Commercial Auto
May cover the insured vehicle for liability and selected physical damage losses. Loose tools and materials generally require separate protection.
Explore commercial autoContractor insurance learning center
Are Tools in Work Trucks Covered?
Commercial auto insurance generally protects the insured vehicle, but it may not cover the loose tools, supplies, and equipment carried inside your pickup, van, or trailer.
Contractor tools and equipment coverage, commonly written as inland marine insurance, can help protect qualifying property while it moves between your shop, vehicles, storage locations, and jobsites.
A common coverage gap
The truck and its contents are different insurance exposures.
Contractors often carry thousands of dollars in hand tools, power tools, diagnostic equipment, ladders, compressors, generators, and supplies inside work vehicles.
Commercial auto physical damage coverage generally applies to the insured vehicle and qualifying permanently attached equipment. It should not be assumed to insure loose property being transported inside the vehicle.
Tools and equipment insurance can help protect qualifying mobile property against covered causes of loss. This coverage is commonly written under a contractor’s inland marine policy.
Important:
Comprehensive coverage on a work truck does not automatically mean the
tools inside the truck are insured.
Which policy covers what?
Different parts of the loss may involve different policies.
Inland Marine
Can protect qualifying mobile property while in transit, at a jobsite, temporarily stored, or otherwise away from the primary business location.
Explore inland marineGeneral Liability
Primarily addresses covered third-party bodily injury and property damage claims. It does not insure the contractor’s own tools against theft or damage.
Explore general liabilityPotentially covered property
Tools and equipment coverage can protect more than hand tools.
Covered property depends on the policy schedule, blanket limit, definitions, individual-item thresholds, and exclusions.
Hand & Power Tools
Drills, saws, nail guns, grinders, meters, hand tools, and other portable equipment may be covered.
Mobile Equipment
Compressors, generators, compactors, welders, pumps, and similar mobile equipment may require scheduled or blanket coverage.
Diagnostic Equipment
Electronic testing devices, cameras, locating equipment, and specialty diagnostic tools can carry significant value.
Rented or Borrowed Equipment
Coverage may be available for equipment rented, leased, or borrowed from others, subject to policy terms and limits.
Blanket versus scheduled coverage
More valuable equipment may need to be listed individually.
A blanket tools limit may cover many lower-value items without listing every individual tool. The policy may contain a maximum amount payable for any one unscheduled item.
Higher-value equipment may need to be scheduled with a description, serial number, model, year, and insured value. Scheduled property can have different valuation and coverage terms from blanket property.
Contractors should review both the total blanket limit and the per-item limit. A policy with a $25,000 blanket limit may still provide only a much smaller amount for one unscheduled item.
- Total blanket tools limit
- Maximum amount for one unscheduled item
- Scheduled equipment values
- Deductible for each occurrence
- Valuation method after a loss
- Territory and location restrictions
Tool theft from work vehicles is a frequent contractor loss, but not every disappearance qualifies as a covered theft.
Policies may distinguish between theft involving visible forced entry and unexplained disappearance. Some policies restrict property left in an unlocked or unattended vehicle, especially overnight.
The location, time, security measures, police report, evidence of forced entry, and property records can affect the claim.
Theft from unattended vehicles
Security requirements and evidence matter.
- Lock vehicles and trailers
- Close and secure every window and door
- Use alarms, cameras, and GPS tracking when practical
- Avoid leaving tools visible
- Park in a secure, well-lit location
- Report theft to law enforcement promptly
- Preserve photographs and evidence of forced entry
Theft is not the only exposure
Tools can be damaged in several ways while traveling.
Covered causes of loss vary by insurance company and policy form.
Vehicle Collision
Tools and equipment may be damaged when the carrying vehicle is involved in a collision, even when the vehicle itself has commercial auto coverage.
Vehicle Overturn
Equipment can be damaged when a truck, van, or trailer overturns during transportation.
Fire
A vehicle, storage area, shop, or jobsite fire can damage tools and equipment before they can be removed.
Vandalism
Tools, storage compartments, trailers, and mobile equipment may be deliberately damaged.
Weather Damage
Wind, hail, lightning, or certain water damage may be covered, depending on the policy and storage conditions.
Loading and Unloading
Some policies may address accidental damage while equipment is being loaded, unloaded, or moved, subject to exclusions.
Common limitations
Review exclusions before relying on the policy.
Unexplained Disappearance
Missing property without evidence of theft or another covered cause may be excluded.
Wear & Mechanical Breakdown
Normal wear, gradual deterioration, mechanical failure, and electrical breakdown may be excluded unless specifically covered.
Employee Dishonesty
Theft committed by employees may require crime or employee dishonesty coverage rather than an ordinary tools form.
Property Left Overnight
Some policies restrict or exclude theft from unattended vehicles or open jobsites during specified hours.
Employee-owned tools
Tools owned by workers may need separate treatment.
Contractors often have employees who bring personal hand tools or specialty equipment to the job. Those items should not automatically be assumed to be covered under the company’s policy.
Some tools and equipment forms exclude employee-owned property. Others may provide a limited sublimit for employee tools or allow coverage to be added.
The contractor should establish a written process identifying whether employee tools are allowed, who is responsible for them, and what records are required.
- Disclose employee-owned property
- Review the employee-tools sublimit
- Document ownership and value
- Maintain receipts or inventory records
- Clarify responsibility in writing
- Review deductible application
Tools and equipment coverage protects reusable property retained by the contractor after the job is complete. An installation floater generally protects qualifying materials, fixtures, and equipment that will become a permanent part of a project.
A plumber’s reusable power tools may belong under tools coverage, while a boiler awaiting permanent installation may belong under an installation floater.
Some contractors need both coverages because they transport their own reusable equipment along with materials intended for installation.
Tools versus installation materials
Reusable property and installed property are different.
- Reusable tools generally remain with the contractor
- Installation materials become part of the project
- Different limits may apply
- Coverage may end at different times
- Testing exposure may require special review
- Both coverages may be necessary
Valuing your tools
An accurate inventory can improve both coverage and claims.
Contractors frequently underestimate how much it would cost to replace every tool stored across several vehicles and jobsites.
Create a Tool Inventory
Record the description, manufacturer, model, serial number, purchase date, original cost, and estimated current replacement cost.
Photograph the Property
Take clear photographs of tools, storage systems, serial numbers, work vehicles, trailers, and higher-value equipment.
Retain Purchase Records
Keep receipts, invoices, financing records, equipment registrations, and warranty information in secure digital storage.
Review Limits Annually
Update the policy when purchasing new equipment, adding crews, adding vehicles, or taking on work requiring specialized tools.
Schedule Expensive Items
Identify property exceeding the policy’s individual unscheduled-item limit and request scheduled coverage when appropriate.
Store Records Off-Site
Keep inventory records somewhere other than the insured vehicle, trailer, or shop so they remain available after a loss.
Preventing tool theft
Layered security can reduce both loss frequency and disruption.
Vehicle Security
Use high-quality locks, enclosed storage compartments, alarms, and immobilizers appropriate for the vehicle.
Trailer Protection
Use hitch locks, wheel locks, coupler protection, secured parking, GPS tracking, and other theft-deterrent measures.
Property Identification
Mark tools, record serial numbers, and use asset tags or tracking devices for higher-value property.
Overnight Procedures
Establish where vehicles may be parked and when tools should be removed or placed in secured storage.
After a theft or loss
Document the incident and report it promptly.
- Protect the vehicle and remaining property
- Contact law enforcement when theft or vandalism occurs
- Obtain the police report or incident number
- Photograph vehicle damage and the surrounding area
- Preserve evidence of forced entry
- Identify every missing or damaged item
- Gather receipts, serial numbers, and photographs
- Notify the insurance agency or carrier promptly
- Avoid discarding damaged property without authorization
The insurance company will determine coverage after reviewing the policy, reported facts, cause of loss, property records, valuation, security measures, exclusions, and deductible.
Continue learning
Coordinate vehicles, tools, equipment, and installation materials.
Frequently asked questions
Tools stored in work vehicles
Actual coverage depends on the policy, property, location, security, cause of loss, records, limits, exclusions, and deductible.
Commercial auto generally covers the insured vehicle and selected permanently attached equipment, not loose contractor tools or supplies. Those items commonly require inland marine coverage.
No. General liability primarily addresses covered third-party bodily injury and property damage claims. It does not insure the contractor’s own tools against theft.
Contractors tools and equipment insurance or another inland marine form may cover qualifying tools in transit, at jobsites, and away from the business premises.
They may be, but some policies restrict or exclude theft from an unattended vehicle, especially when it is unlocked, parked in an unsecured location, or lacks evidence of forced entry.
They may be excluded or subject to a limited sublimit unless specifically included. Employee-owned property should be disclosed and documented.
Consider the replacement cost of all covered property exposed at one time across vehicles, trailers, jobsites, and storage locations. Also review the per-item limit for unscheduled property.
No. Tools coverage generally protects reusable property retained by the contractor. An installation floater generally protects materials or equipment intended to become part of a completed project.
Protect the equipment that keeps you working
How much property is inside your trucks and trailers?
Tell Ford Agency about your tools, mobile equipment, vehicles, storage practices, and jobsites. We can help you review the appropriate contractor property coverage.