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Inland Marine Insurance Could Be a Lifesaver

“Inland Marine.” Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? But read on. It’s a valuable thing to understand if you have valuables to protect. The term dates back to when most goods were moved about on oceans and waterways. There was marine insurance to cover items that were transported on water, including personal property items such as jewelry or art work. These things were easily moved, or “floated” from place to place. Marine insurance companies eventually began to offer additional, broader coverage for more types of loss scenarios for these types of “floaters,” including losses that might occur on land once goods were transferred to wagons or eventually trucks for transport. This became known as “inland marine” insurance to distinguish it from insurance designed just for transport by ships. Today, personal inland marine insurance can be purchased as a separate policy add-on, or endorsement, to expand protection for high-value items like jewelry, cameras, firearms, golf clubs, musical instruments, etc. Not only do you receive a higher limit of coverage for such possessions, but they will also be covered if they are stolen, or you misplace or lose them. In addition, your possessions are covered even if you take them out of the country. A basic homeowners policy does not provide coverage for these scenarios.