Business Insurance  /  Contractors & Trades  /  Installation Floater

Contractor Coverage

Installation Floater —
Coverage for Materials
Before They’re Part of the Job.

Once materials leave the supplier and before they’re permanently installed and covered by the property owner’s policy, they sit in a gap. Your GL doesn’t cover them. Your commercial property doesn’t follow them to the job site. An installation floater is what closes that gap.

What an Installation Floater Covers

Coverage for materials and equipment in transit, on the job site, and in the process of being installed.

An installation floater is an inland marine policy that covers materials, equipment, and supplies that a contractor has purchased for a specific project — from the time they leave the supplier until they are permanently installed and the project is complete. It follows the materials through transit, storage at the job site, and the installation process itself.

The coverage fills a specific gap in the contractor’s insurance program. Commercial property insurance covers what’s at your fixed business location. Your general liability covers damage you cause to others. Commercial auto covers your vehicles. An inland marine / tools and equipment policy covers your own tools and gear. None of those cover the materials you’ve purchased for a specific customer’s job while they’re in your care, custody, and control.

For contractors who regularly purchase and install high-value materials — HVAC systems, electrical panels, plumbing fixtures, flooring, cabinetry, roofing materials — the financial exposure of losing those materials before they’re installed is real and meaningful. An installation floater addresses it directly.

“The materials you bought for a customer’s job are your financial responsibility from the moment you take possession of them until they’re installed. If something happens to them before they’re in the wall, that loss is yours — unless you have an installation floater.”

Installation floaters can be written on a project-by-project basis for a specific job, or as an ongoing policy that covers all projects up to a per-project limit. Contractors who regularly work on high-value jobs often carry a blanket installation floater that covers their full project pipeline rather than placing individual policies for each job.

What an installation floater covers:

✓
Materials in transit to the job site
Materials damaged or lost while being transported from a supplier or your storage location to the project site
✓
Materials stored at the job site
Supplies and equipment staged at a job site awaiting installation — including overnight storage at active job sites
✓
Materials during installation
Coverage extends through the active installation process — from the time materials arrive to the point of permanent installation
✓
Theft from job sites
Materials stolen from an unsecured or overnight job site — one of the most frequent causes of loss for contractors with staged materials
✓
Fire, storm, and weather damage
Materials damaged by fire, wind, rain, or other weather events before they are permanently installed in the structure
✓
Vandalism and accidental damage
Damage caused by vandalism or accidental loss during the handling and installation process on covered projects

Why Your Other Policies Don’t Cover Job Site Materials

GL, commercial property, and tools coverage each leave job-specific materials exposed.

Contractors often assume their existing program covers everything associated with a job. When it comes to materials purchased specifically for a customer’s project, that assumption is almost always wrong. Here’s exactly where each policy falls short.

General Liability

GL covers damage you cause to other people’s property — not loss or damage to materials in your care, custody, and control that were purchased for a job. If your job site materials are stolen or damaged, that’s a first-party property loss, not a third-party liability claim. GL explicitly excludes property in the care, custody, and control of the insured in most circumstances. An installation floater is first-party coverage that fills this gap.

Commercial Property

Commercial property covers assets at your scheduled business location — your shop, warehouse, or yard. Materials that have left your location and are in transit or staged at a customer’s job site are no longer at a covered location. Off-premises extensions in commercial property policies exist but typically carry very low sub-limits that don’t reflect the value of materials on an active project. An installation floater follows the materials to where the work happens.

Inland Marine / Tools & Equipment

Tools and equipment coverage protects the contractor’s own gear — the tools they bring to the job and take back when they’re done. It does not cover materials purchased for a specific project that belong to or will belong to the customer. An installation floater is specifically designed for job-specific materials — it’s a companion to, not a substitute for, your tools and equipment coverage.

Installation Floater vs. Inland Marine — Understanding the Difference

Related coverages that address different things — most contractors need both.

These two coverages are closely related and often confused. Here’s exactly how they differ and why a complete contractor program typically includes both.

Inland Marine / Tools & Equipment

Covers the contractor’s own tools and equipment

Inland marine covers the tools, machinery, and equipment you bring to a job and take back when you’re done — your own assets that you own and use across multiple projects. Chainsaws, drills, diagnostic equipment, generators, compressors. The coverage follows your gear wherever it goes and is ongoing across all your work.

Example: An HVAC contractor’s set of refrigerant gauges and manifold kit is stolen from their van overnight. Inland marine covers the theft of their own tools.

Installation Floater

Covers materials purchased for a specific customer’s job

An installation floater covers the materials, equipment, and supplies you’ve purchased for a specific project — items that will be installed and become part of the customer’s property. HVAC units, electrical panels, roofing materials, fixtures, cabinetry. The coverage applies only to those project-specific materials, from purchase to permanent installation.

Example: The same HVAC contractor has two new condensing units staged at a job site overnight. Both are stolen. The installation floater covers the materials purchased for the customer’s job.

The rule: If it’s your tool that goes to every job — inland marine covers it. If it’s a material or piece of equipment you bought for a specific customer’s project — an installation floater covers it. A complete contractor program addresses both.

Who Needs an Installation Floater

Any contractor who purchases materials or equipment for jobs before they’re permanently installed.

If you regularly take possession of materials, appliances, or equipment on behalf of a customer before they’re installed — and losing those materials before installation would create a financial loss for your business — an installation floater belongs in your program.

HVAC Contractors

Condensing units, air handlers, ductwork, and equipment staged at job sites before installation represent significant value per project.

Electrical Contractors

Panels, breakers, wiring, fixtures, and specialty electrical equipment purchased for specific jobs and staged before installation.

Plumbing Contractors

Water heaters, fixtures, pipe, and specialty plumbing components purchased for a job and in the contractor’s care before installation.

Roofing Contractors

Shingles, underlayment, flashing, and roofing materials delivered to a job site and staged before installation are a prime theft target.

Flooring & Tile Contractors

Custom tile, hardwood, luxury vinyl, and specialty flooring materials delivered and staged before installation — often high-value and difficult to replace quickly.

Kitchen & Bath Contractors

Cabinetry, countertops, fixtures, and appliances staged at a job site before installation — frequently high-value and with long lead times for replacement.

Pool & Spa Builders

Pumps, heaters, automation systems, and equipment staged at pool construction sites before installation — often left on-site overnight across multi-week projects.

General Contractors

GCs coordinating multiple subcontractors and taking delivery of materials for a project carry broad installation floater exposure across the full project scope.

Real Scenarios.

What installation floater claims look like — and why no other policy in your program would cover them.

These are the losses that contractors absorb out of pocket when they don’t have an installation floater — and that are fully covered when they do.

01
HVAC units are stolen from a job site overnight
An HVAC contractor delivers two condensing units to a residential job site on a Friday afternoon. Over the weekend, someone cuts the fence and takes both units. At $3,000–$6,000 each, replacing them is a significant out-of-pocket cost — and the job is delayed waiting on new equipment. The contractor’s GL won’t cover it. Commercial property doesn’t cover job sites. Tools and equipment coverage doesn’t cover materials purchased for the customer’s job. An installation floater covers it directly.

03
A storm damages roofing materials staged on a job site
A roofing contractor delivers a full load of shingles, underlayment, and flashing to a job site the day before the scheduled install. That night, a severe thunderstorm blows through and damages the staged materials. The homeowner’s policy doesn’t cover materials in the contractor’s possession. The contractor’s commercial property doesn’t cover off-site materials. The installation floater covers the storm damage to the staged roofing materials.

05
A pool equipment package is damaged before installation
A pool builder takes delivery of a full equipment package — pump, heater, automation system, LED lights — and stages it at the job site before the equipment pad is complete. Vandals damage the equipment over the weekend. The pool builder owns these items until installation and handoff. Neither GL nor tools coverage addresses the loss. The installation floater covers the damage to the customer’s equipment while it was in the contractor’s care.

02
Custom cabinetry is damaged during delivery
A kitchen contractor receives a delivery of custom-ordered cabinetry at the job site. During unloading, several cabinet boxes are dropped and the fronts are damaged. The cabinetry was made to order with a 6-week lead time and can’t be quickly replaced. The installation floater covers the damage to the materials in transit and during unloading — preventing a delivery accident from becoming a major financial and schedule problem for the contractor.

04
Specialty tile is stolen from a multi-week renovation
A tile contractor is in week two of a high-end bathroom renovation. The imported tile — already paid for and delivered — is stolen from the locked job site over a long weekend. The tile has a 10-week import lead time. The delay is costly and the replacement cost is significant. The installation floater covers the theft of the materials, including the cost of the replacement tile.

06
Materials are damaged in a vehicle accident during delivery
A plumbing contractor is transporting a water heater, fixtures, and pipe to a job site when they’re involved in a collision. The vehicle is covered under commercial auto. The damaged materials are not — they’re cargo, not the vehicle. The installation floater covers materials damaged in transit to the job site, filling the gap between commercial auto and the job site.

Why Get Your Installation Floater Through McKnight

Most contractor programs are missing this coverage — and most contractors don’t know it.

Installation floaters are one of the most consistently overlooked coverages in contractor insurance programs. We regularly review programs for contractors who have solid GL, commercial auto, workers’ comp, and even tools coverage — but nothing that covers the materials they’ve purchased for an active job. The gap is invisible until a loss happens.

We also help contractors choose the right structure — a blanket ongoing policy versus project-specific coverage — based on how they actually work. A contractor running 10 simultaneous projects with high material values needs a different structure than one doing a single large installation job at a time. We look at your project pipeline, the typical value of materials you have in your care at any given time, and build the right policy around that reality.

For contractors where installation floater and tools and equipment coverage overlap in scope, we also make sure there are no gaps or redundancies between the two policies. Both belong in the program — but they need to be structured so they complement each other cleanly.

Gap identified — coverage placed
We review your full program and confirm whether job site materials are covered — most aren’t without a floater.

Blanket or project-specific structure
We match the policy structure to how you actually work — ongoing blanket coverage or per-project policies depending on your volume.

100+ carriers
We shop the market for the right installation floater for your trade, project values, and coverage needs.

Real answers when you call
817.277.6166, weekdays 8:30–5pm. A theft, a delivery loss, or a question about coverage on an active job — we pick up.

FAQ

Installation floater questions we hear all the time.

What is an installation floater and what does it cover?
An installation floater is an inland marine policy that covers materials, equipment, and supplies purchased for a specific project — from the time the contractor takes possession of them until they are permanently installed. It covers theft, fire, storm damage, vandalism, and other covered losses while the materials are in transit, staged at a job site, or in the process of being installed. It fills the gap between the contractor’s existing coverage and the property owner’s policy, which doesn’t apply until installation is complete and the structure is finished.
Does my general liability cover materials stolen from a job site?
No — general liability covers damage you cause to other people’s property. Materials in your care, custody, and control that you’ve purchased for a job are explicitly excluded from GL coverage in most policies under the “care, custody, and control” exclusion. If your job site materials are stolen or damaged, that’s a first-party property loss that requires a first-party property policy — an installation floater — to cover it. GL is the wrong coverage for this claim and will be denied.
What’s the difference between an installation floater and inland marine / tools coverage?
Inland marine / tools and equipment coverage covers the contractor’s own tools and gear — the things they own, take to every job, and bring back when finished. An installation floater covers materials and equipment purchased for a specific customer’s project — things that will be installed and become part of the customer’s property. Both are inland marine policies, but they address different types of property. A complete contractor program typically includes both: tools coverage for what you own, and an installation floater for what you’ve purchased for the job.
Should I get a blanket policy or a project-specific policy?
It depends on how you work. A blanket installation floater covers all your active projects up to a per-project limit — it’s an ongoing policy that doesn’t require you to report each new job. This works well for contractors running multiple projects simultaneously with consistent material values. A project-specific policy is placed for a single large job with a defined scope, timeline, and material value — better for contractors who do fewer but larger installations where the material value on any one job is unusually high. We look at your typical project pipeline and recommend the structure that fits your operation.
Does an installation floater cover materials before they reach the job site?
Yes — most installation floaters cover materials from the time the contractor takes possession, which typically includes transit from the supplier to the job site. Materials damaged in a vehicle accident during delivery, or lost during loading and unloading, are covered causes of loss under most policies. Coverage also extends to temporary storage at your location before materials are transported to the job site. The key trigger is that the materials have been designated for a specific project and the contractor has taken responsibility for them.
Does the property owner’s insurance cover materials on the job site?
Not typically — and this is one of the most important things contractors need to understand. The property owner’s homeowners or commercial property policy covers their property, not materials in a contractor’s possession. Until materials are permanently installed and the project is substantially complete, they generally remain the contractor’s responsibility. Even if a property owner has adequate insurance, a loss of staged materials before installation is a claim that falls on the contractor — not the property owner. The installation floater is the contractor’s coverage for this exposure.
How much does an installation floater cost?
Installation floater premiums depend on the total value of materials you typically have in your care at any one time, your trade, your claims history, and the coverage structure — blanket versus project-specific. For most trades contractors, the cost is modest relative to the protection it provides. A contractor with $50,000–$100,000 in materials on active jobs at any given time typically pays a few hundred to around $1,000 per year for blanket coverage — far less than replacing a single stolen equipment package out of pocket. We get you an accurate quote based on your actual project values.

Get Started

Let’s make sure the materials you’ve purchased for your jobs are actually covered.

Call us or request a quote. We’ll review your program, confirm whether you have a gap, and find the right installation floater structure for how you work.

McKnight Insurance Services  ·  Mansfield, TX  ·  Same-day certificates  ·  Weekdays 8:30am–5pm