In the sports and fitness industry, you may find yourself transporting fitness equipment from location to location. As such, it is imperative that you protect your property during transit. Consider Inland Marine Insurance to fill the gaps in your commercial property coverage for any offsite business property. 

What is Inland Marine Insurance? 

Inland Marine Insurance covers products, equipment, and other forms of business property that are not tied to a fixed location and are not covered by commercial property insurance. After all, standard commercial property policies may exclude or have low limits for property that isn’t within your business premises—including covered business property that is damaged offsite. 

Inland Marine Insurance will ensure that coverage follows insured property regardless of location. This is especially important in the sports and fitness industry since fitness equipment and tools are often brought to various client sites. 

Example: 

• Your studio sends professional dance instructors to events for dance workshops and demonstrations. During a workshop, your employee drops and damages the expensive speakers and sound equipment that are brought to every client location. Inland Marine Insurance would cover the costs to repair or replace the equipment even though the loss happened outside of your business premises. 

Why do you need Inland Marine Insurance?

Sports and fitness businesses may provide classes or workshops at various locations, and personal trainers may bring equipment to client homes or offices. The cost of fitness equipment and machinery can easily exceed thousands of dollars, making insurance coverage for this property of particular importance.

Inland Marine Insurance provides the necessary protection for your valuable business property when in transit or off your business premises. A common misconception is that your standard commercial property insurance will cover all of your business property. However, it is important to pay attention to your policy’s restrictions and recognize gaps within your coverage. For instance, most commercial property policies exclude property that isn’t fixed in place at your business. Policies will often provide only limited coverage for damage that occurs to your property off site and exclude coverage for items valued above a certain price. This is where Inland Marine Insurance would come in.

Another misconception surrounds commercial auto insurance. While this coverage will provide protection for your automobile, it does not cover the business property within your automobile. Once again, Inland Marine Insurance serves to fill that gap. 

Example:

• As a personal fitness trainer, you drive fitness gear to client locations using a company car. You are in a car accident that damages both your vehicle and your fitness gear. Your vehicle is covered by your commercial auto insurance, but that does not cover any of the contents within the vehicle. Your fitness gear is covered by Inland Marine Insurance since it is property damaged outside of your business premises.  

What does Inland Marine Insurance cover?

Inland Marine Insurance covers your business property regardless of location. When it comes to the sports and fitness industry, some relevant types of property that Inland Marine Insurance covers include: 

• Property that is being moved or transported. This can include workout machines or fitness equipment being moved from one gym to another. 
• Property you’re holding for someone else. This is especially relevant for fitness centers that offer lockers for customers to temporarily store their personal belongings. 
• Property that moves from place to place. This includes fitness equipment that travels with employees to client locations. 

What risks are covered by Inland Marine Insurance?

Inland Marine Insurance is offered on a named perils basis or an all risks basis. As the title suggests, a named perils policy will only cover risks specifically named in the insurance contract. On the other hand, all risks policies will cover every risk except those specifically excluded. Open perils policies are typically more expensive than named perils policies because of the broader coverage.

Your policy will specify which incidents are covered by your Inland Marine Insurance. This varies depending on your insurer, but some common named perils include:

• Fire or lightning
• Explosion
• Theft or vandalism
• Damage from vehicles or airplanes (excluding those owned by the business)
• Water damage, sprinkler leakage, or burst pipes (except water damage from floods)
• Windstorm or hail
• Smoke from accidental fire
• Riots or civil commotion
• Sinkhole collapse or building collapse

Types of Inland Marine Insurance

Inland Marine Insurance is available in many forms. As it pertains to the sports and fitness industry, the most relevant forms of Inland Marine Insurance include coverage for property that is being shipped or in transit, movable equipment or property, and customer property held in your care. 

Shipping and Transit 

If your business manufactures or sells sports/fitness equipment, this form of Inland Marine Insurance can provide protection for your products as they are in transit to your customer or on their way to your business location from the manufacturing site. 

Example:

• Your business sells specialty basketball gear to customers. During delivery, boxes of your product are stolen from the delivery truck. Your Inland Marine Insurance will cover the property loss. 

Movable Equipment or Property 

This form of Inland Marine Insurance covers equipment that regularly travels to various client locations. This applies to personal sports and fitness trainers who must carry their gear with them to each location. 

Example:

• As a tennis instructor, you bring racquets and tennis ball machines for your sessions at the community center. You store your tennis equipment at the location, but vandals break into the center overnight and cause damage to much of the property—including your equipment. Your Inland Marine Insurance will cover the replacement of your equipment. 

Bailee’s Customer Coverage 

Many gyms and fitness centers offer lockers or storage areas so that members can temporarily stow their personal belongings during their sessions. When this happens, your customers’ property is under your care, custody, or control. As such, you may be held liable if that property is damaged or lost. 

A common misconception is that this type of loss is protected by general liability insurance because it covers damage to third-party property. However, general liability insurance specifically excludes property that is under your care, custody, or control. Additionally, some may assume that commercial property insurance would cover this loss, but this form of coverage may not be sufficient as the limits are typically low. Bailee’s customer coverage serves to fill these gaps in coverage. 

Example: 

• Your fitness studio offers lockers for customers to store their belongings. Faulty wires spark an electrical fire which damages much of your property including the lockers. The contents of those lockers were under your care, so general liability insurance will not cover the loss. Instead, Inland Marine Insurance will provide the coverage. 

Pricing and Quotes

The cost of Inland Marine Insurance is dependent upon the value of the property being covered. The average cost of Inland Marine Insurance is $736 per year to cover $100,000 worth of property, with a $1,000 deductible. This is a cost of $0.736 per $100 of property covered. Many Inland Marine policies also have minimum premiums of $100 or $250. Note that the cost of coverage varies widely depending upon the business and use of the property.

Pricing is heavily dependent upon a number of factors, including:

• Value of property. The higher the value of the property that you need coverage for, the higher your premium will be.
• Coverage limits. Depending on the type of property you have, you may need higher limits of coverage. The more coverage you purchase, the higher your premium will be.
• Type of coverage. There are a number of types of Inland Marine coverage, and the total cost to your business will depend on which types and how many types of coverage you purchase.
• Business type. The type of business you run will dictate what types of coverage and how much coverage you’ll need.

In order to get an accurate estimate on pricing, it’s best to get a quote from a reputable insurance company. Below we’ve highlighted a few of our trusted partners who offer Inland Marine Insurance:

Provider	Inland Marine Insurance	Commercial Property	Business Owner's Policy
CoverageSmith	??	??	??
CoverWallet	??	??	??
Thimble	??	??	??

Final Word

Commercial property insurance is a necessity for any business in the sports and fitness industry, but it may not be enough. If you have property that will regularly be in transit or stored offsite, it is important to look into Inland Marine Insurance to make sure your business property is covered regardless of location. If your business offers lockers, requires employees to bring equipment to clients, or sells sports and fitness equipment to customers, consider utilizing Inland Marine Insurance to cover the gaps in commercial property insurance.