Workers Comp in Florida - voluntary market?

[Tobuscus]

Hello!

I have a cleaning business, and am in the process of securing Workers Comp - I spoke with an independent insurance company this afternoon (he'll call back tomorrow or Mon with a quote).

What exactly is an assigned risk plan? How much should I expect to pay for having 3 employees in a commercial cleaning service?

Also, do I have to count and pay workers comp for myself as an employee?

I'm in the FL panhandle - if you happen to know just the insurance agent I should speak with, let me know!

Thanks,
Toby

[JLeezer]

Hey, I took a couple minutes looking up workers comp law in Florida and found the following information:

Workers Compensation - Workmans Comp Service Center

In Florida, if you have four or more employees, or, if you are in the construction business after October 1, 1989, with one or more employees, you are subject to the Workers' Compensation Act. Corporate officers are automatically included within a definition of covered employees, but can elect to be excluded by filing a Notice of Election To Be Exempt form. (See Workers' Compensation forms.) Sole proprietors and partners are automatically excluded but can be included by filing a form. (See Workers' Compensation form.)


Obviously, you're going to want to check this out with a qualified attorney (definitely not your insurance agent) to verify this is correct and to ensure that the proper forms are filed to exclude you as an employee, which will be dependent on the legal form of the business.

Hope this helps a bit. FYI (not to be rude, just helpful), I literally typed "workers compensation" into a Google search and headed to the first non-sponsored link. This is how I locate the majority of information I need. Granted, I always verify it with multiple sources, but at least I start getting an idea as to what information I'm really looking for.

Jon

[Tobuscus]

No offense taken, I typed it into google as well, and read a little about Workers Comp in FL, as well as called an attorney (but each seemed to say something different). Most said it was three or more employees, but I read four or more also. But if we clean city buildings, we may have to have it regardless.

--- It sounds like I technically wouldn't need it, unless there's a FL statute about cleaning city buildings that requires it

[Tobuscus]

I couldn't find anything about how much it would cost for a small business (3 employees) starting out... anyone have any ideas? Not sure about what payroll would be, what if it was $30k total?

Thanks!

[paul2145r]

Have you looked into using a payroll company? We use one that offers worker's compensation for all of our employees, without any of the hassles associated with looking for and filing for it on your own.