Inland Marine Insurance for Myrtle Beach Businesses

What Is Inland Marine Insurance?

Inland marine insurance protects business property that moves between locations or spends significant time away from your primary premises. Despite the name, this coverage has nothing to do with boats or water—it evolved from ocean marine insurance to cover goods transported over land and has grown to include virtually any mobile or specialized property.

For Myrtle Beach businesses with tools, equipment, or inventory that travels, inland marine insurance fills critical gaps left by standard commercial property policies. Your property policy covers assets at your scheduled business location. Inland marine coverage follows your property wherever the job takes you—across town to a Conway work site or across the state to a project in Charleston.

Why Myrtle Beach Businesses Need Inland Marine Insurance

Contractors, service providers, and businesses with mobile assets face unique risks that standard property insurance doesn't adequately address. Equipment gets stolen from job sites. Tools disappear from work trucks. Goods are damaged during delivery. Without inland marine coverage, these losses come straight out of your pocket.

• Commercial property has location limits — Standard property policies provide minimal coverage for assets away from your scheduled premises, often just 10% of your coverage limit with significant restrictions.


• Mobile equipment faces higher theft risk — Tools and equipment left at job sites, stored in vehicles, or transported between locations are prime targets for thieves throughout the Grand Strand.


• Transit exposes goods to damage — Products shipped to customers or materials delivered to job sites can be damaged, lost, or stolen during transportation.


• Specialized property needs specialized coverage — Expensive items like surveying instruments, medical equipment, or photography gear require broader protection than basic property policies provide.


• Job site losses aren't always covered elsewhere — Work in progress at customer locations falls into a coverage gap between your property policy and your client's insurance.

What Does Inland Marine Insurance Cover?

Inland marine is a flexible coverage category with multiple policy types designed for different business needs. Here's what Myrtle Beach business owners should know about the most common inland marine coverages:

Contractors Equipment Coverage

Protects tools, machinery, and equipment that contractors use at job sites throughout South Carolina. This includes everything from hand tools and power equipment to bulldozers, scaffolding, and generators. Coverage applies whether equipment is at a Surfside Beach renovation, stored in your shop, or in transit between locations. Most policies cover theft, vandalism, fire, collision, and overturn.

Tools Floater

A tools floater covers portable tools and smaller equipment carried by tradespeople. Electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and other service providers working across Myrtle Beach and surrounding communities rely on tools floaters to protect the equipment that earns their living. Coverage typically includes theft from locked vehicles—a common occurrence that basic property policies exclude.

Builders Risk Insurance

Covers buildings under construction, including materials, fixtures, and equipment installed during the project. General contractors building homes in North Myrtle Beach, commercial developers constructing retail space in Conway, and renovation contractors throughout the Grand Strand use builders risk policies to protect projects until completion.

Installation Floater

Protects materials and equipment you've purchased for installation at a customer's location. If you're an HVAC contractor with a $15,000 system sitting at a Pawleys Island job site waiting for installation, an installation floater covers that equipment until the job is complete and accepted by the customer.

Transit Coverage

Covers goods and materials while being transported. This includes products you ship to customers, raw materials delivered to your facility, and equipment moved between locations. For South Carolina businesses that regularly ship merchandise or receive deliveries, transit coverage protects against damage, theft, and loss during transportation.

Electronic Data Processing Equipment

Covers computers, servers, and related equipment that may not be adequately protected under standard property policies. Businesses with expensive technology—especially portable equipment like laptops, tablets, and mobile devices used in the field—benefit from this specialized coverage.

Valuable Papers and Records

Covers the cost to reconstruct important business documents if originals are lost or destroyed. This includes blueprints, client files, research data, and other records that would be expensive to recreate. For architects, engineers, and professional services firms in Myrtle Beach, this coverage protects irreplaceable work product.

Who Needs Inland Marine Insurance in Myrtle Beach?

Any business with valuable property that regularly leaves the premises should consider inland marine coverage. Along the South Carolina coast, that includes:

• General contractors and subcontractors — Building throughout Georgetown, Murrells Inlet, and the Grand Strand with expensive equipment at multiple job sites.


• Service and repair businesses — HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and appliance repair companies carrying tools and parts in service vehicles.


• Landscaping and lawn care — Mowers, trimmers, trailers, and equipment used daily across residential and commercial properties.


• Photographers and videographers — Cameras, lighting, and production equipment transported to shoots and events.


• Medical and dental practices — Portable diagnostic equipment, instruments, and supplies used at multiple locations or during house calls.


• Caterers and event companies — Equipment, serving ware, and supplies transported to venues throughout Atlantic Beach, Litchfield, and beyond.


• Sales representatives — Product samples, demonstration equipment, and display materials carried to client meetings.

How Is Inland Marine Different from Commercial Property Insurance?

Commercial property insurance is location-based. It covers your building and business personal property at specific addresses listed on your policy. Coverage for property away from those locations is limited—typically a small percentage of your total coverage with significant restrictions.

Inland marine insurance is mobility-based. Coverage follows your property wherever it goes within your coverage territory, usually the continental United States and Canada. The policy doesn't care whether your equipment is at your Myrtle Beach shop, a job site in Conway, or in your truck driving between the two.

Inland marine policies also typically provide broader peril coverage. While commercial property often covers only named perils, many inland marine forms are written on an open perils or all-risk basis—covering any cause of loss not specifically excluded. This means fewer coverage gaps and fewer claim denials.

How Much Does Inland Marine Insurance Cost in South Carolina?

Inland marine premiums depend on what you're insuring and how you use it:

• Type and value of covered property


• How and where equipment is used and stored


• Security measures in place


• Claims history


• Deductible selected

A small contractor insuring $25,000 in tools might pay $300 to $600 annually for inland marine coverage. Businesses with heavy equipment, specialized machinery, or higher values pay more. The cost is minimal compared to replacing stolen or damaged equipment out of pocket—especially for Myrtle Beach contractors who depend on their tools to earn a living.

Why Work with Moore & Associates for Inland Marine Insurance?

Moore & Associates has served Myrtle Beach businesses since 1979. As an independent insurance agency, we work with multiple carriers to find the right inland marine coverage for your specific equipment and operations. Different insurers specialize in different types of inland marine coverage, and we know which companies offer the best protection for contractors, service businesses, and other South Carolina operations.

Our local agents understand the risks facing businesses along the Grand Strand. We help you inventory your mobile assets, identify coverage gaps, and build an insurance program that protects your equipment wherever the work takes you.

Get an Inland Marine Insurance Quote in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Our inland marine insurance agents serve Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and surrounding areas including North Myrtle Beach, Atlantic Beach, Conway, Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield, Pawleys Island, and Georgetown. Contact Moore & Associates today for a free quote.