An independent insurance broker licensed in Florida can do all of it, usually for free. The broker reads the insurance section, tells you what your policies already meet, adds the missing changes, and shops for anything new, like an umbrella. Who this is for: a Florida contractor who just got a subcontract, an owner's contract, or a bid exhibit and needs insurance sorted before the crew shows up.
The short version
- A Florida licensed independent broker is the only one who can review the contract, change your policies, and shop new coverage.
- Your current agent can help if they write all of your policies. An online insurer can only sell what it offers.
- Your customer's insurance reviewer checks your paperwork. They do not fix it.
- Most fixes take one to three business days. An umbrella or pollution policy can take two weeks.
- Send the contract before you sign it. Every fix is cheaper and faster before the start date.
Who are my options in Florida?
Four kinds of people touch a Florida contract's insurance section, and only one can do the whole job. A construction attorney can argue the wording, but cannot place insurance.
| Who | What they can do | What they cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Independent broker licensed in Florida | Read the contract, compare it to your policies, add endorsements (changes to your policy, usually one page), shop many insurers, issue your certificate | Rewrite the contract for you |
| Your current agent | Add endorsements and raise limits on the policies they already write | Shop companies they do not represent |
| An online insurer | Sell you one of its own policies quickly | Read your contract, or quote roofing, demolition, or big umbrella limits |
| Your customer's insurance reviewer | Tell you why your certificate was rejected | Change your policies. They work for the general contractor. |
First, read what insurance a construction contract asks for.
What Florida rules show up in the insurance section?
Most of the insurance section is your customer's choice, not state law.
| Topic | What Florida law says | What the contract usually says |
|---|---|---|
| General liability | License floor: $300,000 liability and $50,000 property damage for general and building contractors, $100,000 and $25,000 for every other trade (Rule 61G4-15.003) | $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, the total for the year |
| Workers comp | Required in construction with one employee, and a non-exempt owner counts | Whatever state law requires, plus employers liability |
| Commercial auto | To register a standard truck, $10,000 of personal injury protection and $10,000 of property damage liability | $1,000,000 combined single limit |
Those floors sit far below what any Florida general contractor accepts. See what your Florida contractor license requires. Three more rules sit behind the contract. Collect proof of workers comp, or an exemption certificate, from every subcontractor before work starts (F.S. 440.10). A clause making you pay for your customer's own negligence is void unless the contract sets a reasonable dollar cap in the bid documents (F.S. 725.06). Public jobs need a bond for the full contract price (F.S. 255.05).
Contracts test the insurer itself, usually twice: a rating of A- VII or better, and on public work an insurer admitted in Florida. A specialty (surplus lines) insurer can pass the rating test and fail the admitted one, so check both before you buy.
What will the helper need from me?
- The insurance section, or the whole contract. In Florida subcontracts it is an exhibit near the back.
- Your policies, or at least the declarations pages (the front pages showing limits and dates).
- Payroll by job category, revenue, and how much work you subcontract.
- The start date. It sets the deadline for everything.
How long does each fix take in Florida?
| Fix | Usual time | Illustrative cost |
|---|---|---|
| Add the customer you signed with as additional insured (they can use your liability policy if sued over your work) | Same day to three business days | Often free with blanket wording, otherwise $50 to $300 |
| Waiver of subrogation on workers comp (your insurer agrees not to chase your customer for money it paid out) | One to three business days | Usually 2 to 5 percent of the job's workers comp premium |
| Buy a $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 umbrella | One day to two weeks | Roughly $600 to $4,000 a year |
| Add pollution coverage | One to two weeks | Roughly $1,500 to $5,000 a year |
Blanket wording reaches only the party you have a written contract with, and only where the contract required it before the loss. Owners, lenders, architects, and coverage that lasts after the job is finished each take separate endorsements. Typing names into the certificate does nothing.
Those are national illustrative ranges, not Florida quotes, and they move with trade, payroll, claims history, and insurer. Roofing and work at height cost more than finish trades everywhere, and national market reports single out roofing and coastal residential work as the classes insurers watch hardest.
Nothing here can be backdated. A change added after the crew starts does not cover an injury that already happened, and the general contractor's written permission does not fill that gap. That is why Florida general contractors are strict about start dates: let you start uninsured and they own your injured workers. Still bidding? See who reviews a Florida bid for free.
What this looks like in real life
Illustrative example. It is typical of what we see and is not a promise of how any specific situation would be handled.
The setup: A framing subcontractor in Orlando signs a $480,000 subcontract in Kissimmee. The exhibit asks for $1,000,000 general liability, additional insured wording during and after the work, waivers of subrogation, a $2,000,000 umbrella, and $1,000,000 of auto liability.
What went wrong: The general liability limits match. But there is no umbrella, and the three company pickups carry only Florida's registration minimums. The certificate is rejected four days before the start date.
What it cost: A broker placed the umbrella for about $2,900 and raised auto liability to $1,000,000 for about $2,400 more a year, both illustrative. The umbrella took eight business days and the crew lost six, roughly $9,000 in idle labor.
The fix: Every fix was available two weeks earlier at the same price. Send the exhibit before you sign.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who can help me meet a construction contract's insurance requirements in Florida?
An independent insurance broker licensed in Florida. They read the insurance section, compare it to your policies, add the missing changes, and shop for anything new. Most brokerages review a contract at no charge.
Q: Can my current insurance agent handle it?
If they write all of your policies and their companies offer what the contract needs, yes. Trouble starts when the contract wants an umbrella limit or a trade they cannot write.
Q: My start date is Monday and my certificate was rejected. What can be fixed by then?
Usually the paperwork items. Adding your customer to your liability policy, and a waiver on workers comp, normally take one to three business days. A new umbrella or pollution policy can take two weeks.
Q: Can I start work while the paperwork is still pending?
Not safely. Insurers do not backdate, so anything issued after the crew mobilizes does nothing for what already happened. Written permission from the general contractor does not fill that gap.
Q: Do I need workers comp in Florida if it is just me and one helper?
Yes. Florida requires workers comp in construction at one employee, and a non-exempt owner counts. Only corporate officers and LLC members owning at least 10 percent can file an exemption, and no more than three per company.
Q: What does the contract review cost?
Nothing at most independent brokerages. Send the contract or the insurance exhibit and you get a plain English markup of what you meet, what you do not, and what each fix costs.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Reading a Florida contract's insurance section and getting the policies to match it is the most common thing our Florida contractor clients hand us.
- Free contract review. Send us the contract or bid documents and we mark up the insurance section in plain English, whether or not you buy anything from us.
- Free, instant certificates. Clients issue their own certificates of insurance online in about a minute, any hour, any day, at no charge.
- Markets you cannot reach online. One application, shopped across many insurance companies for general liability, workers comp, auto, umbrella, and pollution coverage.
One more thing. This article is general information and is not legal advice or a statement of coverage. Your contract and your policy wording control in every case. Requirements vary by customer, by state, and by insurance company, so have a licensed advisor review your own contract and your own policy before relying on any of it.
Last updated: Reviewed by the Morrow commercial lines team. Last updated September 2026.