Roofing is the highest-risk trade in construction, and Florida is the hardest place in the country to do it. Crews work at height in extreme heat, race afternoon thunderstorms, and leave behind work that protects everything below it for the next two decades.

That combination shows up in every part of a roofing contractor’s insurance program — in workers’ compensation rates, in the questions underwriters ask before quoting, in the restrictions carriers place on how you work, and in claims that surface years after the last inspection.

Workers’ Compensation Is the Largest Line Item

Roofing falls under classification code 5551, which covers all roofing types — shingle, tile, metal, flat and TPO, built-up, and repair work — on the reasoning that roofing companies use their crews interchangeably across systems.

It is the highest-rated construction classification in Florida, and there is no way around that through classification. What you can affect is the experience modification factor, which compares your claims history against the industry average and can move a premium substantially in either direction over time.

That makes documented safety practice the single largest financial lever a roofing company controls. Fall protection programs, equipment inspection records, heat illness prevention, training documentation, and incident reporting all feed the experience mod, and the compounding effect over several years is larger than most contractors expect.

Officer exemption rules and carrier appetite also differ for roofing compared with other trades. If you have relied on an exemption, confirm it applies as you believe it does before an audit tells you otherwise.

Related coverage: Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Open Roof Coverage Is the First Question Underwriters Ask

An open roof exists whenever part or all of an existing roofing system has been removed before the new roof is installed and weather-tight. During that window the building is exposed.

In Florida, where thunderstorms develop within an hour for much of the year, this is the exposure that defines the trade. If unexpected rain reaches the interior, the resulting claim covers drywall, flooring, electrical systems, insulation, inventory, tenant improvements, and business interruption — a figure with no relationship to the value of the roofing contract.

Carriers respond in different ways. Some restrict open roof operations outright. Some cover them by endorsement. Others impose conditions: how much roof may be opened at once, what temporary protection must be in place at end of day, what weather monitoring is required.

Confirm what your policy actually says, and confirm that the operations you perform match how the account was written. A policy that assumes you never open a roof is not coverage for the work you do.

Torch-Down and Hot Tar Require Their Own Underwriting

Contractors performing torch-down membrane, modified bitumen, or traditional hot asphalt work face additional scrutiny for a specific reason: heat travels.

A fire from torch work may not appear while crews are on site. Heat can migrate beneath roofing materials or into wall cavities and smolder for hours after the job closes for the day. Losses of this kind are severe and frequently occur overnight.

Carriers writing these operations typically want to see employee certifications, written fire watch procedures with a defined post-work monitoring period, extinguisher availability, equipment maintenance records, and prior claims history.

If your company performs any torch or kettle work, it needs to be disclosed at application. Discovering it at claim time is the wrong sequence.

Completed Operations Is Where the Serious Claims Land

Roofing defects rarely announce themselves during construction. Flashing details, fastening, underlayment laps, and penetration sealing may perform for years before a leak appears — and by then the project is closed and the crew has moved on.

Completed operations coverage responds to claims arising from work already finished. For a roofing contractor, this is not secondary; it is where the expensive claims live.

Florida’s statute of repose sets the outer boundary. Senate Bill 360, enacted in 2023, shortened it from ten years to seven, generally running from the earliest of the certificate of occupancy, the certificate of completion, or abandonment of construction. The statute of limitations separately gives a claimant four years from discovery of a latent defect.

Florida law also requires insurers to offer contractors coverage for liability arising from current and completed operations sufficient to reach that window. Most contractors have never been told this, and it is worth asking your agent to confirm on your program.

Two questions to answer: do your completed operations limits meet the requirements in your largest active contract, and is there a gap between what was in force when past projects closed and what you carry now?

What General Liability Will Not Pay For

A distinction that decides what a claim costs you.

A standard general liability policy does not pay to redo your own defective work. The “your work” exclusion removes that. What responds is the resulting damage — the ruined drywall, the damaged flooring, the destroyed inventory below.

On a roofing claim, that means the water damage inside the building may be covered while tearing off and reinstalling the roof is not.

Manufacturer warranties and workmanship warranties sit outside the insurance program entirely and are your obligation to honor.

Subcontractors Become Your Exposure at Audit

Roofing uses subcontracted labor heavily, and this is where premiums surprise people.

If a subcontractor cannot produce a valid certificate of insurance showing their own general liability and workers’ compensation, that subcontractor’s payroll is typically charged back to you at audit — at roofing rates. A company that budgeted for its own crew can face a substantial additional premium for labor it considered outside the payroll.

Collect certificates before work begins, verify they are current for the full period of the project, and keep them. Verifying at audit time, when the sub has moved on and the certificate has lapsed, does not help.

The same principle applies on the liability side: an uninsured sub’s mistake becomes a claim against your policy.

Florida Regulates How Roofers Solicit Storm Work

Worth knowing because it carries real penalties and sits outside what most insurance conversations cover.

Section 489.147 of the Florida Statutes, added in 2021 and amended since, restricts how roofing contractors may solicit residential property owners in connection with insurance claims. The provisions have been through litigation and legislative revision, and the current framework centers on advertising disclosure requirements around the homeowner’s deductible responsibility.

Related restrictions remain in force: contractors may not offer compensation, rebates, gifts, or anything of value in exchange for allowing a roof inspection or making a claim, and may not perform public adjuster services — advertising, offering to handle, or adjusting a claim on a homeowner’s behalf — without a public adjuster license. Contracts must include a detailed cost estimate.

Acts of employees and compensated non-employees soliciting on a contractor’s behalf are treated as the contractor’s own acts.

These are licensing and statutory questions rather than coverage questions, and specific situations should be reviewed with an attorney. But for a company doing storm restoration work, they affect operations directly.

Contract Requirements Have Become the Gate

Commercial roofing contracts routinely demand more than a general liability certificate.

General contractors, developers, condominium associations, municipalities, hospitals, and school districts commonly require specific limits, additional insured endorsements covering both ongoing and completed operations, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory wording, and umbrella coverage in force before work begins.

Each is a separate endorsement, and a certificate that looks adequate can still fall short of what the contract specifies. Reviewing insurance requirements while bidding rather than after award prevents a jobsite waiting on paperwork.

Related coverage: General Liability Insurance · Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Equipment, Vehicles, and Materials

Roofing operations carry meaningful capital in the field — trucks, trailers, conveyors, kettles, lifts, compressors, nail guns, and safety equipment — plus material staged on sites and on roofs before installation.

Contractors’ equipment coverage on an inland marine form protects tools and equipment in transit and at jobsites, covering exposures a standard commercial property policy handles poorly. Vehicles moving crews and material between sites remain one of the most frequent sources of liability claims for any contractor.

Related coverage: Business Auto Insurance · Commercial Property Insurance

Residential and Commercial Are Different Placements

Carrier appetite splits along lines that matter when you are growing.

Residential replacement, new residential construction, commercial flat roofing, tile, metal, coatings, restoration, and condominium rehabilitation each carry a different risk profile — and a carrier comfortable with one may decline another. Building height and number of stories frequently drive restrictions as well.

A contractor moving from residential tear-offs into commercial or high-rise work should expect the placement conversation to change with it. Depending on operations, a program may include general liability with adequate completed operations, workers’ compensation, commercial auto, contractors’ equipment, commercial property, commercial umbrella, builders risk coordination, employment practices liability, cyber liability, and pollution liability for certain systems.

Discuss Your Coverage With Prestige Insurance Group

Prestige Insurance Group works with roofing contractors throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach County, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Southwest Florida, the Treasure Coast, and across the state — on shingle, tile, metal, TPO, modified bitumen, coatings, storm restoration, and commercial roofing operations.

If you perform torch work or open roof operations, or use subcontracted labor, those are the first things worth confirming on your current program.

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

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