Florida Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Workers' comp in Florida: what's different

In Florida, employers secure coverage through private carriers licensed by the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), or through self-insurance the state authorizes. Two agencies split the job. The Division of Workers' Compensation, inside the Department of Financial Services (DFS), enforces who must be covered, issues officer exemptions, and runs stop-work orders. OIR approves rates. NCCI is the licensed rating organization that makes recommended rate filings on behalf of insurers.

Who must carry coverage

Your headcount rule depends on your industry:

• Construction. One employee triggers the requirement. Under DFS guidance, corporate officers and LLC members who own the business count toward that one. Construction trades are listed in Rule 69L-6.021 of the Florida Administrative Code.
• Everyone else. Coverage is required once you have four or more employees, part-time or full-time, again counting officers and LLC members.
• Agriculture. A farm needs coverage at six regular employees, or at 12 seasonal workers who work more than 30 days in a season or more than 45 days in a calendar year.

Owners have a few options:

• Construction officers and LLC members may file for an exemption only if they own at least 10% of the business. No more than three may be exempt per corporation, LLC, or group of affiliated companies. Each application costs $50.
• Non-construction officers have no ownership test, no cap on how many may be exempt, and no fee. Non-construction LLC members need 10% ownership, with a limit of 10 exempt members.
• Sole proprietors and partners. Outside construction, they are not counted as employees unless they elect coverage on form DWC-251. In construction, the statute treats them as employees.

Exemptions are filed online with DFS and belong to the person, not the business. Under s. 440.05, every exemption certificate issued since January 1, 2013, in any industry, is valid for two years and then must be renewed. Exempt officers cannot collect benefits.

A small non-construction employer with fewer than four employees that chooses not to buy coverage must post a notice at each worksite telling workers they have no right to benefits. Domestic servants in private homes fall outside the law's definition of employment.

Contractors and subs. A contractor must get proof of coverage from every subcontractor, or a copy of the sub's exemption certificate. If a sub has no coverage, the sub's workers are treated as the contractor's employees for any injury. In construction, an independent contractor counts as an employee.

Out-of-state employers need a Florida policy, or "Florida" listed in item 3.A of the home-state policy. Florida law also requires Florida class codes and rates for employees working here. If the home-state policy comes from one of the states DFS lists for reciprocity, the employer can work in Florida without either of those for no more than 10 consecutive days, or 25 total days, in a calendar year.

Where coverage comes from

Chapter 440 allows a policy from a stock or mutual insurer, association, or exchange authorized in Florida, or authorization from DFS to self-insure. Self-insurers must satisfy the Florida Self-Insurers Guaranty Association about their financial strength. DFS also notes that commercial self-insurance funds authorized by OIR pool risk among members, and that a licensed employee leasing company can carry coverage for its client's workers.

Who sets rates

In Florida, NCCI files recommended rates for the voluntary market on behalf of insurers. OIR holds a public hearing on NCCI's yearly filing, and the Insurance Commissioner then issues a final order.

In a release dated November 17, 2025, OIR announced that Commissioner Mike Yaworsky had approved a 6.9% statewide overall rate decrease for new and renewal policies effective January 1, 2026. OIR called it the ninth straight yearly decrease. NCCI has since filed for a 7.4% average decrease effective January 1, 2027. OIR set the hearing for October 27, 2026, so no decision had been posted when we checked.

NCCI's actuary notes that individual class rates can move more or less than the average.

Experience rating

DFS explains that an experience modification factor raises or lowers your premium based on your claims history. Qualifying employers may also earn premium credits for a workplace safety program or a drug-free workplace program.

Be careful with what you report. If you materially understate payroll, hide employee duties to get a cheaper class, or misstate information used to compute your mod, the statute treats you as uninsured, even with a policy in force.

If no insurer will write you

The Florida Workers' Compensation Joint Underwriting Association (FWCJUA) is the market of last resort, created by statute in 1994. It serves employers who cannot buy coverage in the voluntary market, and its plan must require documented rejection by at least two insurers. Applications go through an authorized agent.

FWCJUA policies are priced in three tiers based on loss history. As of January 1, 2025, the tier differentials were 1.81 (Tier 1) and 2.66 (Tiers 2 and 3), and every tier pays a $475 flat surcharge. Tier 3 also carries an ARAP surcharge and can be assessed if premiums fall short.

Penalties for going uninsured

If you are not covered, or fail to produce requested records within 21 days, DFS must issue a stop-work order within 72 hours. All business operations must stop, at every non-compliant worksite in the state. Information about the order stays on the division's website for at least five years.

• Penalty. Two times the premium you would have paid at approved manual rates for the periods you were uninsured in the past 12 months, or $1,000, whichever is greater. The lookback is 24 months if you had a prior stop-work or penalty order, or if the order is for understating or concealing payroll.
• Working through the order. $1,000 a day.
• Misclassified workers. Up to $5,000 for each worker you call an independent contractor who does not meet the statutory test.
• Crimes. Knowingly failing to secure coverage is insurance fraud, a felony whose degree rises with the dollar amount.

To get a conditional release, you need coverage, a $1,000 down payment, and a payment plan for the rest. An injured worker of an uninsured employer may also sue in court instead of claiming benefits, and you lose key defenses.

Your ongoing obligations

• Post the "Broken Arm" poster. It shows your carrier's name and contact details and the anti-fraud notice. Your carrier supplies it.
• Report injuries within 7 days. Notify your carrier within 7 days of learning of an injury, on the First Report of Injury or Illness (DWC-1), and give the employee a copy. Late reports can bring a fine of up to $500 per failure, paid by you, not the carrier.
• Report deaths within 24 hours. DFS's employer brochure tells employers to report work-related deaths to the division within 24 hours.
• Never deduct premium from pay. The employer pays the whole premium.
• Workers' deadline. Employees must report an injury within 30 days.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

Premium = (payroll / 100) x rate per $100 x experience mod

The FWCJUA publishes a rate of $6.752 per $100 of payroll for code 5551 (Roofing, all kinds), effective January 1, 2026. That is the rate shown on the FWCJUA rate table, before any FWCJUA tier surcharge. It is not presented here as the NCCI voluntary market rate for code 5551, which we did not retrieve. The payroll and mod below are hypothetical.

• Annual payroll (hypothetical): $300,000
• Code 5551 rate: $6.752
• Experience mod (hypothetical): 0.92

Step by step

1. Payroll in hundreds: $300,000 / 100 = 3,000
2. Manual premium: 3,000 x $6.752 = $20,256.00
3. Apply the mod: $20,256.00 x 0.92 = $18,635.52

An actual FWCJUA policy would also carry its tier differential (1.81 for Tier 1 as of January 1, 2025) and the $475 flat surcharge, so the residual market costs more than this figure.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Florida Statutes 2026, Chapter 440 (ss. 440.02, 440.05, 440.055, 440.094, 440.10, 440.105, 440.107, 440.11, 440.185, 440.38, 440.40)
• Florida Statutes 2026, s. 627.311(5) (FWCJUA)
• DFS Division of Workers' Compensation, Employers
• DFS, Coverage Requirements
• DFS, Exemptions
• DFS, Construction Industry Exemptions
• DFS, Non-Construction Industry Exemptions
• DFS, Election of Coverage Information
• DFS, Information for Out-of-State Contractors
• DFS, Enforcement
• DFS, Obtaining Insurance Coverage
• DFS, Informational Brochure for Employers
• DFS, "Broken Arm" compensation notice poster
• OIR, news release on the 6.9% decrease effective Jan. 1, 2026
• OIR, NCCI Public Rate Hearing 2026 (proposed rates effective Jan. 1, 2027)
• OIR, 2025 Workers' Compensation Annual Report
• NCCI, Summary of the Florida Rate Filing Recommendation effective Jan. 1, 2026
• NCCI, direct testimony of Brett S. Foster, Florida rate filing effective Jan. 1, 2026 (on the OIR site)
• FWCJUA, Workers' Compensation Rates (2026 rates effective 1/1/2026)
• FWCJUA, FAQs

Sources accessed 2026-10-16.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm details with the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers' Compensation.

Reviewer: Sam Newland, CFP, Founder of Benefitra. Last updated October 17, 2026. How the calculator works. Editorial policy.