Florida General Liability Insurance Requirements
- Florida has some specific insurance requirements for businesses doing business in the state.Florida state contour with Capital City against blurred USA flag image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
A general liability policy covers businesses in events involving personal injury and/or property damage occurring at their place of business or during the pursuit of their business. The policy absorbs financial loss stemming from these events, as well as potential litigation from visitors to their business who may slip and fall or engage in other accidental events causing personal injury. The policy also absorbs loss from damage that may occur to customers' property, as well as any slander or false advertising lawsuits. The general liability policy covers compensatory and general damages, but does not cover punitive damages. - Contractors doing business in the state of Florida are required to carry a general liability policy with $300,000 in bodily injury coverage and $50,000 in property damage coverage. Other types of business have lower limit requirements--$100,000 in bodily damage coverage and $25,000 in property damage coverage.
Each city may also require higher limits and the actual amount of coverage is based on the type of business conducted and total payroll expenses in addition to other variables selected individually from city to city. The city of Tampa, for example, requires contractors to carry a general liability insurance policy with coverage at $1 million for each incident and $2 million total incident coverage. - Companies doing business in Florida must purchase a general liability policy from insurance companies authorized to do business in the state of Florida, whether they are actual Florida-based companies or not.
- The general liability insurance policy of companies doing business in Florida must name as an additional insured entity the city or cities where business will be conducted. The policy must act as the primary insurance policy over any insurance the city may carry, which means that in any covered event, the company's insurance will absorb financial loss before the city's policy is ever addressed. The policy must be secured prior to starting business and must be maintained for at least an additional year after the work has been completed.
- Businesses holding general liability policies must display and/or carry the certificate of insurance before conducting business. If the business is conducted away from the primary place of business, the certificate must be carried and if the business is conducted on a remote site for an extended period of time, the certificate must be displayed. The certificate displayed or carried must be the original certificate and not a copy.
