Business coverage
What coverage does your business really need, and who decides?
A Florida business typically carries four coverages: general liability for third-party claims, commercial property for what it owns or leases, commercial auto for vehicles used for work, and workers' compensation for employee injuries. It is the one Florida law requires directly, and only once it passes a threshold that varies by industry. What drives the rest is usually a contract.
Nobody buys business insurance because they want to
Nobody buys business insurance on a whim. The call almost always starts the same way: a client won't release a purchase order without a certificate, a landlord won't hand over the keys, a general contractor won't let equipment onto the site, or somebody got hurt last Tuesday. It isn't about finding a solution. It's about unblocking something, usually against a deadline. That's worth saying out loud, because it changes what matters. The question is rarely "what's the best policy." It's "what exactly does this contract require, what do I already have, and how fast can I show it."
The four coverages and what each one answers
Different risks, different policies. Most businesses end up with a combination of these rather than all four.
General Liability
This answers situations where a third party — a customer, a visitor, someone walking past — claims your business caused them bodily injury or property damage. It's the coverage nearly every commercial contract and lease names explicitly, and the one that appears on the certificate they ask for.
Commercial Property
This covers what the business owns or leases: the building if you own it, and the equipment, inventory, furnishings, and improvements you've made to a leased space. In a lease, the landlord's policy generally covers the building itself and not what you keep inside it, and that distinction surprises people after a claim rather than before one.
Commercial Auto
This applies to vehicles used for work. It's the line businesses cross without noticing: a personal auto policy is written for personal use, and using the vehicle for the business can change how a claim is handled. If employees drive their own cars for work, that's a separate question again.
Workers' Compensation
This covers medical expenses and lost wages when an employee is hurt on the job. It's the one of the four that Florida law requires directly, and only once the business passes a threshold that varies by industry. Those thresholds are below.
What decides which ones you need
You decide which ones you need. There is no standard package, and any agency that hands you one without asking these questions is guessing.
What does the business do?
The industry sets the tone. A contractor on ladders, a restaurant with a kitchen, a consultant with a laptop and a client list: same city, very different risk and very different rules.
How many people work there?
Headcount is what makes workers' compensation mandatory, and it isn't always what you'd expect. Owners, officers, subcontractors, and seasonal staff can each count differently.
What do your contracts require?
For most small businesses the binding requirement isn't the state, it's the paperwork: a lease, a client agreement, a lender, a regulator. Each can name coverages and minimum limits, and they don't have to agree with each other. Reading them is the first step, not the last.
Do you own, lease, or work from home?
Each of those changes the answer. Working from home in particular tends to assume coverage that usually isn't there, and the place to check is the homeowners policy.
What commercial insurance doesn't cover
Two things worth knowing before a claim rather than after one.
Your own mistakes in professional work
General liability covers injury and property damage. It doesn't cover bad advice, a missed deadline, or work that wasn't finished. That's professional liability, a separate policy, and it's the one service businesses discover they don't have.
Flood isn't the only policy bought separately
A commercial property policy is not a flood policy, and in parts of South Florida wind is bought separately too. Same distinction as on the residential side, with the same consequences.
When workers' compensation becomes mandatory in Florida
The threshold is a headcount, and it changes by industry. Construction is treated more strictly than everything else, and agriculture has its own rule. The numbers below come from the definition of "employment" in Florida Statutes section 440.02, verified against flsenate.gov.
- Construction industry
- 1 employeeFla. Stat. 440.02 — verified 2026-08-25
- Non-construction industry
- 4 employeesFla. Stat. 440.02 — verified 2026-08-25
- Agriculture
- 6 regular employeesFla. Stat. 440.02 — verified 2026-08-25
- How owners, LLC members and contractors count
- See noteFla. Stat. 440.02 — verified 2026-08-25
The thresholds above are set by Florida Statutes section 440.02 and were verified against flsenate.gov on 2026-08-25. Two details decide more cases than the headcount itself. Corporate officers and members of a limited liability company who own at least 10 percent may elect an exemption from coverage, and in construction no more than three officers per company or affiliated group may do so. And a non-construction independent contractor has to satisfy at least four of the six tests the statute lists to count as a contractor rather than an employee, with the burden of proof on the contractor. In construction, an independent contractor is generally treated as an employee. Agriculture is written as an exclusion rather than a threshold: a farm is outside the requirement while it employs 5 or fewer regular employees and fewer than 12 seasonal workers at one time, so the requirement begins at the sixth regular employee.
Questions from Miami Business Owners
- When does Florida require workers' compensation?
- Once the number of employees passes the threshold for your industry, which is stricter for construction than for anything else. The thresholds are in the section above.
- A client is asking me for a certificate of insurance. What is that?
- A one-page document from your insurer showing you carry the coverage and limits your contract requires. It isn't a policy and it doesn't add coverage; it's proof of what you already have. If the contract asks for something you don't carry, the certificate is where that shows.
- I use my car for work. Is it covered by my personal policy?
- Not necessarily, and that's the distinction that matters. Personal auto policies are written for personal use, and business use can change how a claim is handled. If the vehicle is central to the work, it generally needs a commercial policy.
- I run my business from home. Is it covered by my homeowners insurance?
- Generally not for the business side. A homeowners policy covers the residence, and typically excludes business equipment, inventory, and clients who come to the property. It's one of the more common gaps among small businesses in Miami.
- Do I need coverage before I have employees?
- Workers' compensation is tied to employees. General liability isn't. A client can sue a business with no employees at all, and most contracts and leases require liability coverage regardless of headcount.
If a contract lands on your desk with an insurance clause you're not sure about, the fastest thing to do is send it over. Romina Saaied works in English, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.
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