Florida Handyman Insurance Checklist

Florida handyman insurance checklist

Business: ________________ Contact: ________________ County or city: ________________ Job, client, or GC: ________________ Certificate holder: ________________ Review date: ________________

Use this checklist before taking Florida handyman jobs, signing a subcontract, or sending a certificate of insurance. Keep it with your quote notes, policy declarations, certificates, and endorsement copies.

Florida licensing and job-scope checks

Confirm the work is within your handyman scope | Florida DBPR regulates construction contractor categories, and handyman is not listed as one single statewide license category in the cited DBPR FAQ. | List every task you will perform | Small finish tasks can differ from regulated contractor work when underwriting and licensing are reviewed. | DBPR examples that do not require state licensure | Cabinets, countertops, paint, wallpaper, carpet, tile, and window treatments are listed as examples. | DBPR regulated categories to avoid unless properly licensed or registered | General, building, residential, roofing, plumbing, mechanical, air-conditioning, sheet metal, swimming pool/spa, underground utility and excavation, solar, and pollutant storage work are listed as regulated categories. | Check county or city requirements | Florida insurance and licensing requirements can vary by job and local rules. | Flag jobs advertised as contractor work or valued above $2,500 | Carrier guidance says those situations may trigger licensing or insurance concerns. |

Core insurance checks

General liability | Covers third-party bodily injury, medical costs, personal injury, and property damage, subject to policy terms. | GL does not replace workers compensation | Employee injuries are handled through workers compensation when required. | GL does not legalize regulated work | Insurance proof does not make unlicensed regulated construction work legal. | Licensed contractor liability minimums | If licensed as a Florida general or building contractor, confirm at least $300,000 liability and $50,000 property damage insurance. | Other licensed categories | DBPR lists public liability and property damage requirements for other licensed categories; confirm the amount for your category. | Tools and inland marine | Check coverage for owned or rented equipment taken to different job sites against accidental loss, damage, or theft. | Business owners policy | Consider if you have an office, shop, storage space, or business property exposure. | Professional liability | Consider for advice, estimating, inspection-like services, design suggestions, or project management exposure. | Commercial auto or hired/non-owned auto | Check if business vehicles, personal vehicles, rented vehicles, or employee vehicles are used for jobs. |

Florida workers compensation and subcontractor controls

One or more employees | Florida DFS says construction industry employers with one or more employees must have workers compensation coverage. | Owners in entities | DFS includes business owners who are corporate officers or LLC members in the construction rule. | Helpers and laborers | A helper can change the insurance conversation even if the business started as a solo handyman operation. | Subcontractor COI before work starts | DFS says contractors must make sure subcontractors have required workers compensation insurance before beginning work. | Sub lacks required WC | If a subcontractor lacks workers compensation for its employees, those workers become the contractor’s employees for workers compensation purposes if an injury occurs. | Collect GL proof from subs | Request current general liability certificates and keep them with the job file. | Flow-down terms | If your GC contract requires insurance from you, check whether you must require the same from your subcontractors. | Renewal tracking | Re-check subcontractor certificates before expiration or before the next job phase. |

Certificate and endorsement checklist

Certificate holder name | Match the exact owner, property manager, GC, lender, or municipality requesting proof. | Additional insured | Confirm whether the contract requires the certificate holder to be added to your CGL policy. | Ongoing operations | CG 20 10 or an equivalent form is commonly tied to ongoing operations additional insured status. | Completed operations | CG 20 37 or an equivalent form is commonly tied to completed operations additional insured status. | Primary and noncontributory | This wording can require your policy to pay first and not seek contribution from another policy. | Waiver of subrogation | This can restrict the insurer’s ability to recover from another party after paying a covered loss. | Workers compensation proof | If required, show statutory workers compensation and employers liability on the certificate. | Auto proof | Some contracts ask for commercial auto, hired auto, or non-owned auto liability. | Endorsement copies | Ask whether the certificate alone is enough or whether copies of endorsements are required. | Contract limits | Some project contracts use $1 million occurrence and $2 million aggregate CGL limits, but check your actual contract. |

Quote review notes

Sole proprietor GL context | Hiscox states a sole proprietor handyman business can expect about $50-$80 per month for general liability. | Florida carrier average context | Thimble reports an average Florida handyman insurance cost of $115.82 per month. | Revenue and payroll | Hiscox names revenue and payroll as cost drivers. | Coverage limit | Higher requested limits can change the quote. | Location or ZIP code | Hiscox names business location, and Thimble names ZIP code, as quote drivers. | Policy length | Thimble names policy length as a quote factor. | Added coverages | Equipment protection, professional liability, or a BOP can change the package cost. | Job mix | Underwriters may separate minor repairs from framing, roof work, structural repairs, plumbing, or mechanical work. | Florida class code note | One Florida filing lists Handyman as class code 95625 with territory loss-cost entries for that class. |