What Does Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Cover?

Florida’s workers’ compensation insurance covers almost all on-the-job injuries.

Most employers in Florida must carry workers’ compensation insurance. When employees get injured during the course and scope of their employment, the workers’ comp insurer pays their medical expenses and provides partial income replacement.

In this guide, we’ll discuss Florida workers’ comp and the benefits you can receive after a workplace injury.

Florida law requires employers to buy workers’ comp insurance if they have:

• More than one employee (including owners) in the construction industry
• More than four employees (including owners) in a non-construction industry
• More than six regular workers or 12 seasonal workers in the agriculture industry

These rules mean that all construction businesses carry workers’ comp insurance. Most other businesses also carry workers’ comp insurance, with the exception of very small businesses with four employees/owners or fewer. Most farming and fishing operations must carry workers’ comp insurance, as well.

Some employers are allowed to forego workers’ comp:

• Homeowners do not need workers’ comp for domestic servants
• Businesses do not need workers’ comp for independent contractors
• Charities do not need workers’ comp for volunteers
• Professional sports teams do not need workers’ comp for athletes
• Entertainment venues do not need workers’ comp for independent performers
• Car services and taxi companies do not need workers’ comp for independent drivers
• Sponsors of amateur athletic events do not need workers’ comp for umpires and referees

These exceptions mean that most employers must cover their employees with workers’ comp insurance.

How Does Workers’ Compensation Work?

Workers’ compensation balances the interests of both the employer and the employee. Rather than forcing workers to pursue a lawsuit after a workplace accident, a worker can file an insurance claim to get compensation. This reduces costs to the worker as they seek money for their losses. It also speeds up the compensation process.

Employers also benefit from this system. As long as the employer has complied with Florida’s workers’ comp laws, the employer is immune from employee lawsuits for workplace injuries. 

Florida law usually limits an injured worker’s remedies to workers’ comp benefits. Injured workers cannot file a lawsuit against their employers for their injuries, even if the employer or a fellow employee acted negligently.

Sources of Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Employers can get workers’ comp insurance in three ways:

Private Insurers

Private insurance companies like those that sell homeowners’ insurance and business liability insurance also provide workers’ comp insurance. AIG, The Hartford, State Farm, and many other independent insurers sell workers’ comp policies.

Your employer buys a workers’ comp policy just like they would any other insurance product. The employer fills out an application, and the insurer decides whether to issue coverage or not. High-risk businesses might not receive approval.

Insurers set premiums based on the employer’s experience rating. Insurance companies determine the experience rating from the employer’s history of workers’ comp claims. An insurer may interpret the presence of a lot of claims to mean an unsafe workplace. If this happens, they will often charge a higher premium for coverage.

Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association (FWCJUA)

Florida’s legislature created the FWCJUA as a non-profit corporation that offers workers’ comp insurance to employers who cannot get private insurance. 

FWCJUA acts as the “insurer of last resort” so that businesses can get the insurance required by law instead of shutting down.

Self-Insurance

Large businesses can self-insure. This means that they act as their own insurer by putting money into a self-insurance fund. The business administers the fund just like a workers’ comp insurer.