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What is inland marine insurance used for?

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Direct answer

Inland marine is the classification used for movable property, property in transit, and a set of transportation and communication structures such as bridges, tunnels, pipelines and outdoor cranes [1]. The name is a regulatory category rather than a description of coverage: the NAIC Nationwide Inland Marine Definition (Model MO-701) groups the eligible classes as imports, exports, domestic shipments, instrumentalities of transportation and communication, personal property floater risk, and commercial property floater risks, and says on its face that it does not list every risk that may be written and does not make those risks solely marine in all instances [1]. The California Department of Insurance describes inland marine as property insurance that primarily covers damage to or destruction of business property while in transport, and names accounts receivable, consignment, equipment floaters (contractors equipment), installation floaters, motor truck cargo, trip transit, and valuable papers coverage as among the most common types offered [8]. Classification is not coverage. The Inland Marine Underwriters Association, which maintains a standing committee on the Definition, states that the Definition's purpose is to categorize marine or inland marine insurance and does not purport to conclude what classifications are recognized as filed classifications, so the only way to know what a given policy covers is to read the form actually issued [2].

What this assumes

  • The question is about the United States commercial market, where inland marine is a regulatory classification used for reporting and rating rather than one standardized product.

  • This is general information as of 2026-08-31. It is not legal, tax, or claims advice, it is not a coverage determination, and it is not an eligibility verdict for any specific property, risk, or loss.

  • Ocean marine is a separate line and is outside the scope of this answer. The California Department of Insurance states that inland marine does not cover boating transportation, which is covered under ocean marine insurance [8].

  • What any particular policy covers comes from the form actually issued, not from the words inland marine on a proposal.

  • State adoption of the Nationwide Marine Definition varies, so the set of risks that can be classified as inland marine is not identical in every state [2].

Why this is the answer

Inland marine exists as a class because state insurance law needed a usable line between marine insurance and the other property classes. California's marine article says so directly. Section 2320.1 states that the article was adopted and promulgated by the Insurance Commissioner as a necessary means for the guidance of insurers and all others concerned in observing provisions of law relating to the insuring powers of admitted marine insurers, the California Standard Form Fire Insurance policy, rates and rating and other organizations, and taxation of insurers; to assist in determining whether certain business should be reported on insurers' annual statements as ocean marine insurance or otherwise; and for the assistance and guidance of all persons concerned in all other cases where it is necessary to distinguish between marine and other classes of insurance and between inland marine risks and other risks [4]. Every item on that list is about classifying, reporting, rating and taxing business. None of it is about what a policy pays. The nationwide answer to the same problem is NAIC Model MO-701, the Nationwide Inland Marine Definition, whose stated purpose is to describe the kinds of risks and coverages which may be classified or identified under state insurance laws as marine, inland marine or transportation insurance, while expressly saying that it does not include all such risks, that it shall not be construed to mean those risks are solely marine in all instances, and that it does not restrict any insuring powers granted under charters and license [1].

The history is worth knowing because it explains why the class is uneven across states. IMUA states that the first attempt at a countrywide marine definition was made in 1933, that the Definition has been revised twice since, in December 1953 and December 1976, and that the most recent revision was made in December 1976 [2]. The NAIC model's own Chronological Summary of Actions lists three entries, keyed to NAIC Proceedings rather than to calendar years: 1933 (adopted), 1953 (amended and reprinted), and 1977 (amended and reprinted) [1]. This library has not reconciled the December 1976 date with the 1977 Proceedings citation, and neither source draws a connection between them, so both are reported as each source states them. IMUA also states that it established a standing committee within the Association to monitor, on an industry wide basis, all matters affecting the Definition [2].

The structure of the Definition is the clearest explanation of what inland marine is for, because it is organized around movement rather than around buildings. Section 2 runs: imports, exports, domestic shipments, then bridges, tunnels and other instrumentalities of transportation and communication, then personal property floater risk covering individuals and generally, then commercial property floater risks covering property pertaining to a business, profession or occupation [1]. The instrumentalities group is concrete: bridges and tunnels, piers, wharves, docks, slips, dry docks and marine railways, pipelines, power transmission and telephone and telegraph lines, radio and television communication equipment including towers and antennae, and outdoor cranes and loading bridges used to load, unload and transport [1]. Section 3 then draws the same line from the other direction. Unless otherwise permitted, nothing in the Definition is to be construed to permit marine or transportation policies to cover four things: storage of the assured's merchandise except as provided; merchandise in course of manufacture on the manufacturer's own premises; furniture and fixtures and improvements and betterments to buildings; and monies or securities in safes and vaults except while in the course of transportation [1]. Those four are stationary, fixed-location exposures. California has its own prohibited-coverage section, section 2322, with six items rather than four: it adds merchandise in permanent location sold under a partial payment or installment sales contract, and fire, windstorm, sprinkler leakage, earthquake, hail, explosion, riot and civil commotion risks on buildings, structures, wharves and fixed real property [6].

The familiar class names map onto that framework, though not identically from state to state. The California Department of Insurance describes inland marine as a specialized type of property insurance that primarily covers damage to or destruction of business property while in transport, and names accounts receivable insurance, consignment insurance, equipment floaters (giving contractors equipment as the example), installation floaters, motor truck cargo insurance, trip transit insurance, and valuable papers and records insurance as among the most common types offered [8]. In MO-701 the commercial property floater list includes Builders Risks or Installation Risks covering the interest of owner, seller or contractor in machinery, equipment, building materials or supplies during installation, testing, building, renovating or repairing, and permits those policies to cover at the job site, in transit, and during temporary storage of property awaiting specific installation, subject to the section's own limitation that coverage shall be limited to Builders Risks or Installation Risks where perils in addition to Fire and Extended Coverage are to be insured [1]. It also includes Mobile Articles, Machinery and Equipment Floaters covering identified property of a mobile or floating nature that is not on sale or consignment and not in course of manufacture, a class that expressly excludes motor vehicles designed for highway use, auto homes, trailers and semi-trailers except when hauled by tractors not designed for highway use, and snow plows constructed exclusively for highway use [1]. Note that MO-701 never uses the phrase contractors equipment; the link between equipment floaters and contractors equipment comes from the California Department of Insurance guide, not from the model [1][8]. The list continues with property in transit to or from and in the custody of bailees not owned, controlled or operated by the bailor, with the policies not extending to the bailee's own property at the bailee's premises; fine arts policies for museums, galleries, universities, businesses and municipalities; and accounts receivable and valuable papers and records policies [1]. California's section 2321 covers much of the same ground but is organized differently: it has five top-level subdivisions, (a) imports through (e) personal property floater risks, with no separate commercial subdivision, and the installation risk, mobile articles, bailee, fine arts and accounts receivable items all sit inside subdivision (e)(2) [5]. Its bailee item names cleaners, laundries, dyers and needleworkers among others [5].

Why a premises-based property form is a poor fit for moving property is easiest to see in specific filed forms. Take two ISO forms from one carrier's commercial property package: Building And Personal Property Coverage Form CP 00 10 10 12 and Causes Of Loss - Special Form CP 10 30 09 17. On that edition of CP 00 10, business personal property is covered while in or on the described building, or in the open or in a vehicle within 100 feet of the building or structure, or within 100 feet of the described premises, whichever distance is greater [9]. Its Coverage Extensions apply only if a coinsurance percentage of 80 percent or more, or a Value Reporting period symbol, is shown in the Declarations, and its Property Off-Premises extension is capped at 10,000 dollars and does not apply to property in or on a vehicle, nor to property in the care of the insured's salespersons except at a fair, trade show or exhibition [9]. Its Property Not Covered list includes personal property while airborne or waterborne, and vehicles or self-propelled machines that are licensed for use on public roads or are operated principally away from the described premises, subject to four stated exceptions [9]. On that edition of CP 10 30, the Property In Transit extension reaches property in transit more than 100 feet from the premises in an owned, leased or operated motor vehicle, but responds only to a listed set of causes of loss and is capped at 5,000 dollars [9]. Read those figures as belonging to those two editions inside that one package and nowhere else. Editions, state exceptions, endorsements and carrier variations differ, and this library has not examined any other form. Read your own form.

The part that surprises people is that an inland marine policy is not always written on a filed standard form, and whether it is depends on the state. New York is the clearest published example. Its Department of Financial Services states that Insurance Law section 2310(b) exempts inland marine risks from the law's filing requirements if, by general custom of the business, the specific risks in question are not written according to manual rates and rating plans, unless the Superintendent directs that they be filed [7]. That guidance treats rates, loss costs and forms promulgated by Insurance Services Office for the various inland marine classes as constituting the general custom of the business, and it tells insurers that are uncertain about a classification to submit the matter for departmental review rather than assume inland marine treatment [7]. That is New York law and New York guidance; this library has not surveyed the other states, and does not assert a nationwide rule. The related and genuinely nationwide point comes from IMUA, which states that the Definition's purpose is to categorize marine or inland marine insurance and does not in any way purport to conclude what classifications are recognized as filed classifications [2].

So the honest summary is that the words inland marine tell you which regulatory bucket the premium is reported in, and roughly that the exposure has a transportation or mobility nexus. They do not tell you what is covered. The Definition itself says it should not be read to mean the listed risks are solely marine, inland marine or transportation insurance in all instances, and that it does not restrict insuring powers granted under charters and license [1]. Whether a particular crane, shipment or job site exposure belongs on an inland marine form, on a property form with endorsements, or on both is a placement and underwriting judgment for a licensed broker and the carrier, made against the actual forms and the actual schedule. Reading the form is the only way to know which one you have.

What changes the answer

  • Whether the property sits at a fixed described location or actually moves. On CP 00 10 10 12, business personal property is covered at the described building or within 100 feet of it or the described premises, whichever is greater; other forms and editions may say something different, so read your own form [9].

  • Which state's marine classification rules apply. IMUA states that a majority of states have adopted the 1976 Nationwide Marine Definition, some states still apply the 1953 Definition, and a few have adopted neither [2].

  • Whether the state treats the specific class as one where custom of the business uses manual rates. In New York, that question decides whether the wording must be filed at all [7].

  • Whether you own the property, rent or borrow it, or hold it as a bailee. MO-701 treats property in transit to and in the custody of bailees as its own class and states that those policies shall not cover the bailee's own property at the bailee's premises [1].

  • For builders risk and installation risk, whose insurable interest is being classified. Under MO-701, for the arrangement to sit in this class, coverage written for account of the owner is to cease upon completion and acceptance, and coverage written for account of a seller or contractor is to terminate when that interest ceases. California's section 2321 sets a comparable condition, adding that termination occurs in no case later than when the property has been accepted as satisfactory. These are conditions on classification, not adjudications of any issued policy [1][5].

  • Whether the exposure is ocean marine rather than inland marine. The California Department of Insurance states that inland marine does not cover boating transportation, which is covered under ocean marine insurance [8].

Where it varies by state, form, carrier, or fact

  • State adoption differs by version. IMUA states that the majority of states have adopted the 1976 Nationwide Marine Definition, that there are some states in which the 1953 Definition remains applicable, and that a few have adopted neither version [2].

  • IMUA's State Digest lists California under the 1953 Definition, citing Insurance Code section 103 [2]. California's marine article in title 10 of the Code of Regulations states that it is effective January 1, 1954 and supersedes the former sections 2320, 2321 and 2322 [3]. Treat the digest as a starting point rather than proof of any state's current law: it shows no publication or revision date, and it lists New York under the 1953 Definition while the New York Department of Financial Services describes New York as having adopted the 1976 definition with exceptions [2][7].

  • Even where a state's list looks familiar, the structure can differ. California's section 2321 has five top-level subdivisions and no separate commercial property floater subdivision, with the installation risk, mobile articles, bailee, fine arts and accounts receivable items placed inside the personal property floater subdivision at (e)(2), where MO-701 puts the equivalents in a separate group F [5][1].

  • States adopt with carve-outs rather than wholesale. New York adopted the 1976 definition with exceptions in four areas, Builders Risk and Installation Risks, Domestic Bulk Liquids, Difference in Conditions, and Electronic Data Processing, and the circular letter attaches substantive conditions to each rather than simply naming the classes [7].

  • The Definition governs classification eligibility, not policy language, and does not determine which classifications count as filed [1][2].

Next actions

  1. Build a written schedule of what actually moves before shopping anything: equipment by description, serial number and value; typical and maximum values at a single job site; largest single-shipment value; and the largest amount of other people's property in your custody at one time. Bring that schedule to a licensed broker.

  2. Pull your current commercial property declarations and read the Coverage Extensions section of the form named there. If your form is CP 00 10 10 12, note that its Coverage Extensions apply only when a coinsurance percentage of 80 percent or more, or a Value Reporting period symbol, is shown in the Declarations, and that its Property Off-Premises extension is capped at 10,000 dollars and excludes property in or on a vehicle [9]. If your form is a different edition, check whether it says the same thing.

  3. Ask any prospective carrier or broker for the form numbers and edition dates on the inland marine quote, and request the specimen wording. If you are in New York, ask whether the class is one the Department treats as filed, since section 2310(b) exempts some inland marine risks from filing [7]. In other states, ask the broker what that state's rule is.

  4. Compare quotes clause by clause rather than on premium. Look at the covered property definition, the covered perils, the valuation basis (actual cash value versus replacement cost), rented and borrowed equipment, employee tools, theft and unattended-vehicle conditions, and the coverage territory.

  5. Read the primary sources directly, both of which are free: NAIC Model MO-701 for the list of classes that may be classified as inland marine [1], and the California Department of Insurance Commercial Insurance Guide for a plain-language list of common commercial inland marine coverages [8].

Source ledger

9 sources. Every citation number above resolves to a record below. Nothing here sits behind an account.

  1. [1]
    NAIC Model MO-701, Nationwide Inland Marine Definition (NAIC Model Laws, Regulations, Guidelines and Other Resources)(opens the original record on National Association of Insurance Commissioners)
    National Association of Insurance CommissionersStandards bodyPrimaryJurisdiction USLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Amended rarely. The model's own Chronological Summary of Actions shows substantive actions only in the 1933, 1953 and 1977 NAIC Proceedings. The July 1996 date in the page header is the NAIC compilation and copyright date, not a substantive revision date.ID naic-model-701-nationwide-inland-marine-definition
    What this source supports (17)
    • The instrument is titled NATIONWIDE INLAND MARINE DEFINITION and is designated MO-701 in the NAIC Model Laws, Regulations, Guidelines and Other Resources compilation, with a July 1996 header and a 1996 NAIC copyright line.
    • The table of contents lists Section 1 Purpose, Section 2 Applicability, and Section 3 Exceptions.
    • Section 1 states that the purpose of the instrument is to describe the kinds of risks and coverages which may be classified or identified under state insurance laws as marine, inland marine or transportation insurance, but that it does not include all of the kinds of risks and coverages which may be written, classified or identified under those insuring powers.
    • Section 1 states that the instrument shall not be construed to mean that the kinds of risks and coverages are solely marine, inland marine or transportation insurance in all instances.
    • Section 1 states that the instrument shall not be construed to restrict or limit in any way the exercise of any insuring powers granted under charters and license.
    • Section 2 opens with the words that marine or transportation policies may cover under the following conditions, and organizes the conditions into six lettered groups: A. Imports, B. Exports, C. Domestic Shipments, D. Bridges, Tunnels and Other Instrumentalities of Transportation and Communication, E. Personal Property Floater Risk covering individuals and/or generally, and F. Commercial Property Floater Risks covering property pertaining to a business, profession or occupation.
    • Group D excludes buildings, their improvements and betterments, furniture and furnishings, fixed contents and supplies held in storage, and then lists six items: bridges, tunnels and other similar instrumentalities including auxiliary facilities and equipment; piers, wharves, docks, slips, dry docks and marine railways; pipelines, excluding property at manufacturing, producing, refining, converting, treating or conditioning plants; power transmission and telephone and telegraph lines, excluding property at generating, converting or transforming stations, substations and exchanges; radio and television communication equipment in use as such including towers and antennae; and outdoor cranes, loading bridges and similar equipment used to load, unload and transport.
    • Group E lists thirteen personal property floater items, including Personal Effects Floater Policies, the Personal Property Floater, Government Service Floaters, Personal Fur Floaters, Personal Jewelry Floaters, Wedding Present Floaters for not exceeding ninety days after the date of the wedding, Silverware Floaters, Fine Arts Floaters at E.8, Stamp and Coin Floaters, Musical Instrument Floaters, Mobile Articles Machinery and Equipment Floaters at E.11, Installment Sales and Leased Property Policies, and Live Animal Floaters.
    • Section 2.F.9 permits Builders Risks or Installation Risks covering the interest of owner, seller or contractor against loss or damage to machinery, equipment, building materials or supplies being used with and during the course of installation, testing, building, renovating or repairing, and permits the policies to cover at points or places where work is being performed, while in transit, and during temporary storage or deposit of property designated for and awaiting specific installation, building, renovating or repairing.
    • Section 2.F.9 further states that coverage shall be limited to Builders Risks or Installation Risks where perils in addition to Fire and Extended Coverage are to be insured.
    • Section 2.F.9 provides that if written for account of owner the coverage shall cease upon completion and acceptance, and that if written for account of a seller or contractor the coverage shall terminate when the interest of the seller or contractor ceases.
    • Section 2.F.10 permits Mobile Articles, Machinery and Equipment Floaters covering identified property of a mobile or floating nature, not on sale or consignment, or in course of manufacture, which has come into the custody or control of parties who intend to use the property for that for which it was manufactured or created. The item excludes motor vehicles designed for highway use, auto homes, trailers and semi-trailers except when hauled by tractors not designed for highway use, and snow plows constructed exclusively for highway use, and states that the policies shall not cover furniture and fixtures not customarily used away from premises where the property is usually kept.
    • Section 2.F.11 permits coverage of property in transit to or from and in the custody of bailees not owned, controlled or operated by the bailor, and states that the policies shall not cover the bailee's property at his or her premises.
    • Section 2.F.15 permits Accounts Receivable Policies and Valuable Papers and Records Policies. Section 2.F.18 permits Fine Arts Policies covering paintings, etchings, pictures, tapestries, art glass windows and other bona fide works of art of rarity, historical value or artistic merit, for account of museums, galleries, universities, businesses, municipalities and other similar interests. Section 2.F.21 permits Domestic Bulk Liquids Policies, Section 2.F.22 permits Difference in Conditions Coverage excluding fire and extended coverage perils, and Section 2.F.23 permits Electronic Data Processing policies.
    • Section 3 (Exceptions) provides that unless otherwise permitted, nothing in the foregoing shall be construed to permit marine or transportation policies to cover four things: A. storage of the assured's merchandise, except as hereinbefore provided; B. merchandise in course of manufacture, the property of and on the premises of the manufacturer; C. furniture and fixtures and improvements and betterments to buildings; and D. monies or securities in safes, vaults, safety deposit vaults, bank or assured's premises, except while in the course of transportation.
    • The document's Chronological Summary of Actions lists three entries: 1933 Proceedings pages 121-127 (adopted); 1953 Proceedings II pages 555-560 and 561-572 (amended and reprinted); and 1977 Proceedings I pages 26, 28, 666 and 667-671 (amended and reprinted).
    • The words contractors equipment, motor truck cargo, trip transit and job site do not appear anywhere in the document. The only occurrences of the word contractors and the word cranes are in Garment Contractors Floaters at Section 2.F.13 and outdoor cranes at Section 2.D.6.

    Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31. The URL returns a live 161 KB PDF. WebFetch could not read the compressed streams, so the file was downloaded and its FlateDecode streams inflated locally, and the extracted text read directly. Every claim above was matched against that extracted text. Two claims that appeared in an earlier draft of this bundle were removed because the document does not contain them: that Section 2.F.10 is the classification bucket contractors equipment falls into (an industry inference, not text in the model), and a rendering of group E as Personal Property Floater Risks rather than the actual heading Personal Property Floater Risk covering individuals and/or generally. The Section 2.F.9 limitation sentence and the Section 2.F.10 exclusions were added because omitting them overstated the breadth of those classes. Published: 1996-07-01

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  2. [2]
    Nationwide Marine Definition(opens the original record on Inland Marine Underwriters Association (IMUA))
    Inland Marine Underwriters Association (IMUA)Standards bodyPrimaryJurisdiction USLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Maintained by IMUA's standing committee on the Definition. No publication or revision date is shown on the page, so the State Digest may lag a state's current law.ID imua-nationwide-marine-definition
    What this source supports (8)
    • The page states that the first attempt to set forth a Countrywide Marine Definition was made in 1933, when the then National Convention of Insurance Commissioners adopted a resolution.
    • The page states that since that time the Definition has been revised on two different occasions, the first revision coming in December 1953 and the most recent revision being made in December 1976.
    • The page states that the majority of states have adopted the 1976 Nationwide Marine Definition, although there are some states wherein the 1953 Definition remains applicable and a few which have not adopted either version.
    • The page states that the Definition's purpose is to categorize Marine or Inland Marine insurance and does not in any way purport to conclude what classifications are recognized as filed classifications.
    • The page states that the Inland Marine Underwriters Association established a standing committee within the Association whose function and responsibility is to monitor, on an industry wide basis, all matters that affect or are otherwise related to the Definition.
    • The page carries a State Digest of Applicable Nationwide Marine Definition listing each jurisdiction, the applicable Definition year, and a statutory citation. The California entry reads California, 1953, Ins. Code section 103. The New York entry reads New York, 1953, Ins. Law section 46 (20).
    • The State Digest shows that adoptions carry state-specific modifications, with entries and notes covering jurisdictions including Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico.
    • The page shows no publication date and no last-updated date.

    Re-fetched twice on 2026-08-31, once for the narrative sentences and once specifically for the State Digest entries. All claims above came back in the page text. Important limitation carried into the prose: the State Digest lists New York under the 1953 Definition, while the New York Department of Financial Services circular letter in this bundle describes New York as having adopted the 1976 NAIC definition with exceptions. This bundle does not resolve that conflict and does not use the State Digest as the last word on any state's current law.

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  3. [3]
    Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, section 2320 - Effective Date; Construction of Provisions (Marine Insurance article)(opens the original record on Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the California Code of Regulations)
    Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the California Code of RegulationsPrimary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CAThird-party reproductionLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: The article carries a 1954 effective date. This reproduction shows no amendment history, so check the official California Code of Regulations before relying on currency.ID ca-ccr-tit-10-2320
    What this source supports (3)
    • The section is headed Effective Date; Construction of Provisions and states that the article is effective January 1, 1954 and supersedes former sections 2320, 2321 and 2322.
    • The section states that where provisions substantially match the superseded sections they shall be construed as restatements and continuations of those provisions and not as new provisions.
    • The page places the article at title 10 (Investment), chapter 5 (Insurance Commissioner), subchapter 3 (Insurers), article 5 (Marine Insurance).

    Re-fetched 2026-08-31; page live and the heading and effective-date sentence returned. This is a Cornell LII reproduction, not the official California publisher, and it displays no amendment history. It therefore establishes the 1954 effective date and the supersession language and nothing about whether the text has been amended since. The official California Code of Regulations host is not reachable from this environment. Effective: 1954-01-01

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  4. [4]
    Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, section 2320.1 - Purpose (Marine Insurance article)(opens the original record on Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the California Code of Regulations)
    Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the California Code of RegulationsPrimary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CAThird-party reproductionLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Part of the 1954 Marine Insurance article. Check the official California Code of Regulations for later amendment.ID ca-ccr-tit-10-2320-1
    What this source supports (3)
    • The section is headed Purpose and states that the article is adopted and promulgated by the Insurance Commissioner as a necessary means for the guidance of insurers and all others concerned in observing the provisions of law relating to insuring powers of admitted marine insurers, the California Standard Form Fire Insurance policy, rates and rating and other organizations, and taxation of insurers.
    • The section states that the article exists to assist in determining whether certain business should be reported on insurers' annual statements as ocean marine insurance or otherwise.
    • The section states that the article exists for the assistance and guidance of all persons concerned in all other cases where it is necessary to distinguish between marine and other classes of insurance and between inland marine risks and other risks.

    Re-fetched 2026-08-31 and the full purpose text returned as one continuous sentence covering all three claims above. Note the URL uses a period, 10-CCR-2320.1; the hyphenated form returns a directory listing. A fourth claim in an earlier draft, that the regulatory purpose is therefore classification and not a definition of what a policy covers, was removed from this source's claims list because it is this library's characterization rather than text on the page; the point is now made in prose without attributing it to the section.

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  5. [5]
    Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, section 2321 - Marine and/or Transportation Policies May Cover Under the Following Conditions(opens the original record on Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the California Code of Regulations)
    Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the California Code of RegulationsPrimary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CAThird-party reproductionLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Part of the 1954 Marine Insurance article. Check the official California Code of Regulations for later amendment.ID ca-ccr-tit-10-2321
    What this source supports (6)
    • The section has five top-level subdivisions and no subdivision (f): (a) Imports, (b) Exports, (c) Domestic Shipments, (d) Bridges, tunnels and other instrumentalities of transportation and communication, and (e) Personal Property Floater Risks.
    • The commercial floater type items sit inside subdivision (e)(2) rather than in a separate commercial group. Fine Arts Floaters and Stamp and Coin Floaters appear at (e)(2)(A), Installation risks at (e)(2)(L), Mobile Articles, Machinery and Equipment Floaters at (e)(2)(M), property in transit to or from and in the custody of bailees at (e)(2)(N), and Accounts Receivable Policies and Valuable Papers and Records Policies at (e)(2)(R).
    • The installation risk item provides that coverage terminates when the interest of the insured seller or installer ceases, or in no case later than when the property has been accepted as satisfactory, whichever first occurs.
    • The Mobile Articles, Machinery and Equipment Floaters item excludes motor vehicles designed for highway use.
    • The bailee item names bailee examples including bleacheries, throwsters, fumigatories, dyers, cleaners, laundries and similar bailees, and needleworkers.
    • The fine arts item describes objects of art such as pictures, statuary, bronzes and antiques, and rare manuscripts and books.

    Re-fetched 2026-08-31 with a prompt asking specifically for the top-level subdivision letters. The page returned five top-level subdivisions, (a) through (e), with no (f), and confirmed that the installation risk, mobile articles, bailee, fine arts and accounts receivable items all sit under (e)(2). An earlier draft of this bundle claimed six top-level categories ending in commercial property floater risks; that claim was wrong and has been corrected. A second earlier claim, describing the prohibited coverage list, was removed from this source because that list is in section 2322, which now has its own source entry. Effective: 1954-01-01

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  6. [6]
    Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, section 2322 - Prohibited Coverage (Marine Insurance article)(opens the original record on Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the California Code of Regulations)
    Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the California Code of RegulationsPrimary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CAThird-party reproductionLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Part of the 1954 Marine Insurance article. Check the official California Code of Regulations for later amendment.ID ca-ccr-tit-10-2322
    What this source supports (8)
    • The section is headed Prohibited Coverage and has six lettered items, (a) through (f).
    • Item (a) is storage of the assured's merchandise, except as hereinbefore provided.
    • Item (b) is merchandise in course of manufacture, the property of and on the premises of the manufacturer.
    • Item (c) is furniture and fixtures and improvements and betterments to buildings.
    • Item (d) concerns merchandise in permanent location sold under partial payment, contract of sale, or installment sales contract, and purchaser protection after the seller's interest ends.
    • Item (e) is moneys and/or securities in safes, vaults, safety deposit vaults, banks or the assured's premises, except while in course of transportation.
    • Item (f) concerns risks of fire, windstorm, sprinkler leakage, earthquake, hail, explosion, riot and/or civil commotion on buildings, structures, wharves and fixed real property.
    • Two of these six items, (d) and (f), have no counterpart in the four exceptions listed in Section 3 of NAIC Model MO-701.

    New source entry added 2026-08-31. Fetched and the heading Prohibited Coverage and all six lettered items returned. This content was previously and incorrectly folded into the section 2321 source. Same reproduction caveat as the other Cornell LII entries: this is not the official California publisher and shows no amendment history. The final claim is a comparison between two documents both fetched for this bundle, not a statement made by either one. Effective: 1954-01-01

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  7. [7]
    Insurance Circular Letter No. 22 (2000): Marine and Inland Marine Insurance(opens the original record on New York State Department of Financial Services)
    New York State Department of Financial ServicesRegulatorPrimaryJurisdiction NYLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Standing circular letter guidance issued in 2000. New York issues superseding circular letters as needed, so confirm current status before relying on it for any New York filing question.ID ny-dfs-circular-letter-22-2000
    What this source supports (6)
    • The circular letter is numbered 22, is dated August 11, 2000, is titled Marine and Inland Marine Insurance, and is addressed to insurers licensed to write marine insurance in New York.
    • It states that New York Insurance Law section 2310(b) exempts inland marine risks from the law's filing requirements if, by general custom of the business, the specific risks in question are not written according to manual rates and rating plans, unless the Superintendent directs that they be filed.
    • It states that rates, loss costs and forms promulgated by the principal rate organization, Insurance Services Office, for the various inland marine classes constitute the general custom of the business.
    • It states that the Superintendent may direct that filings be submitted for review even where the custom of the business is that no filings be made for a particular inland marine class.
    • It states that New York adopted the 1976 NAIC nationwide marine definition with exceptions in four areas: Builders Risk and/or Installation Risks, Domestic Bulk Liquids, Difference in Conditions, and Electronic Data Processing, and gives substantive conditions for each exception rather than simply naming the classes.
    • It advises insurers that are uncertain about a classification to submit the matter for departmental review rather than assume inland marine treatment.

    Re-fetched 2026-08-31; live official DFS page and all claims above returned. This is New York guidance and is cited in the answer only as a named-state illustration of how a filing exemption can work, never as a nationwide rule. Note the conflict with the IMUA State Digest, which lists New York under the 1953 Definition; this bundle reports both and resolves neither. Published: 2000-08-11 Effective: 2000-08-11

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  8. [8]
    Commercial Insurance Guide (CDI Form 700)(opens the original record on California Department of Insurance)
    California Department of InsuranceRegulatorPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: revised by the California Department of Insurance without a fixed schedule; the page carries the marker Form 700 Revised June 14, 2024ID ca-cdi-commercial-insurance-guide
    What this source supports (33)
    • The guide's glossary entry headed 'Claims Made' reads: a liability insurance policy where coverage applies to claims filed during the policy period no matter when the loss occurred subject to a retroactive inception date.
    • The guide's glossary entry headed 'Occurrence' reads: a liability insurance policy that covers claims arising out of occurrences that take place during the policy period, regardless of when the claim is filed.
    • CDI states that there are three primary coverage sections that make up a CGL policy: premises liability, products liability and completed operations.
    • CDI describes CGL coverage as comprehensive in nature, covering all hazards within the scope of the insuring agreement that are not otherwise excluded.
    • CDI states that the major exclusions under a CGL policy include intentional injury; insured contracts; liquor liability; workers compensation and employers liability; pollution; aircraft; automobile; watercraft; mobile equipment; war; care, custody, and control; damage to your work; impaired property; sistership liability; and failure to perform.
    • CDI describes specified perils as consisting of a list of each peril to be insured against, such as fire, explosion, windstorm and vandalism, and describes open perils coverage as covering all losses unless they are specifically excluded.
    • CDI states that earth movement (including earthquake) and flood are two common perils that are excluded under open perils coverage.
    • CDI describes three commercial property valuation approaches: actual cash value, agreed value, which it says waives any coinsurance penalty and pays 100 percent of the stated amount, and replacement cost, which it describes as the amount it takes to replace property with new property of like kind and quality up to the limits of insurance.
    • CDI describes coinsurance as an insurance clause that defines the amount of each loss the company pays according to the amount of insurance carried divided by the amount of insurance required, and states that a policyholder can be subject to a monetary penalty at the time of a loss where a building is not insured to value.
    • CDI states that business interruption coverage replaces lost business income after a covered loss.
    • CDI describes a Business Owners Policy (BOP) as a combination commercial policy that covers property, general liability and business interruption.
    • CDI states that when a business has had three applications turned down from a licensed commercial insurance carrier, with written documentation of the declination, it can proceed to obtain insurance from the surplus line market.
    • CDI states that a surplus line company can only be accessed through a specially licensed broker who holds a surplus line license issued by the CDI.
    • CDI states that although surplus line insurers must follow the Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations, the CDI has limited jurisdiction over the operation of surplus line insurers.
    • CDI states that the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA), which protects claims with admitted insurers, does not apply to surplus line insurers.
    • There are three primary coverage sections that make up a CGL policy: premises liability, products liability and completed operations.
    • Premises liability covers liability for accidental injury or property damage that results from either a condition on your premises or your operations in progress, whether on or away from your premises.
    • A products liability hazard exists for any business that manufactures, sells, handles, or distributes goods or products.
    • Completed operations covers your potential liability for bodily injury or property damage that arises out of your completed work.
    • The CGL policy has separate limits of insurance for general liability, fire legal liability, products and completed operations liability, advertising and personal liability, and medical payments.
    • The page carries the line Form 700 Revised June 14, 2024.
    • The guide states that inland marine is a specialized type of property insurance that primarily covers damage to or destruction of your business property while in transport.
    • The guide states that inland marine insurance can cover a variety of transportation exposures, however it does not cover boating transportation, which is covered under ocean marine insurance.
    • The guide states that some of the most common types of coverage offered are accounts receivable insurance, consignment insurance, equipment floaters (i.e., contractors equipment), installation floaters, motor truck cargo insurance, trip transit insurance, and valuable papers (records) insurance.
    • The guide states that standard perils in inland marine may include fire, lightning, windstorm, flood, earthquake, landslide, theft, collision, derailment, overturn of the transporting vehicle, and bridge collapse.
    • The guide states that commercial property insurance can protect a business owner from some of the most common losses experienced by business owners, such as property damage, business interruption, theft, liability, and worker injury.
    • The guide states that an aggregate limit of liability is in force for the general liability, fire legal liability, advertising and personal liability, and medical payments claims.
    • The guide states that when total claims for all these areas exceed a stated annual aggregate limit of liability, the policy limits are exhausted and no more claims will be paid from the policy for the duration of the policy period.
    • The guide states that there is also a separate aggregate limit of liability in force for products and completed operations liability claims.
    • The guide defines split limits as the technique for expressing limits of liability coverage under a particular insurance policy by stating separate limits for different types of claims growing out of a single event or combination of events.
    • The guide states that if a building is not insured to value the insured can be subject to a monetary penalty at the time of a loss, commonly referred to as coinsurance, and defines coinsurance as an insurance clause that defines the amount of each loss that the company pays according to the amount of insurance carried, divided by the amount of insurance required.
    • The guide states that the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA), which protects claims with admitted insurers, does not apply to surplus line insurers.
    • The guide states that while surplus line companies are not licensed by the CDI, they do have to go through an approval process that includes providing evidence of minimum capital and surplus requirements.

    Fetched 2026-08-31 and both glossary entries read off the page. The '?page=3' query parameter used in the earlier draft is inert and has been dropped from the URL. publishedDate is taken from the page's own 'Form 700 Revised June 14, 2024' marker. This is a consumer guide glossary and the weakest authority in the bundle; it is cited only for the two trigger definitions. It does not address retroactive dates, extended reporting periods, or which lines are written on which trigger. Published: 2024-06-14 Effective: 2024-06-14

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  9. [9]
    Commercial property forms package containing Building And Personal Property Coverage Form CP 00 10 10 12 and Causes Of Loss - Special Form CP 10 30 09 17 (Insurance Services Office, Inc. forms)(opens the original record on Conifer Insurance Company, hosting Insurance Services Office, Inc. forms)
    Conifer Insurance Company, hosting Insurance Services Office, Inc. formsCarrier officialPrimaryJurisdiction USLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: ISO revises commercial property forms periodically. This package carries the 10 12 edition of CP 00 10 and the 09 17 edition of CP 10 30. Later editions, state exceptions and endorsements can change every figure and condition described here.ID iso-cp-00-10-and-cp-10-30-forms-package
    What this source supports (12)
    • The package contains Building And Personal Property Coverage Form CP 00 10 10 12 with a 2011 Insurance Services Office copyright line, and Causes Of Loss - Special Form CP 10 30 09 17 with a 2016 Insurance Services Office copyright line.
    • On CP 00 10 10 12, Your Business Personal Property is covered while located in or on the building described in the Declarations, or in the open or in a vehicle within 100 feet of the building or structure or within 100 feet of the premises described in the Declarations, whichever distance is greater.
    • On CP 00 10 10 12, the Property Not Covered list includes personal property while airborne or waterborne.
    • On CP 00 10 10 12, the Property Not Covered list includes vehicles or self-propelled machines, including aircraft or watercraft, that are licensed for use on public roads or are operated principally away from the described premises. That item states four exceptions: vehicles or self-propelled machines or autos the insured manufactures, processes or warehouses; vehicles or self-propelled machines other than autos held for sale; rowboats or canoes out of water at the described premises; and trailers, but only to the extent provided for in the Coverage Extension for Non-owned Detached Trailers.
    • On CP 00 10 10 12, the Property Not Covered list also includes contraband or property in the course of illegal transportation or trade, and the cost to replace or restore information on valuable papers and records other than those which exist as electronic data.
    • On CP 00 10 10 12, the Coverage Extensions section opens by stating that except as otherwise provided the Extensions apply to property located in or on the described building or in the open or in a vehicle within 100 feet of the described premises, and that the insured may extend the insurance only if a Coinsurance percentage of 80% or more, or a Value Reporting period symbol, is shown in the Declarations.
    • The Property Off-Premises Coverage Extension on CP 00 10 10 12 applies to Covered Property while away from the described premises in three situations: temporarily at a location the insured does not own, lease or operate; in storage at a leased location where the lease was executed after the beginning of the current policy term; or at any fair, trade show or exhibition.
    • The Property Off-Premises Extension on CP 00 10 10 12 states that it does not apply to property in or on a vehicle, or to property in the care, custody or control of the insured's salespersons unless that property is in such care at a fair, trade show or exhibition.
    • The Property Off-Premises Extension on CP 00 10 10 12 states that the most payable for loss or damage under the Extension is 10,000 dollars.
    • CP 10 30 09 17 contains an Additional Coverage Extension for Property In Transit that applies to the insured's personal property, other than property in the care, custody or control of the insured's salespersons, in transit more than 100 feet from the described premises, and requires the property to be in or on a motor vehicle the insured owns, leases or operates while between points in the coverage territory.
    • The Property In Transit Extension on CP 10 30 09 17 responds only to a listed set of causes of loss: fire, lightning, explosion, windstorm or hail, riot or civil commotion, or vandalism; vehicle collision, upset or overturn; and theft of an entire bale, case or package by forced entry into a securely locked body or compartment of the vehicle, with visible marks of the forced entry required.
    • The Property In Transit Extension on CP 10 30 09 17 states that the most payable for loss or damage under the Extension is 5,000 dollars.

    Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31. The URL returns a live 1.5 MB PDF. WebFetch could not read the compressed streams, so the file was downloaded and its FlateDecode streams inflated locally, and each claim above was matched against the extracted text. Three corrections from the earlier draft: the Coverage Extensions gating condition (coinsurance of 80% or more, or a Value Reporting period symbol) was missing and has been added; the fourth exception to the vehicles item (trailers under the Non-owned Detached Trailers extension) was missing and has been added; and a thirteenth claim generalizing from these two forms to standard commercial property programs generally was removed because it was editorial synthesis, not text in the document. Scope caveat that must stay visible wherever this source is used: this is one carrier's Michigan hospitality program package. It evidences these two specific ISO form editions and nothing about any other form, edition, state exception or endorsement. Licensing caveat: this is a third-party host's copy of copyrighted ISO forms. The prose in this bundle describes the forms' terms and limits rather than reproducing their wording at length, and a licensing review is recommended before publication. Published: 2024-07-01

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Plain text

BestInsurance Research. "What is inland marine insurance used for?." WJB Services, Inc. dba Bollinsure Insurance Services. Published August 31, 2026. Last reviewed August 31, 2026. Content version 2026.08.31. https://bestinsuranceresearch.com/questions/inland-marine-uses

BibTeX

@misc{bir-inland-marine-uses-2026,
  title        = {What is inland marine insurance used for?},
  author       = {Aaron Bollinger},
  organization = {BestInsurance Research},
  institution  = {WJB Services, Inc. dba Bollinsure Insurance Services},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {08},
  note         = {Last reviewed August 31, 2026; content version 2026.08.31},
  howpublished = {\url{https://bestinsuranceresearch.com/questions/inland-marine-uses}},
  urldate      = {2026-08-31}
}

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Machine-readable record for this page: /questions/inland-marine-uses.json

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