What Belongs on an Inland Marine Schedule
If it is worth money and it does not stay in one building, it belongs here. Snow contractors consistently under-schedule this line because the attachments feel like part of the truck — right up to the moment a V-plow shears off against a buried curb.
- Plow blades and V-plows — straight blades, V-plows, wing assemblies, the mounts themselves
- Spreaders — tailgate and hopper salt spreaders, liquid brine tanks, sprayers and pumps
- Pushers and buckets — box pushers, containment plows, loader and skid-steer attachments
- Machines — skid steers, compact loaders, UTVs, walk-behind blowers, backpack and handheld gear
- Salt and de-icer inventory — bulk salt, treated salt and liquid de-icer stored in your yard, which is stock, not equipment
Attachments are where the gap usually is
A blade that is bolted to a truck is not automatically insured by the auto policy, and a blade sitting on a rack in April is not covered by a building policy that only lists the building. Scheduling attachments explicitly on inland marine is the cleanest way to close both gaps at once.
Theft, Off-Season Storage and the Yard
Snow equipment is stolen in the off-season far more often than in January. It sits in a yard for six months, it is valuable, it is portable, and thieves know the season is over. Underwriters know it too, and they price the yard.
- Fenced, lit and gated storage lowers the rate and, more importantly, lowers the odds
- Serial numbers and dated photographs turn a disputed claim into a paid one
- GPS trackers on skid steers and pushers routinely recover machines and earn a credit
- Salt stored under cover holds value and avoids a loss that reads as neglect rather than damage
Replacement Cost vs Actual Cash Value
This one decision changes what you get paid. Actual cash value depreciates the item, so a six-year-old spreader pays out at six-year-old money and you buy a new one out of pocket. Replacement cost pays what it costs to buy the equivalent today.
| Basis | What a destroyed 6-year-old V-plow pays | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Actual cash value | Depreciated value, often a fraction of replacement | Lower |
| Replacement cost | What an equivalent new blade costs today | Higher, and usually worth it |
For gear you would have to replace mid-season to keep servicing contracts, replacement cost is not a luxury. A plow you cannot afford to replace in January is a contract you cannot service in January.