The insuring agreement promises to “provide the insurance described in this policy,” which in the case of the personal articles form, is all risks of direct physical loss, subject to the exclusions and conditions found in the policy.

The inland marine floater form, in conjunction with the personal articles floater, covers listed personal property of the insured or a member of the insured’s family living in the same household. It may also be written on property owned jointly by persons who are not related but who reside together. And it may be issued to an executor or administrator of a decedent’s estate to cover estate property that is eligible for coverage in all other respects.

The inland marine floater policy — personal lines also contains general exclusions; these are the war risks and nuclear hazards exclusions, applicable regardless of “any other cause or event contributing” to the loss (this “concurrent causation” exclusionary language is now usual to open perils contracts).

Property that can be insured:
The classes of property insurable under the personal articles form are: cameras and photographic equipment, fine arts, golfer’s equipment, musical instruments, personal furs, personal jewelry, silverware, and stamp and coin collections.

Limit of Insurance
A limit of insurance must be inserted in order to trigger coverage for a class of property. It is important to remember, however, that the limit shown is not an agreed value for the property (The only exception to this rule is fine arts property, which are scheduled as agreed values.) The amount an insurer pays for a claim is based on the valuation clause. The limits shown in the schedule do define the maximum amount of insurance available for a class of property.

Newly Acquired Property
An important feature of the personal articles form is automatic coverage on some newly acquired property. This extension, which applies only to jewelry, furs, cameras, and musical instruments, provides protection for 30 days as respects any of these classes on which insurance is already written. To illustrate, if an insured buys a diamond ring, there is automatic coverage on it only if the contract already covers some piece or pieces of jewelry. There would be no automatic protection on the ring if the policy previously applied only to a fur coat. Acquisitions must be reported to the company within 30 days and an additional premium paid from the date the property is acquired. Top recovery is the lesser of 25% of the amount of insurance for the particular class of property or $10,000. Limits lower than these may be established at the option of the insurer.

Automatic coverage on newly acquired property in the fine arts class is available on somewhat different terms. Such items are covered for their actual cash value for up to 25% of the amount of fine arts currently scheduled. The insured must report the new items within 90 days and pay a additional premium from the date acquired.

Exclusions
Since coverage is for all risks of direct physical loss, the boundaries of coverage are set by the policy’s exclusions. The personal articles form contains two exclusions that are applicable to any of the scheduled property. The property is not covered for wear and tear, deterioration, or inherent vice, and the property is not covered for loss caused by insects or vermin. In addition to these broad exclusions, there are special provisions and exclusions applicable to the individual classes of property insurable under the policy.