Traditionally, marine insurers such as the underwriters at Lloyd's of London covered cargo in the course of international commercial voyages by sea, providing coverage on an "all risk" basis: physical loss or damage from any cause was covered unless the policy specifically excluded that cause.
Fire insurance companies typically provided narrower coverage, where the policies specifically listed the only perils covered, and excluded all losses from any other causes.
In the 19th century, the course of the Industrial Revolution gave rise to new exposures on land, such as telegraphs, railroad equipment, and other types of property with which fire insurance companies were unfamiliar, and inclined to grant coverage only for "enumerated perils".
In the United States, inland marine insurance comprises about 2% of total premiums but account for a higher percent of the profit.
[3] Inland marine policies became known as "floaters" since the property to which coverage was originally extended was essentially "floating."