A decline does not mean you cannot get covered, and it does not send you to the assigned-risk pool. Work in this order: find out which of the four usual causes triggered it, rebuild your submission with precise payroll and operations data, re-shop the voluntary market, then place the crew through a PEO master policy, which is where most declined Florida trades actually land. The FWCJUA is last and only opens after a documented good-faith effort to place coverage voluntarily. Meanwhile the clock matters: a lapse exposes you to a stop-work order and a penalty of twice the premium you would have paid, and your general contractor will pull you off the job the day your certificate expires.
- Florida construction employers need workers compensation at the first employee; most non-construction employers at four. Roofing contractors carry it at any size, sole proprietors included.
- §440.02(18)(c) includes a sole proprietor or partner engaged in the construction industry in the definition of “employee.” In construction there is no sole-proprietor exemption.
- An exemption is an officer or member instrument: under §440.02(18)(b) no more than three officers of a corporation or affiliated group may elect exemption, and each must own at least 10 percent of the stock. LLC members elect on the same footing.
- Under §440.05 a construction certificate of election to be exempt costs $50, is filed online through the Division’s CCIS with a required tutorial, takes up to 30 days to review and is valid for two years. An exempt owner injured on the job receives nothing from workers comp.
- Operating without required coverage exposes the employer to a stop-work order and a penalty of twice the premium the employer would have paid.
- A certificate of insurance is free once a policy exists and, with an active policy, is often same-day.
The four things that actually cause a decline
Carriers rarely decline a contractor for one dramatic reason. It is almost always one of four, and each has a different fix.
| Cause | What it looks like | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Loss history | One or more lost-time claims, a rising experience modification, or open reserves that look worse on paper than the claims will finally cost. | Pull three to five years of loss runs and review open reserves before renewal. A closed claim priced at its real cost changes the mod that every future carrier reads. |
| Class appetite | The carrier simply does not write your trade this year. Roofing, tree work, framing, steep and height work move in and out of appetite with the market. | Nothing you do to your own business changes it. The answer is a different market, not a better story. |
| A loose submission | Payroll lumped into one class, operations described in a sentence, subcontractors and their exemptions unaccounted for. | Split payroll by the work actually performed, describe repair versus replacement, heights, storm work and subcontract share, and list every sub with a certificate or an exemption on file. |
| A lapse | Any gap in coverage, however short. | Close it immediately. A lapse follows you: it is the single fastest way to lose access to the better options, and it also closes FWCJUA Tier 1 permanently. |
What a decline is not
- It is not a legal bar. The statutory duty to cover your crew is unchanged, and so is the penalty for not doing it. The decline is one company’s appetite, not the state’s answer.
- It does not route you to the assigned-risk pool. No experience modification number sends anyone there automatically. FWCJUA eligibility turns on a documented good-faith effort to place coverage voluntarily, which is a process, not a score.
- It is not fixed by filing an exemption. An exemption covers eligible officers or members only, caps at three, and never covers an employee. A crew still needs a policy.
The order of operations
- Get the reason in writing. Ask which of the four causes applies. Underwriters will usually say. The reason decides everything that follows, and guessing wastes the renewal window.
- Rebuild the submission. Loss runs, payroll split by class, a real description of operations, your subcontractor list with certificates and exemptions, and the decline letter itself. This single step re-opens more doors than any other, because a large share of declines are data problems wearing a risk costume.
- Re-shop the voluntary market with that file. Same business, better described, often a different answer. Start early: the worst outcome is running out of days and taking whatever is left.
- Place the crew through a PEO master policy. For the same payroll this is usually cheaper than a direct high-risk policy, because the leasing company’s master policy absorbs the class. It is where declined and non-renewed Florida trades most often end up, and it can be arranged quickly. Read the contract for who is the employer of record, how fast certificates are issued and what they name, and what happens to coverage the day the relationship ends.
- Only then, the FWCJUA. Know your tier before applying, and treat it as a year to fix losses and data so the next renewal is a voluntary-market or PEO conversation again.
What to have ready before anyone can help you
A contractor who arrives with this list gets an answer in days. A contractor who arrives with a phone number and a trade waits weeks, and usually gets a worse number.
- Three to five years of loss runs, including open claims and their current reserves.
- Payroll for the last twelve months, split by the work actually performed, not by job title.
- A written description of operations: trades, heights, repair versus replacement, storm and emergency work, and what share of the work goes to subcontractors.
- Every subcontractor you use, with a current certificate of insurance or a valid exemption on file. In Florida construction an uncovered sub’s payroll can be pulled into your audit.
- The decline or non-renewal letter, and your current expiry date.
The clock, and why it decides the outcome
Two deadlines run at once. The legal one: without required coverage the Division can issue a stop-work order and assess a penalty of twice the premium that should have been paid. The commercial one: your general contractor or the project owner will not let a crew on site without a current certificate, so an expiry date is also a date you stop earning. Both argue for starting the moment the decline arrives rather than at the end of the policy period.
People Also Ask
Does a workers comp decline in Florida go on a permanent record?
There is no shared blacklist of declined employers. What follows you is the underlying data: your loss runs, your experience modification and any lapse in coverage. Fix the data and the decline stops mattering; leave a lapse in place and it narrows your options for years.
Can I get a certificate of insurance while I am still placing coverage?
No. A certificate proves an active policy exists, so it cannot be issued before one does. Once coverage is in force a certificate is free and, with an active policy, often same-day.
Will filing an exemption solve a decline?
No. An exemption applies only to eligible corporate officers or LLC members, is capped at three per construction business, and never covers an employee. A crew still needs a policy, and an exempt owner injured on the job receives nothing from workers comp.
Does the FWCJUA have to accept me?
The assigned-risk pool exists so required coverage is always available, but eligibility depends on a documented good-faith effort to place coverage in the voluntary market first. It also prices in tiers, and employee leasing and staffing companies can only be Tier 3.
Is a PEO faster than re-shopping the standard market?
Usually, because the leasing company's master policy already carries the class and the underwriting is about you rather than about whether the trade is written at all. That speed is why it is the practical answer for a crew that has work booked and a certificate expiring.
Sources: Florida Statutes 440.02 (definition of employee) · Florida Statutes 440.05 (election to be exempt) · Division of Workers’ Compensation coverage requirements · FWCJUA pricing tiers. Classification and pricing must be confirmed by the carrier or NCCI. WorkCompTeam is a referral service, not an insurer and not a licensed agency: qualified requests are routed to its licensed placement partner, Southeast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI), a Florida PEO, which quotes, binds and issues coverage. Nothing on this page is a quote or a guarantee of coverage.
Related guides
Read the three routes compared next, then what a lapse costs and what moves the price.