Florida Contractor Insurance Requirements (2026)

Florida requires licensed general and building contractors to carry $300,000 public/general liability and $50,000 property-damage coverage, plus workers’ compensation OR a filed exemption. All other contractor categories carry $100,000 liability and $25,000 property damage. These minimums come from the DBPR Construction Industry FAQ (Fla. Stat. 489.115(5)(a); Rule 61G4-15.003); always confirm current amounts before buying a policy.

Liability and property-damage coverage

Fla. Stat. 489.115(5) requires public liability and property-damage insurance, with proof furnished to the jurisdiction where work is performed. Per the DBPR Construction Industry FAQ (statutory/rule basis Fla. Stat. 489.115(5)(a); F.A.C. 61G4-15.003), general and building contractors must carry $300,000 public/general liability and $50,000 property damage; all other categories carry $100,000 liability and $25,000 property damage. “All other categories” is where every trade certification sits — the roofing class, the plumbing class, the mechanical class, the three air-conditioning classes, the three pool and spa classes, underground utility and excavation and the solar class — and so is the electrical certification, although that one answers to a different board and a different part of the chapter. These are coverage minimums, not premiums, and can change — verify the current minimums with the DBPR rather than relying on a figure from a vendor page.

Workers’ compensation

Florida requires workers’ compensation coverage OR a filed exemption with the Division of Workers’ Compensation under Fla. Stat. 489.114 and Chapter 440. Owners and officers with no employees typically take the exemption route; confirm your status with the DBPR and the Division of Workers’ Compensation, per the DBPR Construction Industry FAQ.

What it costs

Insurance is a carrier-quoted estimate, not a fixed state fee — premiums depend on your scope, payroll, claims history, and coverage limits. Factor a range into the overall budget, where insurance cost inside the total is set out alongside the state fees. Which minimum applies follows from the class: the higher pair attaches to general and building contractors, the lower to everything else including the CRC residential class, and the boundary between the two is worked through under what a building contractor may build. Two situations carry no state coverage minimum because they carry no state license: work below every licensed class, under where a license is not required, and an owner building on their own property, who takes on the exposure personally.

Get a quote

Line up coverage early, because proof of insurance is part of your application file.

Related pages

Insurance is one of the Florida GC license requirements and a required item on the Florida GC license application. For the overview, return to the Florida general contractor license guide.

This page summarizes insurance requirements and is general information, not legal advice. Verify required coverage types and minimum amounts with the Florida DBPR before purchasing a policy.

A payment bond is a different instrument from the coverages above, and Fla. Stat. 713.13(1)(a) says a project having one does not remove the owner’s duty to record a notice of commencement. Where a bond exists, the notice must name the surety and the bond amount — what the notice records about a bond — and the bond sits inside the construction lien framework rather than beside it.

The exemption route, and its limits

A construction business with one or more employees must secure compensation; the coverage duty starts at four employees everywhere else. An officer may step outside chapter 440 instead, but only within narrow limits — who may elect a workers’ compensation exemption sets out the three-officer cap and the ten percent ownership floor, and how a certificate is filed and renewed covers the two-year cycle. An exemption removes the officer, never the payroll around them.