FAQ
The questions we get on the phone, answered short.
Every answer here is under 80 words and links to the long version. If yours isn't here, call; it probably will be next week.
Do you quote online?
No, and it's on purpose. Commercial coverage for dirt, landscape, and snow work has to be built around your operation: the equipment list, the payroll split, the trucks, the contracts you sign. An online form can't read a GC's insurance exhibit or notice that your plow truck is on a personal policy. A fifteen-minute call can. Here's how getting insured with us actually goes.
What do I need to have ready for a quote?
Five things: an equipment list with current values, a payroll estimate split by what people actually do, your vehicle list with VINs, current dec pages if you have them, and the insurance section from your biggest customer's contract. Loss runs help if you've been insured before. Then a phone call. The full list is on Get Insured.
How fast can I get a certificate of insurance?
Usually the same business day. It depends on the carrier and what the holder is asking for. A standard certificate to an HOA goes out fast. One that needs a new additional insured endorsement waits on the carrier to issue it. Send the holder's name, address, and the exact wording they want, and we'll tell you where it stands. The process is on the certificates page.
Do you work outside Colorado?
No. We're licensed in Colorado and we insure businesses located here, from the Front Range to the Western Slope and every county in between. That's a choice, not a limitation. The statutes, the soils, the snow, and the contract norms we know are Colorado's. If you're based in another state, a local agency that knows your rules is the right call. Where we work.
Are you the insurance carrier?
No. Digg Excavation Insurance is a licensed Colorado insurance agency. Policies are issued by insurance carriers, which make all underwriting and claims decisions. What we do is build the application, place the coverage with a carrier that writes your trade, read the policy against your contracts, and stand between you and the carrier when something goes wrong. Phil runs an excavation outfit in Park County, which is why the agency exists. About the agency.
What does excavation, landscaping, or snow removal insurance cost?
The only accurate number is a quote built on your operation. What moves it: payroll and class codes, equipment values, the type of work (utility and septic rate above driveways and sod), trucks and driver records, the limits your contracts require, loss history, and subcontractor use. Class codes and loss runs are set for this year. The rest you can change. Already insured? Start with a policy review.
What is the difference between an additional insured and a certificate holder?
A certificate holder gets a copy of your certificate and, usually, notice if the policy cancels. An additional insured is on the policy itself, by endorsement, and can claim coverage under it. HOAs, property managers, and GCs ask for both. Being typed into the certificate's description box is not the same as an endorsement on the policy. Read the endorsement schedule. The certificates page covers how the requests go out.
What does primary and non-contributory mean?
Your policy pays first on a covered claim and doesn't ask the GC's or owner's policy to share the cost. Nearly every GC contract and most national snow management subcontracts require it. Under most standard forms it's an endorsement, not automatic. Check your endorsement schedule for the wording before you sign a contract that asks for it. More on the general liability page.
What is a waiver of subrogation?
Your carrier agrees not to chase the other party after paying your claim. Subrogation is the carrier's right to recover from whoever caused the loss; the waiver gives that up in favor of the GC, HOA, or owner named in the contract. It shows up on general liability and on workers' compensation, usually as a blanket endorsement priced as a small percentage of premium. Details on workers' compensation.
Does general liability cover my excavator or skid steer?
No. General liability pays for injury and damage you cause to other people and their property. Your own excavator, skid steer, dozer, or plow blade is insured under a contractor's equipment policy, usually called inland marine, which typically covers theft, rollover, fire, and transit. It pays the number you scheduled, so a machine listed at a price from three purchases ago is the most expensive line on the dec page. Contractor's equipment.
What is hired and non-owned auto coverage?
Hired covers vehicles you rent or borrow, like a lowboy for a weekend move. Non-owned covers vehicles you don't own that get used for the business, usually an employee driving his own pickup for parts. Both are typically added to the commercial auto policy, both cost little, and both come up the first time a crew member has a wreck in his own truck on your time. Read the commercial auto page.
Is a bond the same as insurance?
No. Insurance pays you for a covered loss. A bond pays the city or the owner if you don't perform, and then the surety collects every dollar back from you under the indemnity agreement you signed. Three parties, one promise, your name on the credit line. License, permit, right-of-way, and performance bonds all work that way. We place both, and the difference matters the day something goes wrong. Bonds for Colorado contractors.
I have one part-time helper. Do I need workers' comp in Colorado?
Yes. Colorado requires workers' compensation as soon as you have one or more employees, whether part-time, full-time, or family. A seasonal laborer counts. A nephew on the plow truck counts. The state can fine an uninsured employer for every day without coverage, and that fine is separate from what happens when the helper gets hurt in a trench. Workers' compensation for Colorado contractors.
What happens at a workers' comp audit?
The carrier compares the payroll you estimated at the start of the year to what you actually paid, by class code. Bring payroll records, quarterly payroll tax filings, and a certificate for every subcontractor. A sub with no certificate is treated as your employee and their payments get added to your payroll at the highest rate on the policy. Records that show who operated, who drove, and who answered the phone make it a twenty-minute meeting. Workers' comp.
Does my general liability policy cover hitting a gas line?
Typically yes, if the form has no XCU exclusion and you had a valid locate ticket. Dig without a valid ticket and Colorado law presumes you're liable for the repair, the utility's costs, and any resulting damage, and the carrier reads the policy closely. Commission fines are separate and not insurable under most standard forms. The repair and the neighbor's damage are the claim. General liability.
What is XCU and does my policy have it?
XCU stands for explosion, collapse, and underground property damage. Some general liability forms exclude all three, which removes the trench, the utility strike, and the foundation next door from an excavator's coverage. Look on the endorsement schedule for an underground or collapse exclusion. We won't place an excavation GL policy with it, and we read the endorsements to confirm. What to look for on your GL form.
Does general liability cover a fuel or hydraulic spill?
Under most standard forms, no. The GL pollution exclusion is broad and reaches diesel, hydraulic oil, brine, and herbicide. Some policies carry a time-element buyback that brings back a sudden release you report inside a short window, but gradual conditions (a leaking saddle tank, a failed septic field) stay excluded. What GL still covers is the injury and property damage from everything else. A contractor's pollution policy is the fix. Pollution liability.
Do I need commercial auto for one dump truck?
Yes, under most standard forms, because a personal auto policy excludes business use and a loaded Mack dump truck is business use. Colorado's 25/50/15 minimum keeps the plate legal; contracts commonly ask for a $1M combined single limit. If you haul material you don't own for someone who pays you, ask us about for-hire authority and the MCS-90 endorsement before you assume either way. Commercial auto.
How long are my 811 locate marks good for?
While they're clearly visible, and for no more than thirty calendar days after the locate request due date. Rain, hail, and a week of traffic can erase paint well before that. If you can't find the marks, re-call and wait it out. Notice to Colorado 811 has to go in at least two business days before you dig, not counting the day you call. Excavation insurance in Colorado.
Does my general liability policy cover herbicide overspray?
Often not. Under most standard forms the GL pollution exclusion reaches herbicide and fertilizer drift. Colorado's commercial applicator statute requires liability insurance but says a policy with a pollution exclusion still qualifies, so a licensed applicator can be fully compliant and still have no coverage for the drift claim. A pollution endorsement or a stand-alone contractor's pollution policy is the fix. Pollution liability.
I landscape in summer and plow in winter. Is one policy enough?
It can be, if the snow operation is disclosed and rated on it. The gap we find most often is a landscaping GL policy that never mentions plowing, plus a plow on a pickup with a personal auto policy. Someone falls in a parking lot in Parker in February and two carriers start asking questions. Snow on the GL, plow trucks on commercial auto year-round, logs from the first storm. Landscaping insurance in Colorado.
What certificate limits do HOAs and property managers ask for?
Commonly $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate on general liability, $1M on auto, workers' comp with a waiver of subrogation, and the HOA or management firm named as additional insured. Larger accounts add an umbrella and primary and non-contributory wording. Send us the insurance section before you price the account, not after you sign. General liability.
Is tree work covered under my landscaping policy?
Usually not by default. Tree pruning and removal rate separately from landscape gardening under NCCI class codes, and some carriers restrict climbing and aerial work. If you take down trees, even occasionally, it has to be disclosed and rated. A limb through a roof on a removal that isn't on the policy is where you find out. Landscaping insurance in Colorado.
Does my personal auto policy cover my truck with a plow on it?
Under most personal auto forms, business use is excluded, and plowing for money is business use. Some carriers also treat the blade as unlisted equipment, and some won't renew once they know it exists. A plow truck belongs on a commercial auto policy, rated as a plow truck, with the limits your contracts require. If you only plow your own driveway, ask your personal carrier in writing. Commercial auto.
What does Colorado's snow removal indemnity law actually do?
It voids a clause that makes you indemnify the property owner for the owner's own acts, but only where the contract or a written instruction stopped you from treating the specific snow or ice event at issue. It doesn't void your responsibility for your own work, and it doesn't apply to public bodies, roads, utilities, airports, or insurance and workers' comp agreements. The statute is C.R.S. 13-21-129. Snow plow insurance in Colorado.
Who gets sued after a slip-and-fall on a lot I plowed?
Usually both the property owner and you, and the owner tenders the claim to you under the contract. Your general liability policy responds, subject to the policy language, if snow operations are disclosed on it. Your service log (time in, time out, conditions, product applied, photos) is the evidence. Without it, it's your word against a broken hip. How the GL defense works.
Can I buy a seasonal snow-only policy?
Some carriers write them. The tradeoff is a coverage window that ends on a calendar date while claims from a February storm arrive in June. We usually recommend continuous coverage with snow rated on it, and a seasonal policy only when the numbers clearly favor it or it's the only way a carrier will write snow at all. It depends on the carrier. Snow plow insurance in Colorado.
Do I need a Colorado state license to landscape, excavate, or plow?
No. Colorado has no state landscape-contractor license (DORA licenses landscape architects only), and none for excavation or snow removal either. Cities set their own business-license, right-of-way, and trade-permit rules, and they vary. Septic systems contractors are licensed by the local board of health. The rule that reaches every dig statewide is notice to Colorado 811 at least two business days ahead, not counting the day you call. Colorado, county by county.
Terms you didn't recognize in the answers are in the glossary. Ready to talk? Here's how it goes.
Statutes and numbers on this page last verified September 2, 2026 by a licensed Colorado producer. How we verify.