Florida’s Construction Industry Continues To Reshape The State

A general contractor’s largest exposure is not their own work. It is everyone else’s.

You coordinate the electricians, plumbers, roofers, framers, and concrete crews, and when something fails years later the property owner names you regardless of whose hands did it. That structural fact — responsibility without direct control — shapes every part of how a general contractor should be insured.

The Subcontractor Exception Is the Provision That Matters Most

This is the single most important coverage concept for a general contractor, and almost no one explains it.

A general liability policy contains a “your work” exclusion, which removes coverage for damage to work you performed. On its face, that would leave a general contractor with almost nothing — since virtually all of the work on your projects is “your work” under the policy’s definition.

Modern general liability forms carry an exception: the exclusion generally does not apply to damage arising out of work performed on your behalf by a subcontractor. That exception is what makes a general contractor’s policy function.

Two consequences follow, and both are practical.

The exception depends on the work actually being subcontracted. Self-performed work stays inside the exclusion. A GC who self-performs framing or concrete has a different coverage position on that scope than on subcontracted scopes.

Some policies remove the exception. Carriers issue endorsements that delete the subcontractor exception or restrict it — sometimes conditioned on the GC obtaining written agreements and certificates from every sub. A policy with that endorsement, on a project where certificates were not collected, is a very different policy than the one you thought you bought.

Ask your agent directly whether your form contains the subcontractor exception and whether any endorsement modifies it. It is a one-sentence question with a large answer.

Risk Transfer Flows Up to You

A general contractor sits at the point where every subcontractor’s exposure converges, and contracts are the mechanism for pushing it back down.

Three provisions do the work.

Indemnification obligates the sub to defend and indemnify you for claims arising from their work. Florida limits how far indemnity can go in construction contracts, so the language matters.

Additional insured status puts you on the subcontractor’s policy, giving you access to their limits rather than only your own. Confirm the endorsement covers both ongoing and completed operations — completed operations is the one that responds years later, and it is the one most often missing.

Waiver of subrogation prevents their carrier from coming after you after paying a claim.

All three should be in the subcontract before work starts. Obtaining them afterward, when a claim has already occurred, generally does not work.

Certificate Management Is a Coverage Function

For most trades, collecting subcontractor certificates is housekeeping. For a general contractor it is a coverage control.

Two things go wrong.

At audit, uninsured subs become your payroll. A subcontractor who cannot produce a valid certificate showing their own general liability and workers’ compensation typically has their entire contract value charged back to you and rated as if they were your employees. At general contractor volume, that produces additional premium measured in serious money.

Mid-project lapses go unnoticed. A certificate valid at contract signing may expire before the sub finishes. Tracking expiration dates across dozens of subs on multiple projects is tedious and it is the difference between a transferred claim and one that lands on you.

Collect certificates before mobilization, track expirations, and require renewal certificates automatically.

Completed Operations and Florida’s Statute of Repose

Construction defect claims are the general contractor’s signature exposure, and they arrive long after the project closes — water intrusion, envelope failures, drainage problems, structural concerns, systems that never performed.

Completed operations coverage responds to claims from finished work, and for a GC it is where the largest claims land.

Florida’s statute of repose was shortened from ten years to seven by Senate Bill 360 in 2023, generally running from the earliest of the certificate of occupancy, the certificate of completion, or abandonment of construction. The statute of limitations separately allows four years from discovery of a latent defect.

Two practical points. Many commercial contracts require completed operations coverage be maintained for a stated number of years after the project closes, which is a contractual obligation beyond what you would otherwise carry. And the policy in force when the claim is made matters alongside what was in force when the work was done — a gap between them is a real exposure.

Builders Risk Belongs to Someone

Builders risk covers the project itself during construction: materials, work in place, and equipment awaiting installation.

Three questions that get assumed rather than settled.

Who buys it — the owner or the contractor? The contract should say. Both arrangements are common, and neither is automatic.

Does it cover the existing structure? On renovation and addition work, the work in progress and the existing building are two different things, and existing structure coverage is not always included.

Does it include soft costs and delay in completion? A covered loss that stops the project generates extended financing, additional supervision, and lost income for the owner. Those follow-on costs are separately insured and frequently omitted.

Related coverage: Builders Risk Insurance

Wrap-Ups Change What Your Own Policy Does

On larger projects you may encounter a controlled insurance program — an OCIP where the owner provides coverage for all parties, or a CCIP where the contractor does.

Two things to understand.

Your own policy likely excludes wrapped projects. Carriers commonly endorse a wrap-up exclusion, meaning your practice policy does not respond on those jobs. If the wrap has gaps, or if it excludes completed operations beyond a certain period, you may be exposed with no backstop.

Payroll and revenue on wrapped projects come out of your rating — but only if properly reported and documented. Failing to segregate it means paying twice.

If you work on wrapped projects, that needs to be part of the conversation with your agent rather than discovered at audit.

Subcontractor Default and Bonding

Two different tools for the same problem: a subcontractor who fails to perform.

Surety bonds — bid, performance, and payment — are required on most public work and many private projects. They are credit instruments rather than insurance, underwritten on your financial statements, and the capacity you can obtain shapes the size of project you can pursue.

Subcontractor default insurance is an alternative used by larger contractors to manage sub default directly rather than through individual subcontractor bonds. It shifts control to the GC and comes with retention and program requirements.

Which fits depends on your size, your bonding capacity, and how your subcontractor base is structured.

Design-Build Creates Professional Liability

Where you take on any part of design responsibility — design-build, design-assist, or a performance specification — you are exercising professional judgment.

General liability excludes professional services. A claim that the design failed to perform is a professional liability claim, and contractors professional liability is what addresses it.

Any general contractor pursuing design-build work should have this in place before the first such project, not after a dispute.

Weather Is a Project Risk, Not Just a Schedule Risk

Florida projects face hurricanes, tropical storms, and heavy rain throughout much of the year, and an active site is far more vulnerable than a finished building.

Materials stored on site, partially completed structures, open building envelopes, equipment, and temporary works are all exposed. Builders risk typically responds to physical damage, but the schedule consequences — extended general conditions, liquidated damages, escalation — depend on the contract.

Storm plans, material securing procedures, and documented pre-storm conditions matter operationally and at claim time.

Contract Requirements and Limits

Owners, developers, lenders, municipalities, healthcare systems, and universities specify insurance in detail: limits, additional insured status covering ongoing and completed operations, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory wording, and umbrella limits scaled to project value.

Each is a separate endorsement, and a certificate showing adequate limits can still fail a contract if one is missing. Reviewing requirements during bidding rather than after award prevents delayed starts and delayed payments.

Related coverage: General Liability Insurance · Workers’ Compensation Insurance · Business Auto Insurance · Commercial Umbrella Insurance · Commercial Property Insurance

Discuss Your Coverage With Prestige Insurance Group

Prestige Insurance Group works with general contractors throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach County, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Southwest Florida, the Treasure Coast, and across the state — on residential development, commercial construction, tenant improvements, multifamily, healthcare, hospitality, and industrial projects.

If you are unsure whether your policy carries the subcontractor exception, or how your certificates are tracked across active projects, those are the two places to start.

Miami: 305-969-8776 Orlando: 407-993-2331 Stuart: 561-983-4333

Se Habla Español.

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This page describes general insurance concepts and Florida statutory provisions as of publication. It is not legal advice, and contract, coverage, or claims questions should be reviewed with your agent or an attorney.