Workers' comp cost for roofing contractors in Cape Coral
Lee County has 123 roofing contractor businesses. Class 5551 is $6.752 per $100 of payroll in 2026; a 4-person Cape Coral crew runs about $17,015 a year.
Roofing businesses in Lee County
The Census Bureau counted 123 roofing contractors (NAICS 238160) establishments in Lee County in 2023, with 3,118 paid employees on their payrolls.
That is 5.6% of the 2,201 such establishments statewide, and the sixth highest count among the nine counties that hold the ten cities in this guide series.
Annual payroll at those firms works out to about $63,113 per employee, which is the number that drives a workers' comp premium.
ZIP Code Business Patterns puts 27 roofing contractor establishments in ZIP codes whose postal city is Cape Coral.
Out of 3,887 construction establishments in Lee County, 3.2% are roofing contractor firms.
For roofing contractor firms, Lee County's average pay of $63,113 sits above Leon County ($62,137) and below Broward County ($64,430).
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 2,340 roofers in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area in May 2024, at a median wage of $21.63 an hour, below the Florida median of $22.23.
At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $45,000 a year, which adds roughly $3,038 of class 5551 premium.
2026 Florida class codes and rates
| Class | What it covers | Rate per $100 payroll | FWCJUA minimum premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5551 | ROOFING - ALL KINDS | $6.752 | $2,900 |
Rates are the 2026 Florida manual rates published by the FWCJUA, matching the standard filing approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation for policies effective on or after January 1, 2026.
Worked example for a Cape Coral crew
Picture 4 employees of a Cape Coral roofing business, each earning the Lee County average, for $252,000 of payroll in class 5551.
At $6.752 per $100, the manual premium is about $17,015 a year, or about $4,254 per employee, before your experience modifier, credits and fees.
A Cape Coral business that ends up in the FWCJUA, Florida's market of last resort, pays a 93% surcharge in Tier 1 or 183% in Tiers 2 and 3, about $32,839 or $48,153 on that payroll.
The experience modifier then moves that number: at a 0.85 mod the Cape Coral crew would pay about $14,463, and at a 1.25 mod about $21,269.
These Cape Coral figures are an illustration from public data; a real quote uses your own payroll and loss history.
Class 5551 manual premium by headcount at Lee County average pay
| Employees | Annual payroll | Manual premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $63,000 | $4,254 |
| 3 | $189,000 | $12,761 |
| 4 | $252,000 | $17,015 |
| 10 | $631,000 | $42,605 |
| 20 | $1,262,000 | $85,210 |
How roofing contractors are classified
Every person on a roof crew sits in one class: 5551, Roofing — All Kinds. That covers shingle, tile, metal, modified-bitumen and single-ply work, new roofs and repairs alike. There is no lower-rated "repair only" roofing code in Florida, so a crew doing small leak calls carries the same manual rate as a crew re-roofing a warehouse. Office staff who never go on a job site can be split out to 8810 Clerical at $0.105 per $100, and that split is often the single largest lever on a roofer's premium. Owners who climb ladders and estimate on roofs do not qualify for the clerical rate.
Usually included
- Shingle, tile, metal and flat-roof installation and repair
- Tear-off and debris removal by the roofing crew
- Roof coatings and waterproofing applied on the roof
- Roof flashing and edge metal installed by the roofing crew
Rated separately
- Sheet-metal fabrication in a shop
- Clerical staff with no job-site duties (8810)
- Outside sales staff who never go on roofs
At audit
- Auditors compare roofing payroll to permit history and material invoices, so a jump in squares installed with flat payroll invites questions about uninsured subs.
- Owners who estimate on roofs stay in 5551 for that time; only purely clerical staff move to 8810.
Permits and licensing in Cape Coral
Before a Cape Coral roofing job starts, the contractor pulls roofing permits from the City of Cape Coral Permitting Services Division, and state law requires proof of workers' comp or an exemption as part of that application.
Every building permit in Cape Coral is submitted through the city's EnerGov self-service portal, and the Permitting Services Division registers contractors with the city before they can pull a permit. Cape Coral is laced with canals, so docks, seawalls and boat lifts are a regular part of local construction alongside new single-family homes. Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County on September 28, 2022, and the rebuild that followed reshaped the local labor market for roofers, framers and drywall crews for years.
Cape Coral's construction is dominated by single-family homes on a grid of canals and dry lots, with pools, docks, seawalls and boat lifts built alongside many of them. After Hurricane Ian, roof replacement and full rebuilds created a long backlog, and the city's contractor registration and permit portal became the gatekeeper for out-of-area crews. A contractor working here benefits from having certificates on file with the city and the builders it subs for before each job starts. Much of the city still relies on septic systems, and Cape Coral's long-running Utilities Extension Project brings water and sewer lines to those neighborhoods, which keeps underground and plumbing crews busy. Large areas in the northern part of the city remain vacant lots, so new-home construction continues to spread north.
- Canal-front and seawall work adds drowning and marine-construction exposures that can call for USL&H coverage on top of state workers' comp.
- Single-family residential construction dominates, so framing and roofing payroll here tends to land in the residential carpentry and roofing codes.
Common claims for roofing contractors in Cape Coral
Cape Coral roofers are still working through re-roofs and replacements that followed Hurricane Ian, mostly on single-family homes. Coastal roofs take wind-driven rain and salt, which means more tear-off and repair work after storms, often done fast and in poor conditions.
- Falls from roof edges, ladders and openings, the claim type that drives the 5551 rate
- Heat illness on dark membrane and tile roofs in summer
- Back and shoulder strains from carrying bundles, tile and underlayment
- Burns from torch-down and hot-asphalt work
- Lacerations from metal panels, flashing and cutting tools
What to have ready for a Cape Coral roofing quote
- Payroll for your Cape Coral roofing work, split by class (5551) and with office staff listed separately
- Certificates or exemptions for every sub on your Cape Coral jobs, checked in the Proof of Coverage database
- Three years of loss runs for the roofing business, plus your current experience modifier if you have one
- Recent permits pulled with the City of Cape Coral Permitting Services Division, which show the volume and type of Cape Coral work
- Any jobs planned outside Lee County or outside Florida this year, so the policy covers them
Get a workers' comp quote for your Cape Coral roofing business
Send your payroll by class and your loss runs, and a licensed Bright Coast agent will shop the carriers writing roofing contractors in Lee County. Certificates can be issued the same day for qualified accounts.
Questions from Cape Coral roofing contractors
What does workers' comp cost roofing contractors in Cape Coral, FL?
Start from payroll. Lee County roofing contractor firms paid about $63,113 per employee in 2023, and class 5551 costs $6.752 per $100 of it, so each Cape Coral worker carries roughly $4,254 of manual premium a year. Your experience modifier, credits and the carrier's pricing move the final figure from there.
How many roofing contractor businesses operate in Cape Coral?
The Census Bureau's 2023 ZIP Code Business Patterns lists 27 roofing contractor establishments in ZIP codes with a Cape Coral postal address, out of 123 across Lee County and 2,201 statewide. Any of those Cape Coral firms with employees must insure them, which is why owners and GCs ask for a certificate before work starts.
Where do roofing contractors in Cape Coral get permits, and is proof of coverage required?
Permits inside Cape Coral come from the City of Cape Coral Permitting Services Division. Roofing contractors in Cape Coral work under a state certified or registered license from the Florida DBPR. A Cape Coral roofing business with even one employee must carry workers' comp, and the permit desk can confirm it in the state's Proof of Coverage database.
Can a roofer use a cheaper repair code for small leak calls?
No. Florida has one roofing class, 5551, for all roofing work, new or repair, so every hour on a roof is rated the same way. The way to lower the premium is to split out true office payroll, keep a clean loss history and document subcontractor certificates.
Does seawall or dock work in Cape Coral need more than state workers' comp?
It can. Work on or over navigable water may fall under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, which state workers' comp does not cover unless the policy carries a USL&H endorsement. Ask for that endorsement if your crews build or repair seawalls, docks or boat lifts.
Does hurricane season change workers' comp costs for roofing contractors in Cape Coral?
The rate does not change with the season, but the bill can. Premium is calculated on audited payroll, so the storm-repair work that follows a hurricane in Cape Coral raises payroll and, with it, the final audited premium. Updating your payroll estimate mid-term avoids a large audit bill.
Sources
- Florida DBPR, Construction Industry Licensing Board
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 (metropolitan areas and Florida)
- U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023 (establishments by size class, ZIPs grouped by postal city)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.103 — Building permits; proof of workers' compensation coverage
- Florida Workers' Compensation Joint Underwriting Association, 2026 rates and minimum premiums by class
- Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Commissioner approves 6.9% workers' compensation rate decrease effective January 1, 2026
- FWCJUA, Bulletin 25-9: 2026 Tier 1, 2 and 3 surcharges
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (establishments, employment and annual payroll by county and NAICS)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.02 — Definitions (employer, construction industry, corporate officers)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.05 — Election of exemption
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.10 — Liability for compensation (contractors and subcontractors)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.107 — Compliance, stop-work orders and penalties
- Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, Proof of Coverage database
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census population, QuickFacts
- City of Cape Coral, Permitting Services Division
- NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical cyclone climatology (Atlantic season June 1 – November 30)
Reviewed 2026-10-13. Rates and figures are for illustration; a quote depends on your payroll, classifications, experience modifier and carrier.