Materials covered until the job is accepted.
An installation floater covers the materials and equipment you are installing, in transit, in storage, and on site, until the job is complete and accepted. It closes a gap general liability and the owner's property policy both leave open.
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Why the gap exists
Between buying materials and finishing the install, the property is exposed and often uninsured. Your general liability covers third-party claims, not your own materials. Builders risk may cover the project but not always the materials in transit or before they are part of the structure. The installation floater fills that window, which matters most for high-value equipment like HVAC units, solar panels, and fixtures.
Who needs it
Trades that supply and install valuable equipment, HVAC, solar, electrical, plumbing, and flooring, benefit most. It is especially important when a contract makes you responsible for the materials until the owner accepts the work, because a fire, theft, or transit loss before acceptance otherwise falls on you.
How we handle it
We size the floater to the value of the materials you install, confirm it covers transit, storage, and on-site exposure through acceptance, and coordinate it with builders risk so the project and the materials are both covered without overlap or gap.
Reviewed for insurance accuracy by Richard Sweet, Vantage Point Risk. Last reviewed October 19, 2026. How we review this.
Trades that need installation floater
How this coverage applies changes with the work. These are the trades where it does the most, each with the exposure spelled out for that trade.
Remodelers
Materials bought for a job and staged on site before they are installed and accepted.
Remodeler insurance →Roofers
Shingles and membrane sitting on a roof or in a dumpster, exposed to weather and theft.
Roofer insurance →Flooring Contractors
High-value material delivered ahead of the install date and stored on a site you do not control.
Flooring insurance →Carpenters & Framers
Lumber packages and millwork staged before they become part of the structure.
Carpenter insurance →Siding & Gutters
Panels and coil stock delivered to a site and left until the crew gets to them.
Siding & gutters insurance →Specialty Trades
Any trade that buys material, stores it, moves it, and installs it on a site it does not own.
Specialty trade insurance →Requirements change at the state line
Licensing, bonds, and workers comp rules vary by state, and so do the limits contracts ask for. Pick yours.
Go deeper in the Learning Center
Plain-language articles on how this coverage behaves in a real claim.
Common questions.
What is an installation floater?
How is it different from builders risk?
Who needs an installation floater?
Does general liability cover my own materials?
Are your materials covered until acceptance?
The window between purchase and acceptance is a common uninsured gap. We close it for the equipment you install.
Cover the materials until the keys turn over.
Tell us what you install and we will cover it through acceptance.