Best Small Business Insurance in Florida

Florida Insurance Requirements

The State of Florida currently requires all businesses with four or more part- or full-time employees to carry workers' compensation insurance. The state also requires businesses to have commercial auto insurance for their vehicles. 

Commercial Auto Insurance

Vehicles owned by a business, as well as vehicles owned by individuals who use them for business purposes, must have commercial auto insurance. The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles department provides the specific requirements on its website:

Before you register a vehicle with at least four wheels in Florida, you must show proof of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Property Damage Liability (PDL) automobile insurance. PIP covers 80 percent of all necessary and reasonable medical expenses up to $10,000 resulting from a covered injury, no matter who caused the crash. PDL coverage pays for damage to another person’s property caused by you or someone else driving your insured vehicle.

Proof of PIP/PDL coverage must be issued by an insurance company licensed in Florida to sell policies or by qualifying for a self-insurance certificate issued by FLHSMV.

Any vehicle with a current Florida registration must:

• • be insured with PIP and PDL insurance at the time of vehicle registration.

• • have a minimum of $10,000 in PIP AND a minimum of $10,000 in PDL. Vehicles registered as taxis must carry bodily injury liability (BIL) coverage of $125,000 per person, $250,000 per occurrence and $50,000 for (PDL) coverage.
  • have continuous coverage even if the vehicle is not being driven or is inoperable. Surrender the license plate/tag BEFORE cancelling [sic] your insurance.

For most vehicles, property damage liability is required, but residual bodily injury is optional. Certain types of vehicles might require additional coverage.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Florida requires businesses with four or more employees to have workers’ compensation insurance. Title XXXI, Chapter 440 of the Florida Statutes provides the following detail about what is and what is not considered to be “employment”:

(17)(a) “Employment,” subject to the other provisions of this chapter, means any service performed by an employee for the person employing him or her.

(b) “Employment” includes:

1. Employment by the state and all political subdivisions thereof and all public and quasi-public corporations therein, including officers elected at the polls.
2. All private employments in which four or more employees are employed by the same employer or, with respect to the construction industry, all private employment in which one or more employees are employed by the same employer.
3. Volunteer firefighters responding to or assisting with fire or medical emergencies whether or not the firefighters are on duty.

(c) “Employment” does not include service performed by or as:

1. Domestic servants in private homes.
2. Agricultural labor performed on a farm in the employ of a bona fide farmer, or association of farmers, that employs 5 or fewer regular employees and that employs fewer than 12 other employees at one time for seasonal agricultural labor that is completed in less than 30 days, provided such seasonal employment does not exceed 45 days in the same calendar year. The term “farm” includes stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, fur-bearing animals, fish, and truck farms, ranches, nurseries, and orchards. The term “agricultural labor” includes field foremen, timekeepers, checkers, and other farm labor supervisory personnel.
3. Professional athletes, such as professional boxers, wrestlers, baseball, football, basketball, hockey, polo, tennis, jai alai, and similar players, and motorsports teams competing in a motor racing event as defined in s. 549.08.
4. Labor under a sentence of a court to perform community services as provided in s. 316.193.
5. State prisoners or county inmates, except those performing services for private employers or those enumerated in s. 948.036(1).

For businesses with fewer than four employees that do not have workers’ compensation insurance, it is important to note the following:

440.055 Notice requirements. — An employer who employs fewer than four employees, who is permitted by law to elect not to secure payment of compensation under this chapter, and who elects not to do so shall post clear written notice in a conspicuous location at each worksite directed to all employees and other persons performing services at the worksite of their lack of entitlement to benefits under this chapter.

Data Breach Insurance

Florida’s data breach notification law requires a business that acquires, maintains, stores, or uses personal information to notify residents of the state of any unauthorized access to their information. 

This statutory obligation to notify of a data breach increases the possibility that the affected individuals will take legal action. Accordingly, data breach insurance should be considered by any business that handles customers’ personal information in electronic form. 

§ 501.171: Notice to Individuals of Security Breach

(4)(a) A covered entity shall give notice to each individual in this state whose personal information was, or the covered entity reasonably believes to have been, accessed as a result of the breach.

§ 501.171: Covered Entity

(1)(b) “Covered entity” means a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, or other commercial entity that acquires, maintains, stores, or uses personal information.

Florida Insurance Resources

Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Insurance Requirements
Florida Workers’ Compensation Statute

General Liability Insurance

The vast majority of Florida companies purchase general liability insurance from an insurance company even though it is not legally required. This type of business liability insurance covers third-party bodily injury, third-party property damage, advertising liability, libel, slander, copyright issue, and other common claims faced by companies across various industries. 

General liability insurance is one of the most important types of business insurance your company can purchase.

Business Owner’s Policy

A business owner’s policy (BOP) is an affordable way to bundle business insurance coverages. This type of policy includes commercial general liability insurance with commercial business property insurance. Many small business owners with a physical business space opt for this coverage.

Commercial Auto Insurance

You need to carry commercial auto insurance if your company uses vehicles to transport people or goods. This type of insurance is very similar to personal auto insurance and covers liability, medical costs, collisions, and uninsured/underinsured motorists. A commercial auto policy also covers vehicles rented or owned by your company and employees who use their own vehicles for company business.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Florida requires businesses with four or more employees to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to subscribe to such insurance. Taking out workers' compensation insurance puts a limit on the amount and type of compensation that an injured employee may receive. The limits are set by law.

Employee Health/Life/Disability Insurance

Companies that provide health, life, and/or disability insurance as a fringe benefit will need appropriate Florida insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act, firms with more than 50 full-time employees must offer health insurance or pay an expensive penalty.

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance covers financial risks to attorneys, accountants, and other people who provide professional services or expertise. Professional liability coverage varies depending on the industry but usually includes negligence, legal defense, slander or libel, and copyright and trademark disputes. 

Professional liability insurance includes errors and omissions (E&O) insurance.

Data Breach Insurance

If your company hosts customers’ personal information on its servers and those servers are hacked, lawsuits and damages can result. Data breach insurance protects you in these cases. 

Cyber Liability Insurance

Similar to but more comprehensive than data breach insurance, cyber liability insurance may pay for legal expenses related to a data breach or set up a call center for individuals affected by a breach. It also may pay for active protection against cyberattacks.

Commercial Crime Insurance

Crimes like extortion, forgery, burglary, computer fraud, and embezzlement are covered by commercial crime insurance. Situations in which this type of insurance is particularly useful include dishonest or libelous acts by employees.

Fiduciary Liability Insurance

Fiduciaries, who are legally required to act in plan participants’ best interests rather than the company’s when choosing advisors and investments, should consider this type of insurance coverage. It covers them if they are sued for allegedly providing negligent investment advice or administering plans or benefits incorrectly. 

Third parties like out-of-company consultants and benefit plan administrators are usually not protected.

Directors and Officers Insurance

Any company with directors and officers should consider directors and officers (D&O) insurance coverage, a type of liability insurance that reimburses directors and officers for claims made against them regarding harm allegedly caused by their management decisions.

Executive Risk Coverage

Executive risk insurance is business liability insurance that provides coverage for fraud, D&O, employment practices, initial public offerings, pension funds, extortion, and professional negligence.