Electra_Glide
Senior Member
Well, lost my first bid...
It was a rather large backfilling job with the installation of about 300' of downspout conductors and another 300' of pipe for the outfall. I helped my buddy do the initial site work, but he wasn't interested in the backfilling. Pictures of our work are here:
http://mtolivechurch.net/future.htm
My bid was the 2nd lowest, but the guy who got the job bid a ridiculously low number (underbid me by half). Don't know how he's doing it and not losing his shirt, but that's not really my problem. The good news is that I was 2nd lowest, and beat three other guys.
I'm now kind of glad I didn't get the job because securing my liability insurance is turning out to be more of a chore than I thought. Talked to my agent who handles all of my personal stuff (auto, home, etc.) and he was ready to write my policy, but when I called him back to do the deed, he told me that the company (State Farm) wasn't going to write any new liability policies for excavators in PA. He says that they have had a few large claims and are not sure they want to continue offering these policies in PA. This guy's a friend of mine, so I have no reason to believe he's BSing me.
I've got a few more leads I'm tracking down, but nothing yet. Once I mention the word "excavation" the insurance guys seem to get a bit nervous. Since I'm basically looking to set up a "light" excavation business (skid-ster and compact excavator) I'm thinking about pitching it more as a "landscaping" business to see if it gets me any further. I'm trying to figure out if this is a viable option or if it leaves me open to potential problems in the future.
Putting my name out there without insurance is not an option. Any suggestions would be appreciated...
It was a rather large backfilling job with the installation of about 300' of downspout conductors and another 300' of pipe for the outfall. I helped my buddy do the initial site work, but he wasn't interested in the backfilling. Pictures of our work are here:
http://mtolivechurch.net/future.htm
My bid was the 2nd lowest, but the guy who got the job bid a ridiculously low number (underbid me by half). Don't know how he's doing it and not losing his shirt, but that's not really my problem. The good news is that I was 2nd lowest, and beat three other guys.
I'm now kind of glad I didn't get the job because securing my liability insurance is turning out to be more of a chore than I thought. Talked to my agent who handles all of my personal stuff (auto, home, etc.) and he was ready to write my policy, but when I called him back to do the deed, he told me that the company (State Farm) wasn't going to write any new liability policies for excavators in PA. He says that they have had a few large claims and are not sure they want to continue offering these policies in PA. This guy's a friend of mine, so I have no reason to believe he's BSing me.
I've got a few more leads I'm tracking down, but nothing yet. Once I mention the word "excavation" the insurance guys seem to get a bit nervous. Since I'm basically looking to set up a "light" excavation business (skid-ster and compact excavator) I'm thinking about pitching it more as a "landscaping" business to see if it gets me any further. I'm trying to figure out if this is a viable option or if it leaves me open to potential problems in the future.
Putting my name out there without insurance is not an option. Any suggestions would be appreciated...
