, if the policy covers theft from a vehicle and the truck was locked and not left unattended overnight. Many forms exclude exactly that scenario, so ask before you buy rather than after a theft.
Scheduled means each item is listed at an agreed value, which settles the value before a loss. Blanket means one limit covers everything, which is faster to set up but requires you to prove values after a loss.
Keeping them separate is usually better. A large tools claim on the same policy as your liability can affect the pricing of the coverage your contracts depend on. Separating them protects your liability pricing.
Tell us your trade, the value of your tools and how you store them overnight.
