When it comes to insurance, the term "floaters" is not the most recognized or used term for coverage.  However, Floaters can be very one of the most important coverage's that you can add to your Homeowners policy. Floaters are used to cover easily movable items such as jewelry, fine arts, firearms, musical instruments, cameras, cell phones, and more. The history of floaters goes back to the origin of insurance, Marine policies, where property being shipped across the ocean was insured or underwritten by various "names" willing to accept the risk of a specified voyage for a premium paid in advance of the voyage. If the vessel arrived safely, the premium was kept the the names and placed into a reserve fund designed to cover any future losses.  The evolution of insurance continued when Inland Marine policies were developed as a natural extension of Marine policies.  Inland Marine is the term used to described property on vessels but instead of ocean exposure, the inland marine policies covered property being moved on inland waterways such as rivers and lakes.  Eventually, underwriters began to offer coverage for most easily movable property under the Insurance Floater concept. What does it mean to you?  Since your Homeowners policy primarily insures property at the location specified on your policy - the structure or dwelling, your personal property, detached structures, fences - it is necessary to add coverage when you commonly remove items from your location.  One of the most common floaters for Homeowners is the jewelry schedule.  Since jewelry is mostly on the person and not the premises, the floater specifies the item(s) to be covered, and the coverage extends beyond the residence (location on the policy).  Should a scheduled item get lost, damaged, stolen or just plain disappears, the insurance company will pay to replace that scheduled item up to the amount listed on the policy. We encourage you to call us to discuss how insurance floaters can be used to enhance your insurance coverage.