What is Florida Workers Compensation Insurance?

Florida workers comp insurance is designed to pay for medical care and physical rehabilitation of injured workers and replaces their lost wages while they're unable to work.  Florida workmans comp insurance pays injured employees on behalf of their employers regardless of who was at fault for the accident.     

How are Florida Workers Comp Insurance Rates Calculated?

Florida workmans comp insurance premiums are based on a percentage of annual gross payroll.  Each different job type is given its own identifying code number and the state of Florida assigns a corresponding percentage of payroll to each class code.  Florida workers compensation insurance rates are based on the relative risk of injury for the particular class code.  For example, a roofer is assigned a different rate than a painter or a plumber because the risk of injury is higher for a roofer.  In general terms, all insurance companies that write Florida workers comp insurance must use the same state assigned rates when determining how much to charge for a policy.  At first glance this would seem to imply that all companies within the same class code would pay the exact same rate for a Florida workmans compensation insurance policy.  Check out the "Compare Rates" section of this website to find out why this is not the case!  There can be drastic differences in the rates that companies within the same class code pay for their Florida workers comp insurance.

Florida Workers' Compensation Exemption Guidelines for the Construction Industry

Florida workers comp insurance is required to be carried by any construction business having even 1 employee that does not hold a valid Florida workers compensation exemption.  In order to be Florida workers comp exempt a person must be an officer of a corporation and be at least a 10% owner of the corporation.  If you would like to file for a Florida workers compensation exemption, the form to do so is available in the "Forms" section of this website.  Businesses that are not incorporated are not eligible to file for a Florida workers compensation exemption.  What this means is that virtually every construction contractor in the state is required by law to carry Florida workers comp insurance.