Builders Risk Answer

Does Builders Risk Cover Tools and Equipment?

No — contractors’ tools and equipment are excluded from builders risk. Here’s what you actually need to cover your tools, and how to make sure nothing falls through the gap.

• ✓Tools and equipment: excluded from builders risk
• ✓Inland marine / tools and equipment policy required
• ✓Covers tools, machinery, and equipment at all job sites
• ✓Installation floater covers materials being installed — different policy

The Direct Answer

No. Builders risk insurance does not cover contractor tools and equipment. This is a consistent, industry-wide exclusion. Tools, power tools, hand tools, machinery, equipment trailers, and any portable property that doesn’t become a permanent part of the structure are excluded from builders risk.

The reason is straightforward: builders risk covers property that becomes the insured building. Your tools and equipment are not going to be incorporated into the structure — they’re the means of construction, not the product. That’s a different exposure requiring a different policy.

The right coverage for tools and equipment is an inland marine policy — specifically a contractors equipment or tools and equipment policy. This policy covers your tools, equipment, and machinery at job sites, in transit, and at your shop. It’s often available as a standalone policy or as part of a broader inland marine program.

What Does Cover Your Tools

Inland marine / tools and equipment policies provide the property coverage that builders risk doesn’t offer for contractor gear. Here’s what they typically cover:

Tools at job sites — covered against theft, fire, and accidental damage. Tools in transit — covered while being moved between jobs or to and from the shop. Owned vs. rented equipment — some policies cover both; others require separate treatment of rented gear.

We place tools and equipment coverage alongside builders risk and GL for most contractor clients. It’s often surprisingly affordable, and the claims we see on contractor tools are real and regular — job site theft alone makes this coverage pay for itself quickly.

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