YOU MAY BE LIABLE FOR WORKERS COMPENSATION COVERAGE FOR YOUR OUT OF-STATE CONTRACTORS
Did you know that if you have Workers' Compensation Insurance in Florida and you use out-of-state contractors to perform work within the state of Florida you may be responsible if they don't have Florida workers compensation coverage.?
By Florida law, all contractors must carry FLORIDA workers compensation insurance coverage. Just because a contractor has a workers comp policy, does not mean that Florida is a covered state. All workers compensation policies list the states specifically covered by that insurance policy. So, if a contractors comes from out of state, Florida needs to be listed in Section 3A of their work comp insurance policy. If it is not, they are considered uninsured contractors according to Florida State Statute 440.10.
A certificate of insurance does not guarantee that coverage is valid and in force when the contractor is working for you in the state of Florida.
According to Florida statute 440.10:
(g) Subject to statute 440.38*, any employer who has employees engaged in work in this state shall obtain a Florida policy or endorsement for such employees which utilizes Florida Class codes, rate, rules, and manuals that are in compliance with and approved under the provisions of this chapter and the Florida Insurance Code.
*440.38
(7 ) Any employer who meets the requirements of subsection ( I ) through a policy of insurance issued outside of this state must at all times, with respect to all employees working in this state, maintain the required coverage under a Florida endorsement using Florida rates and rules pursuant to payroll reporting that accurately reflects the work performed in this state by such employees.
Why do you need to know if a Certificate of Insurance is valid for the state of Florida?
Your contractors may provide you with a certificate of insurance as evidence of Workers' Compensation coverage. The certificate of insurance lists the Workers' Compensation carrier, policy number and policy term. The contractor working for you is shown as the "Insured", and your company as "Certificate Holder". However, a certificate of insurance typically will not list the states covered by the policy.
If one of your contractor's policies does not list Florida in section 3.A on their policy, you may be charged an additional premium for the contractor's work performed in the state.
Just because you are a certificate holder does not guarantee that workers compensation coverage is valid in Florida. In order to verify Florida coverage for a subcontractor the Florida Department of Financial Services coverage verification website should be searched to confirm that Florida coverage exists.
Please take a few minutes to review the following tips and procedures to help you to verify if all your out-of-state contractors have Workers' Compensation coverage for Florida.
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