HVAC Contractors
Furnaces, air-conditioning systems, compressors, ductwork, controls, and other equipment may remain the contractor’s responsibility until installation is complete.
Protection before the installation is complete
Installation Floater Insurance for Virginia Contractors
Materials and equipment can be damaged or stolen while traveling to a jobsite, sitting in temporary storage, awaiting installation, or being installed.
An installation floater can help protect qualifying property from the time it leaves your premises until the installation is completed and your responsibility for the property ends.
Mobile property exposure
Your materials may leave the shop long before the job is finished.
A standard commercial property policy primarily covers property at scheduled business locations. Once materials or equipment leave those premises, the protection may become limited or stop entirely.
An installation floater is a form of inland marine insurance designed for property that moves between locations. It may cover qualifying materials, fixtures, supplies, and equipment intended to become a permanent part of a completed installation.
The policy can help close the gap between property coverage at your shop and permanent property coverage maintained by the project owner. The exact beginning and ending points of coverage must be reviewed.
Key distinction:
An installation floater generally protects property being installed.
It is not the same as coverage for reusable contractor tools and
equipment.
Who may need an installation floater?
Coverage can be valuable for many installation contractors.
Any contractor responsible for valuable materials or equipment before final installation and acceptance should review this exposure.
Electrical Contractors
Panels, switchgear, generators, lighting, wiring, controls, and specialty electrical equipment can represent significant values at a jobsite.
Plumbing Contractors
Boilers, water heaters, piping, fixtures, pumps, and related components may need protection during transportation and installation.
Sprinkler Contractors
Fire-suppression piping, pumps, controls, valves, and system components may be exposed before final testing and acceptance.
Alarm Contractors
Security, fire-alarm, access-control, monitoring, and low-voltage equipment may require protection before the system is operational.
Interior Installation Contractors
Cabinets, countertops, millwork, flooring, glass, signage, and other finished materials can be damaged before installation is accepted.
The installation journey
Protection may apply across several stages of the job.
Policy wording determines exactly when coverage begins, where it applies, and when it terminates.
In Transit
Qualifying property may be covered while being transported from your premises, a supplier, or another location to the installation site.
Temporary Storage
Coverage may extend to approved temporary storage locations, subject to territorial limits, security requirements, and policy sublimits.
At the Jobsite
Materials awaiting installation may be covered while located at the customer’s premises or designated project site.
During Installation
Protection may continue while the property is being installed, tested, or prepared for acceptance, subject to policy conditions.
What property may qualify?
Coverage is generally designed for property becoming part of the project.
Installation floaters commonly insure materials, supplies, fixtures, machinery, and equipment that a contractor owns or is responsible for and that will become a permanent part of the completed project.
The property may have been purchased by the contractor, supplied by the project owner, fabricated off-site, or received from another source. Coverage for property owned by others depends on the policy and the contractor’s responsibility for it.
- Heating and cooling equipment
- Electrical panels and switchgear
- Plumbing fixtures and mechanical systems
- Fire-protection and alarm equipment
- Cabinets, countertops, and millwork
- Flooring and finished building materials
- Glass, signage, and specialty fixtures
- Machinery and permanently installed equipment
Reusable hand tools, mobile equipment, scaffolding, lifts, and contractor-owned equipment generally belong under a contractors tools and equipment or inland marine policy instead.
Installation floater limits can be structured in different ways. Some policies use a blanket limit for all projects, while others schedule specific jobs or include separate maximums for transit, temporary storage, and individual locations.
The limit should reflect the greatest amount of covered property that may be exposed at one time. Contractors should consider overlapping projects, material-price increases, large equipment deliveries, and stored property awaiting jobsite readiness.
A policy limit that matches the value of an average job may be inadequate when several projects overlap or a single shipment contains unusually expensive equipment.
Choosing an adequate limit
Consider the largest possible accumulation.
- Maximum value at any one jobsite
- Maximum value in a single shipment
- Maximum value at temporary storage
- Number of projects underway simultaneously
- Owner-supplied property in your care
- Seasonal or unusually large contracts
- Expected material and equipment cost increases
Potential covered losses
Property can be damaged before anyone considers the installation finished.
Coverage varies among insurers. Review the policy’s covered causes of loss, exclusions, security requirements, and valuation provisions.
Theft
Qualifying property may be covered when stolen from a vehicle, temporary storage location, or jobsite, subject to exclusions, security requirements, and evidence of theft.
Fire
A fire at a shop, warehouse, vehicle, storage location, or jobsite can destroy materials before installation is completed.
Collision or Overturn
Property being transported may be damaged when the carrying vehicle is involved in a collision or overturns, depending on the policy.
Wind, Hail, and Weather
Materials stored at an exposed jobsite may be vulnerable to severe weather. Protective storage requirements and water exclusions should be reviewed.
Vandalism
Installed or staged property can be deliberately damaged before the completed work is accepted by the owner.
Accidental Damage
Some policies may address qualifying accidental direct physical damage during handling or installation, subject to workmanship and other exclusions.
Important limitations
An installation floater is not an unlimited workmanship guarantee.
Common exclusions and restrictions should be understood before materials leave your premises.
Faulty Workmanship
The cost of correcting defective installation may be excluded, even when certain resulting physical damage is treated differently.
Unexplained Disappearance
Missing property without evidence of what happened may not satisfy the policy’s requirements for a covered theft.
Testing
Mechanical, electrical, pressure, performance, and operational testing may be excluded or require an endorsement.
Flood & Earth Movement
Flood and earth movement are often excluded unless coverage is added or separately arranged where available.
Installation floater versus builders risk
Related coverages with different scopes
Builders risk is generally designed to protect the overall building or construction project. An installation floater is generally narrower and follows the specific materials or equipment for which an installation contractor is responsible.
A general contractor or property owner may purchase builders risk for the entire project while an electrical, HVAC, plumbing, sprinkler, or other specialty contractor maintains an installation floater for its own materials.
Whether both policies are necessary depends on the construction contract, responsibility for materials, policy wording, deductibles, waivers, and how the builders risk policy treats subcontractors’ interests.
Do not assume the project’s builders risk policy protects every
subcontractor.
Request evidence of coverage and review your contractual obligations
before relying on another party’s policy.
The information needed depends on the contractor, materials, installation process, project sizes, storage arrangements, and desired limits.
Tell us how property moves through your operation, from purchase or fabrication through delivery, storage, installation, testing, and final acceptance.
Complete information helps identify gaps involving transit, temporary storage, jobsite accumulations, owner-supplied equipment, and testing.
Start an installation floater quoteWhat to send us
Information for an installation floater review
- Description of materials and equipment installed
- Annual installation receipts
- Maximum value at any one jobsite
- Maximum value in transit
- Maximum value in temporary storage
- Typical and largest project size
- Transportation methods and territories
- Storage and jobsite security controls
- Testing or commissioning procedures
- Prior inland marine or property losses
Coordinate your property protection
Protect the materials, equipment, and tools supporting your work.
An installation floater can be coordinated with the other policies protecting your contracting business.
Frequently asked questions
Installation floater insurance
Actual coverage depends on the policy, property, location, project, causes of loss, exclusions, limits, and termination provisions.
An installation floater is inland marine insurance designed to protect qualifying materials, supplies, fixtures, and equipment while in transit, temporary storage, at a jobsite, and during installation.
An installation floater generally covers materials and equipment intended to become part of a completed project. Tools and equipment coverage protects reusable property the contractor keeps after the job is complete.
It may. The policy should be reviewed for its transit territory, covered transportation methods, limit, deductible, exclusions, and any requirements for unattended vehicles.
Theft may be covered depending on the policy, property involved, evidence of theft, security measures, vehicle conditions, exclusions, and applicable limits.
They may be covered when the contractor is legally responsible for them and the policy is written to include property of others. Owner-supplied property should be specifically disclosed.
Testing may be excluded, limited, or available by endorsement. Contractors installing electrical, mechanical, pressure, fire suppression, alarm, or other operational systems should disclose their testing procedures.
Coverage may end when the property is installed, accepted, put to its intended use, the contractor’s responsibility ends, or another condition in the policy occurs. The precise termination wording should be reviewed.
Protect property between purchase and completion
Are you responsible for materials or equipment before installation is accepted?
Tell us what you install, how the property is transported and stored, and the maximum value exposed at one time. We will help you review the available options.