Monoline equipment coverage · 48 states
Heavy equipment insurance, written equipment-only
We write the iron on its own. No package requirement, no bundled lines you did not ask for — a contractors equipment floater that follows your machines from the yard to the jobsite and back.
Insurance for heavy machinery, without the package deal
Most markets treat equipment as something they will look at once you have given them the rest of your program. That is a reasonable position for them and an expensive one for you, because it means the machines get underwritten last and priced as an afterthought.
We work the other way round. The schedule of equipment is the account, and the floater is the policy. If you already have a general liability policy you are happy with, keep it — we do not need to touch it to write your machines.
Equipment we write
Every machine answers to a different corner of state law, so we build the coverage around the machine rather than around a generic contractor class.
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Skid Steer
equipment-floater theft sublimit + lienholder / loss-payee interest
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Excavator
underground hazard (the XCU underground exposure) on the GL
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Backhoe
commercial auto — the machine travels public roads
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Forklift
workers compensation — powered-industrial-truck operator exposure
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Dozer
contractors pollution liability — the land-disturbance exposure
We also write trenchers, motor graders, articulated haulers, track loaders, compactors, pile drivers and directional drills — see all equipment we cover.
The equipment floater is the policy we lead with
An equipment floater — the inland marine form contractors still call contractors equipment insurance — is the one policy on your program that is actually built for things that move. It follows the machine rather than the address, which is why it is the first thing we look at and the last thing we would ask you to bundle away.
Licensed in 48 states
Equipment rules are state rules — dig-notice law, road travel, operator certification and stormwater permitting all change at the state line.
Equipment dealers
A dealer holds machines for resale rather than running them on a jobsite, which makes it a different account with a different exposure. We write those too, on their own program.
When you are ready, we also place
None of this is a condition of writing your equipment. It is here because most owners get round to it eventually, and it is easier when the same people already know the schedule.
- Rented & Leased Equipment — Coverage for machines you do not own — the rental-contract exposure.
- General Liability — Third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from the work.
- Transit & Trailer Transport — The machine in motion — loading, hauling, and the trailer itself.
- Commercial Auto — Trucks, trailers, and equipment operated on public roads.
- Workers Compensation — Operator and ground-crew injury exposure.
- Umbrella / Excess — Limits above the primary GL and auto layers.
Common questions
Can I insure just my equipment, without buying a package policy?
Yes — that is the whole idea here. We write equipment-only, so a schedule of machines can be placed on its own without a general liability or property policy attached to it. Plenty of markets will not quote a floater unless you bring them supporting lines as well; we work the ones that will.
What is an equipment floater?
An equipment floater is an inland marine form that covers your owned machines wherever they happen to be — sitting in the yard, chained to a trailer, or working on a site three counties away. It is not a property policy tied to one address, which is why it suits equipment that moves for a living.
Does the floater cover machines I rent or lease from someone else?
No. The floater covers equipment you own. Machines you rent or lease in belong on a rented and leased equipment line, which responds to what your rental contract makes you responsible for. The two sit side by side on most schedules, and the seam between them is where coverage gaps usually hide.
Is my equipment covered while it is being hauled?
Transit is its own question. An equipment floater will often follow the machine onto a trailer, but the terms vary by form, and hauling someone else’s equipment is a different exposure again. We look at how your machines actually move before deciding where transit belongs on the schedule.
Do I need commercial auto for a backhoe that drives on public roads?
Often, yes. Once a machine travels a public road under its own power it stops being purely an equipment question and starts being a vehicle question, and the rules for that are set state by state. It is one of the reasons our state pages are organized by machine rather than by coverage.
What does heavy equipment insurance cost?
We do not publish a premium, because there is not an honest one to publish — cost is built from your specific schedule. What drives it is the value and age of the machines, where they are kept overnight, how far they travel, your claims history, and the limits and deductibles you choose.
Who we are, and how we place equipment
Equipment Guard Insurance is a Wexford Insurance, LLC brand, run by Nate Jones, CPCU, and Kami Jones. We place heavy equipment coverage on a wholesale and brokered basis through 17 markets: Liberty Mutual, Travelers, Hanover, West Bend, Encova, Tokio Marine, Markel, Great American, Ohio Mutual, Goodville Mutual, Grand River, Secura, Cincinnati, The Hartford, Hastings, Westfield, UFG. That is the whole panel — not a shortlist drawn from a larger pool.
The monoline angle is why the list matters. A number of these markets will not look at a schedule of equipment unless you bring them supporting lines as well, and the ones that will are not always the ones you would guess. Knowing which is which is most of the job. We review the panel quarterly and adjust it when a market’s appetite shifts.
Nobody buys a dozer because they were excited about the insurance. They buy it because they need to move dirt on Monday. My job is to get the machine covered without making you rebuild the rest of your program to do it.
— Nate Jones, CPCU
Equipment Guard Insurance is a DBA of Wexford Insurance, LLC, an independent agency licensed in 48 states. National Producer Number 19887690 — verify at NIPR.com.
Tell us what you run
Send the schedule — or a photograph of it on a clipboard, we are not fussy — and we will tell you what it takes to write it equipment-only.