Hendrickson Insurance
Hendrickson Insurance
A Florida workers comp exemption takes one owner off workers compensation. It covers nobody else. Corporate officers and LLC members file a Notice of Election to be Exempt online with the state Division of Workers' Compensation. In construction, no more than three owners per company qualify, each owning at least 10 percent, the fee is $50, and the certificate lasts two years. Hendrickson Insurance in Sarasota writes the policy for the employees the exemption does not reach.
The exemption is for owners, not businesses. The state issues it to a named corporate officer or LLC member. A sole proprietor or partner in construction cannot file one, because section 440.02 counts them as an employee.
Your employees still need a policy. The exemption form itself makes the owner certify that every employee of the company is covered. A construction company needs a policy at one employee. Any other business needs one at four.
The exempt owner gets nothing if hurt. Section 440.05(13) says an exempt officer may not recover benefits. Health insurance and any disability policy are what is left.
Florida splits exemptions into two systems, and the state runs a separate online application for each. Pick the wrong one and the certificate does not match the work. If you are not sure which side your business falls on, the state's own page says to call NCCI, the rating bureau, at (800) 622-4123.
| Business | Who can file | How many | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction corporation | Officers listed with the Division of Corporations, each owning at least 10 percent | 3 per company, or per group of affiliated companies | $50 |
| Construction LLC | Members owning at least 10 percent | 3 per LLC, or per affiliated group | $50 |
| Non-construction corporation | Officers listed with the Division of Corporations | No cap stated | None stated |
| Non-construction LLC | Members owning at least 10 percent | 10 members | None stated |
| Sole proprietor or partner in construction | Cannot file. Section 440.02 treats them as an employee. | None | None |
| Sole proprietor or partner outside construction | Not covered unless they choose to be. Nothing to file. | None | None |
Every applicant needs a valid driver license, expired no more than 30 days, and the company must be active with the Division of Corporations. Nobody tied to an active stop-work order can get one. The certificate names one company. Work for a second corporation and you need a second certificate.
When the policy becomes required. Section 440.02(20)(b) brings a construction business into the system at one employee and any other private business at four. An officer who files the exemption stops counting as an employee. An officer or LLC member who does not file counts toward the four. That is why a two-owner LLC with two employees outside construction can be under the line, or over it, depending on whether the owners filed.Section 440.10(1)(b) makes a contractor liable for workers comp for the employees of any subcontractor that has not secured coverage. Section 440.10(1)(c) says the contractor shall require evidence of coverage, and an exempt subcontractor officer must hand over a copy of the certificate. If the exemption turns out to be invalid, the contractor pays the claim and has to chase the sub for the money under 440.10(1)(d).
So the GC wants two things from a sub with a crew: the owner's exemption certificate, and a certificate of insurance showing the crew is covered. The exemption alone answers only for the owner. Section 440.02(18)(c) also counts anyone a construction contractor pays as a subcontractor as the contractor's employee, unless that sub has a valid exemption or its own coverage. Paying uninsured subs can put you over the one-employee line without a single W-2.
The state checks too. Under section 440.107(7), when the Division finds an employer that should have coverage and does not, it issues a stop-work order within 72 hours, and the order stays on the state's website for at least five years. Anyone can look up a company's coverage and exemptions on the Division of Workers' Compensation data portal.
The application is online only, through the state's construction or non-construction exemption page. Section 440.05(3) lists what it asks for:
You sign it yourself. The state says anyone other than the applicant who signs it may be committing a felony. Construction filers pay the $50 fee. Renewal is the same application, filed before the two years run out.
Most of the exemption calls this office gets come from contractors who just hired someone, or whose GC just asked for a certificate. What they need is a workers comp policy for the crew, placed in the voluntary market if a carrier will write the class, or through the Joint Underwriting Association if none will. Those same contractors usually need general liability insurance in Florida, and the GC asks for both certificates on the same day. Trades with a full program are on our Florida contractor insurance page.
Send payroll by class of work, the employee count, which owners hold exemptions, and five years of loss runs if you have prior coverage. Dennis Hendrickson reads the application himself.
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Two questions tell us whether we are the right fit. If we are, Dennis Hendrickson reads your application himself.
Get a workers comp quote →Section 440.05(8) sets a $50 fee for a construction industry certificate or renewal. The state's non-construction page lists no fee.
Two years from the effective date on the certificate. The state is required to send notice at least 60 days before it expires.
Not in construction. Section 440.02 counts a construction sole proprietor or partner as an employee, and the exemption is filed by corporate officers and LLC members. Outside construction, a sole proprietor is not covered unless they elect to be, so there is nothing to exempt.
In construction, no more than three officers per company or group of affiliated companies, each owning at least 10 percent. Outside construction, the state allows up to 10 members of an LLC.
Yes, if you have employees over the threshold: one in construction, four in any other business. The exemption covers only the named owner, and the application makes you certify that your employees are covered.
Look it up on the Division of Workers' Compensation data portal, which searches coverage and exemptions. A contractor who relies on an invalid exemption can end up paying that sub's claim under section 440.10.
Apply online or call 941-957-2796. Have payroll by class, employee count, owner exemptions and loss runs ready.
Dennis Hendrickson changed a New Jersey state tennis rule at 17 and played four years of Division I tennis at UNC Charlotte. Today he writes both the commercial and the personal insurance for Gulf Coast owners himself, and he works a renewal or a claim the way he played: nothing conceded, no point given away.
When you apply, he answers. Every application goes straight to Dennis. He reads it himself and responds the same business day in most cases, always within 48 hours.
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