SDV Insights

Significant portions of Florida suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Ian. Many out-of-state contractors have sent their workers to Florida to help with the cleanup and rebuilding process.

SDV is sending out this important notice for all out-of-state contractors to contact their workers’ compensation brokers and insurers to ensure their out-of-state workers’ compensation policy will cover workers in Florida. The state of Florida does not recognize the “All States Endorsement” on workers’ compensation policies, and in some instances could potentially result in out-of-state contractors being without coverage in the State of Florida.

As per the Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation: “Out of State Employers must notify their insurance carrier that they are working in Florida. If there is no insurance, the out-of-state employer is required to obtain a Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance policy with a Florida approved insurance carrier which meets the requirements of Florida law and the Florida Insurance Code. This means that ‘Florida’ must be specifically listed in Section 3A of the policy (on the Information Page).”

However, an Extraterritorial Reciprocity clause in the home state’s statute allows some out-of-state employers to work in Florida temporarily using their home state’s workers' compensation insurance policy. The Extraterritorial Reciprocity program includes the following states:

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont

All other states not listed either have certain restrictions or are not part of the program. The bottom line is that even if your state is listed above, it is prudent to double check with your workers’ compensation broker and insurer to make sure your workers will be covered under a Florida-approved workers’ compensation policy.

For more information, contact Richard W. Brown at RBrown@sdvlaw.com or Stephanie A. Giagnorio at SGiagnorio@sdvlaw.com.