Inland Marine Coverage for Architectural Glulam: Insuring the Long Haul

Architectural glulam members are among the most difficult items in the construction supply chain to insure in transit. They're oversized, custom, irreplaceable on a job-site schedule, and they spend significant time in conditions — on flatbeds, at staging yards, under crane hooks — that standard cargo policies weren't designed for.

Why Standard Cargo Fails for Oversized Structural Members

Standard cargo or transportation floater policies are written for commodity freight: pallets, boxes, packaged goods. They typically include:

• Weight limits that don't accommodate a 60-foot, 2,000-pound glulam arch
• Exclusions for improper loading that can be applied to any oversized load
• No coverage for crane operations — the policy ends at delivery
• No off-site storage coverage — if a member sits at a staging yard before installation, coverage has lapsed

What Inland Marine Covers

A properly structured inland marine policy for glulam transit will cover:

Door to crane. Coverage follows the member from your loading dock to the moment it's lifted into final position — including transit, intermediate staging, and the lift itself.

All-risk coverage on the member. Physical damage from any external cause — weather, accident, improper handling by a third party — covered on an all-risk basis.

Replacement value. A custom architectural glulam member is valued at what it costs to reproduce and deliver — not at a depreciated book value.

Off-site storage. If the member sits at a job-site staging yard or distribution warehouse before installation, coverage continues.

Real Claim Scenarios

Scenario 1: Interstate transit damage. A flatbed carrying a custom 48-foot glulam ridge beam is involved in a fender-bender. The shock load damages the beam's adhesive bond. Without inland marine: disputed claim. With inland marine: replacement cost paid, project timeline preserved.

Scenario 2: Job-site staging loss. An architectural glulam package staged at a storage lot for three weeks suffers vandalism. Standard cargo: expired at delivery. Inland marine: covered.

How CCA Structures Glulam Inland Marine

Contractors Choice Agency builds inland marine programs that cover your members on an open-cargo (blanket) basis so every shipment is automatically covered, include the staging and crane-lift exposures explicitly, and coordinate with your commercial property policy so there's no gap at the loading dock.

If you ship custom architectural glulam anywhere in the country, this is coverage worth having before your next shipment leaves the plant.