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Policy Highlights: Colonial General Insurance Agency, Inc. offers property and liability coverages on a mono-line or package basis for contractors who perform excavation and land grading operations. This program is tailored to contractors and operators engaged in site preparation, lot grading, trenching and similar earthwork. It is not intended for public street or road construction, mining operations, installation or removal of underground tanks, landfills, dam or tunnel construction, or snow removal operations. Overview of the Excavation Insurance Program from Colonial General Insurance Agency, Inc. This program provides flexible solutions for agents placing excavation and grading risks. Available through Colonial General as a managing general agent and excess & surplus lines broker, the program offers both property and commercial general liability coverages with admitted and non-admitted market access depending on the state and risk profile. Carriers vary by account and there are selective admitted markets where available. Ideal Accounts and Appetite Small to mid-sized excavation and grading contractors Operators performing site work for residential and commercial developments (excluding public road or heavy civil projects) Contractors that own and operate their equipment and require contractor's equipment coverage Accounts needing package solutions combining property, equipment, and liability limits Typically not a fit: large heavy civil contractors, mining, tunnel or dam work, landfill operators, underground tank removal projects, public street/road construction, or snow removal operations. Coverage Highlights and Advantages Coverage options are designed for placement flexibility and include: Property Coverage available for excavation insurance: • Accounts Receivable • Basic, Broad, or Special Form • Building • Business Income • Business Personal Property • Computer Equipment • Contractor's Equipment • Equipment Breakdown • Outside Signs • Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value • Valuable Papers Commercial General Liability Coverage available: • Primary limits up to $3 million occurrence and aggregate • $5,000 Medical Payments Coverage—Included • Additional Interests—$100 each • Excess or Umbrella limits up to $25 million • $1,000 minimum deductible required Crime Coverage available: • Inside the Premises—Theft of Money and Securities • Inside the Premises—Robbery or Safe Burglary of Other Property • Outside the Premises Underwriting Notes and Minimum Requirements Minimum deductible: $1,000 (as a program requirement for liability placement). Limits: primary GL available up to $3M with umbrella/excess options to $25M—subject to carrier approval. Underwriting focuses on experience, loss history, scope of operations, equipment values, and site-specific exposures (e.g., shoring, trenching near utilities). Submission requirements typically include contractor’s application, loss runs, equipment schedule, and a description of operations and project types. Territories and Availability Available in AZ, CA, CO, ID, NV, NM, UT, and WY. Some coverages are offered through admitted markets where available; other placements may be written non-admitted depending on state and carrier appetite. Why Work With Colonial General on Excavation Business Specialized underwriting for excavation and grading contractors through an experienced MGA/E&S broker. Package capability to combine property, equipment, crime and liability coverages for a more complete placement. Access to multiple carrier markets to secure competitive limits, including umbrella/excess follow-form options. Practical appetite guidance to help you avoid non-fit accounts and improve placement speed. Sample accounts that fit this program A residential site contractor performing grading, pad preparation and utility trenching for single-family lots with owned compactors, excavators and skid steers. A commercial site work subcontractor hired for earthmoving and drainage installation on a shopping center project (non-public road work), requiring contractor’s equipment and GL limits with an umbrella. Submission Tips Provide a detailed operations description and equipment schedule up front. Include five years of loss runs when available and explain any recent large losses. Identify any subcontracted work and whether the insured performs utility excavation or trench shoring. Note project types that are excluded by the program (public roads, mining, tunnels, landfills, etc.) to avoid delays. Frequently Asked Questions What types of excavation contractors are a good fit for this program?Contractors focused on site preparation, lot grading, trenching and general earthwork for residential and commercial projects (not public road or heavy civil work) are the primary fit. Those who own and operate their equipment and have manageable loss history are preferred. What limits and deductibles can I expect to place?Primary GL limits are available up to $3 million (occurrence and aggregate) with excess/umbrella capacity to $25 million. The program requires a $1,000 minimum deductible for liability; specific deductible and limit combinations depend on carrier underwriting. Are there operations or exposures that this program will not accept?Yes. Typical exclusions include public street/road construction, mining, tunnel or dam construction, landfills, underground tank installation/removal, and snow removal operations. Large heavy civil or specialty hazardous operations are also outside the appetite. What documentation should I include with a submission?Provide a completed application, current equipment schedule, five years of loss runs, and a clear description of operations and project types. Notes on subcontractor use and safety/shoring procedures help expedite underwriting. Is this program admitted in all states listed?Colonial General places coverage through admitted markets where available and uses non-admitted markets as needed. Availability varies by state—AZ, CA, CO, ID, NV, NM, UT and WY are served by the program. Need help placing an account? Connect with a market specialist.

The Influence Of A Horse’s Derriere
'Don’t rock the boat.' 'We’ve always done it that way!' 'If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.' Do these statements ring any bells? Here’s an example of how we tend to lock ourselves into old ways of thinking. The U.S. standard railroad gauge (the distance between the rails) is 4 feet 8.5 inches — an exceedingly odd number. How did the railroad builders determine that gauge? That’s the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the first U.S. railroads. Why did the English build them like that? The first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that was the gauge they used. Why did they use that gauge? The people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used the same wheel spacing. Why did the wagons have that particular, odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long-distance roads in England, because that was the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those old, rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long-distance roads in Europe and England for their legions. Some of the roads are still in use. And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for (or by) Imperial Rome, they all had the same wheel spacing. Specifications and bureaucracies live forever. The U.S. standard railroad gauge of 4 feet 8.5 inches has its origins in the specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. The chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses. So the next time you see an odd specification and wonder what horse’s derriere came up with it, you might be exactly right. Here’s the twist to the story: When a space shuttle is on its launch pad, it has two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters (SRBs). Thiokol Propulsion makes the SRBs at its factory in Utah. The engineers who designed them would’ve made them a bit fatter, but the SRBs travel from the factory to the launch site by train. The railroad line from the factory runs through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track is just wide enough to accommodate two horses’ behinds. So a major design feature of what is arguably the world’s most advanced transportation system was determined more than 2,000 years go — by the width of a horse’s derriere!