A security agency in Lakeland has built its business on unarmed officers at warehouses, apartment complexes and a hospital parking garage. A distribution center that has had a string of break-ins asks the owner to quote armed officers for overnight shifts. The contract is attractive, and two of the company’s officers already hold firearm licenses. When the owner calls his agent to add the post, he learns that his current carrier does not write armed operations at all. Adding a single armed post means moving the entire program to a different market, at a different price, with a new set of underwriting questions.
Whether officers carry firearms is the single biggest variable in how a Florida security company is underwritten. It does not change the list of coverages the company needs, but it changes which insurers will write the account, how closely they review it and what the coverage costs.
What Florida Requires to Carry a Firearm
Florida licenses private security under chapter 493 of the Florida Statutes, administered by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing. Security officers hold a Class D license, and the agency itself holds a Class B license. An officer who carries a firearm on duty must also hold a Class G statewide firearm license, which requires additional firearms training and periodic requalification. Insurers that write armed security expect to see these licenses for every armed officer, along with records of training and requalification. Our article on Class B security agency insurance requirements covers the agency side.
How Liability Exposure Differs
Armed operations carry a higher potential severity. An incident involving a firearm, whether a discharge, a brandishing or an accusation that the weapon was used to intimidate, can lead to serious injury, wrongful death allegations and large claims. Insurers price that possibility accordingly.
Unarmed operations still carry significant liability. Unarmed officers remove trespassers, detain suspected shoplifters, break up fights and control crowds. Claims of excessive force, false imprisonment, negligent security and failure to protect arise regularly in unarmed work, especially at nightlife venues, events and troubled residential properties. Unarmed is lower risk in severity, not risk-free.
Carrier Availability
The number of insurers willing to write armed security is smaller than the number writing unarmed operations, and some markets that write unarmed guards will not add even one armed post. Carriers that do write armed operations typically ask for firearm licenses and training records, written use-of-force and weapons policies, the types of sites where armed officers work, supervision practices and prior claims. A company that adds armed posts should expect a full review of the whole account, not just the new post.
Unarmed operations generally have more options, though companies serving nightclubs, events or high-crime properties can still face limited markets regardless of whether officers are armed.
Assault and Battery and Firearm Exclusions
Both armed and unarmed programs depend on how the policy handles assault and battery. Some policies exclude it or limit it with a sublimit. Armed programs add another question: whether the policy contains a firearms exclusion, or covers firearm-related claims only for scheduled armed posts. A company that sends an armed officer to a post the policy treats as unarmed may find that a firearm claim is not covered. Our article on assault and battery insurance for security guards explains how those exclusions work.
Cost Drivers
Armed security generally costs more to insure than unarmed security, and the difference reflects severity, the narrower market and the extra underwriting. Within either category, cost depends on the types of sites served, payroll, the company’s claims history, the limits required by contracts, the assault and battery limit chosen, training and supervision practices, and how long the company and its owners have operated. Workers’ compensation rates can also differ depending on how officers are classified and the hazards of their posts.
Never Assume One Policy Covers Both
Many companies run a mix of armed and unarmed posts. The policy needs to reflect that mix accurately. Underreporting armed posts to keep the premium down, or adding armed work mid-term without telling the carrier, can lead to a denied claim or a rescinded policy at the worst possible time. The application, the payroll reported for audit and the actual post assignments should all match.
Training and Supervision Carry Extra Weight
For armed operations, the company’s training and supervision program is part of what the insurer is buying. Underwriters want to know how officers are selected for armed posts, how often they requalify, who supervises them in the field, how weapons are stored when officers are off duty, and what happens after any incident involving a firearm. A written weapons policy that officers sign, regular reviews of use-of-force incidents and a clear chain of command all make an armed program easier to place and easier to defend if a claim follows. The same documentation helps unarmed companies too, but for armed posts it is often a condition of getting coverage at all.
Contracts Often Decide the Question
Clients that require armed officers usually also require higher limits, specific assault and battery coverage and firearms coverage confirmed by endorsement. Before quoting an armed contract, a security company should confirm that its insurance can meet those terms, or that a market willing to write the armed exposure is available. Our security guard insurance page explains how these programs are structured.
Worth Confirming With Your Agent
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Whether your current carrier writes armed posts at all, or only unarmed
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Whether your policy has a firearms exclusion or limits firearm claims to scheduled posts
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How assault and battery is covered for both armed and unarmed officers
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That every armed officer holds a current Class G license and requalification records are on file
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That your application and audit payroll accurately reflect armed and unarmed hours
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Whether your limits meet the requirements in contracts that call for armed officers
This article is general information and is not legal advice.
Talk to Prestige Insurance Group
Prestige Insurance Group writes security guard companies across Florida, including agencies that run armed, unarmed and mixed posts. If you are adding armed work, or you are not sure how your current policy treats it, we can review your program and compare options from specialty markets that write this class.
Call the office nearest you. Se habla español.
Orlando: 407-993-2331
Miami: 305-969-8776
Stuart: 772-247-3788
Prestige Insurance Group, License L057894
