A property manager in North Miami Beach hires a security company for a 240-unit apartment community after a string of car break-ins. Six months later, an officer detains a resident’s guest in the parking lot, the encounter turns physical and the guest sues the guard company, the owner and the management company. The guard company’s policy has a $25,000 sublimit for assault and battery, and nobody at the management office ever read past the first page of its certificate. That gap is where most security contracts at rental properties fail, and it is avoidable.
Why the Property Manager Ends Up in the Lawsuit
When an incident involves a security officer, the injured person sues everyone connected to the property. The owner and the management company are named because they hired the guard company, set the post orders and control the premises. Florida premises liability law already puts pressure on apartment owners when crime happens on the property, and adding security changes the question from whether the owner acted at all to whether the security that was hired was adequate and properly insured. The guard company’s insurance is supposed to be the first line of defense for everyone, but only if the contract requires it and someone confirms the coverage actually matches.
The Coverage a Guard Company Should Carry
General liability is the foundation, and for apartment work a limit of $1 million per occurrence is a starting point rather than a ceiling. Many owners require an umbrella on top of it. The detail that matters most is assault and battery. Some guard company policies exclude it entirely, others cap it with a sublimit far below the general liability limit, and a few cover it in full. For a security company, assault and battery is not a side exposure; it is the central one. A certificate showing $1 million in general liability tells you nothing about it.
Professional liability, sometimes written as errors and omissions, covers claims that the officers failed to do their job properly, such as missing a patrol or failing to respond to an incident. Workers’ compensation matters because an injured guard without coverage can turn to the property owner. If officers drive patrol vehicles on the property, the guard company needs commercial auto liability as well. Our article on assault and battery insurance for security guards explains how those sublimits work.
What the Contract Should Require
Insurance requirements belong in the security services agreement, not in a separate email. The contract should name the owner and the management company as additional insureds on the guard company’s general liability and umbrella, on a primary and non-contributory basis, with a waiver of subrogation in their favor. It should require that assault and battery be covered at the full general liability limit, not a sublimit, and that the guard company notify the property of cancellation or material change. An indemnification clause supports all of this, but indemnity is only as good as the insurance behind it.
The wording matters as much as the limits. Our guide to security guard contract insurance requirements walks through each of these provisions.
Verifying What You Were Promised
A certificate of insurance is a summary, not a policy. It shows the coverages and limits in force on the day it was issued, and it confers no rights by itself. To confirm that the property is protected, ask for the additional insured endorsement itself, not just a checked box on the certificate, along with the assault and battery endorsement and the policy’s schedule of forms. If assault and battery is limited or excluded, it will show up there.
Florida also licenses the security industry. A guard company should hold a Class B security agency license, unarmed officers need a Class D license and armed officers need a Class G license. Confirming licenses takes a few minutes and avoids hiring a company that cannot legally provide the service. Armed posts raise the exposure considerably, and many carriers write armed security only with higher rates or restrictions, so the decision to require armed officers should be made with insurance in mind.
The Property’s Own Coverage Still Matters
Even a well-insured guard company does not replace the owner’s own liability coverage. The apartment’s general liability policy should not exclude assault and battery or limit coverage for injuries caused by third parties, and the umbrella should follow the same terms. Many habitational policies restrict both, and an owner who relies entirely on the guard company’s insurance can find out too late that its own policy will not respond either. If you manage the property, your own property manager insurance should be reviewed with the same care.
Worth Confirming Before Signing a Security Contract
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Does the guard company’s policy cover assault and battery at the full limit, or is there a sublimit or exclusion?
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Are the owner and management company additional insureds on a primary and non-contributory basis?
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Is there a waiver of subrogation, and is there an umbrella above the general liability?
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Does the company carry professional liability, workers’ compensation and commercial auto?
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Are the agency and officer licenses current, and are officers armed or unarmed?
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Does the property’s own policy exclude or limit assault and battery?
This article is general information about Florida insurance and licensing requirements and is not legal advice.
Talk to Prestige Insurance Group
We insure security guard companies, property managers and apartment owners, so we review these contracts from both sides. If you want a second look at a guard company’s certificate or your own policy before signing, call the office nearest you.
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
