One theft can produce two claim numbers
The service van disappears overnight. That is bad enough.
Then someone asks what was inside.
Meters. A thermal camera. Cordless tools. Benders. Fish tape. Ladders. Copper and devices staged for the morning job. A few items belong to an employee. Nobody has a current list because the van has been accumulating useful things for three years.
The van and the property inside it are not automatically the same coverage question. Do not assume commercial auto covers the contents of a service van; tools, test gear, and materials need a separate mobile-property review.
The industry collection is Electricians. The coverage home for equipment that travels is Inland Marine & Mobile Business Property.
Why the auto policy is not the tool policy
Commercial auto is built around the vehicle and auto liability. An inland marine or contractor’s equipment form is often where movable tools and equipment get addressed. Installation materials may have their own terms, especially while in transit, waiting at a site, or intended to become part of the job.
Names vary by carrier. So do limits and exclusions. The useful question is not, “Do I have inland marine?” It is, “Does this form cover these items in the places they actually sit?”
That means checking the shop, locked van, active jobsite, temporary storage, and transit between them. Theft Isn’t the Only Way Equipment Costs You. explains the same location problem with larger machines. Electricians face it with smaller property that can still add up quickly.
The expensive items hide in an ordinary-looking van
A business owner may know the price of the van within a few hundred dollars and have no idea what it would cost to reload it this afternoon. That is how a modest property limit survives several renewals without anyone challenging it.
Test gear deserves special attention. A few compact instruments can carry more value than a shelf full of hand tools. Employee-owned tools create another question: are they included, excluded, or subject to a small sublimit? Borrowed and rented equipment may be treated differently from property the company owns.
Copper and job materials can be slippery too. They are not always handled the same way as reusable tools. Ask how the form treats materials in transit and materials waiting for installation. If the answer depends on a schedule, make sure the schedule exists and is current.
A useful inventory is not an accounting masterpiece
Start with the loaded van, not the depreciation report.
Photograph each compartment. Record the make, model, serial number, and replacement cost for the items that would hurt to buy again. Group ordinary hand tools where the form allows it. Mark employee-owned, borrowed, and rented property instead of pretending the company owns everything.
Then total the copper, devices, and other material carried on a busy day. A limit based on an empty Tuesday in February will not help much when the loss happens during a full tenant buildout.
One Twin Cities service route can put the same meter at the shop, in a van, and on two jobsites before dinner. The policy has to follow that movement. The spreadsheet sitting in the office does not change where the property spends its day.
Cheap limits age badly
A low limit saves premium while nothing happens. After a loss, it can leave the contractor choosing which tools to replace first and which jobs to delay.
There may also be a deductible, valuation terms, security conditions, or limits for certain kinds of property. Read those pieces together. A $40,000 headline limit can behave like much less if the item you lost is capped elsewhere or the valuation basis does not match the cost to replace it.
Simple decision rule
If losing one loaded van would interrupt tomorrow’s work, inventory the contents and review the mobile-property form now. Insure the property for its busiest normal day, not for the day someone first filled out the application.
Next step
Open one van and price the five items you would replace first. Add the ordinary tools and materials around them. If that number makes the current limit look old, the policy probably is not keeping up with the work.