Workers' comp cost for roofing contractors in Orlando
Orange County has 154 roofing contractor businesses. Class 5551 is $6.752 per $100 of payroll in 2026; a 6-person Orlando crew runs about $22,079 a year.
Roofing businesses in Orange County
The Census Bureau counted 154 roofing contractors (NAICS 238160) establishments in Orange County in 2023, with 1,662 paid employees on their payrolls.
That is 7.0% of the 2,201 such establishments statewide, and the third highest count among the nine counties that hold the ten cities in this guide series.
Annual payroll at those firms works out to about $54,477 per employee, which is the number that drives a workers' comp premium.
ZIP Code Business Patterns puts 94 roofing contractor establishments in ZIP codes whose postal city is Orlando.
Out of 4,536 construction establishments in Orange County, 3.4% are roofing contractor firms.
For roofing contractor firms, Orange County's average pay of $54,477 sits above Palm Beach County ($51,564) and below Hillsborough County ($54,878).
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 2,880 roofers in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area in May 2024, at a median wage of $21.99 an hour, below the Florida median of $22.23.
At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $45,750 a year, which adds roughly $3,089 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 an Orlando crew
Picture 6 employees of an Orlando roofing business, each earning the Orange County average, for $327,000 of payroll in class 5551.
At $6.752 per $100, the manual premium is about $22,079 a year, or about $3,680 per employee, before your experience modifier, credits and fees.
An Orlando 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 $42,613 or $62,484 on that payroll.
The experience modifier then moves that number: at a 0.85 mod the Orlando crew would pay about $18,767, and at a 1.25 mod about $27,599.
These Orlando figures are an illustration from public data; a real quote uses your own payroll and loss history.
Class 5551 manual premium by headcount at Orange County average pay
| Employees | Annual payroll | Manual premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $54,000 | $3,646 |
| 3 | $163,000 | $11,006 |
| 6 | $327,000 | $22,079 |
| 10 | $545,000 | $36,798 |
| 20 | $1,090,000 | $73,597 |
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 Orlando
Before an Orlando roofing job starts, the contractor pulls roofing permits from the City of Orlando Permitting Services, and state law requires proof of workers' comp or an exemption as part of that application.
Building permits inside Orlando city limits run through the City of Orlando Permitting Services office, and the contractor of record on each permit has to be properly licensed and insured. Work in unincorporated Orange County goes through the county instead, so a crew that works on both sides of the city line deals with two permit desks. Orlando is inland, but hurricane season still reaches it: Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Milton in 2024 both crossed Central Florida.
Most Orlando construction payroll comes from three streams: hospitality and attraction work around International Drive and the parks, the steady build-out of housing on the city's east side near Lake Nona, and medical and research campuses. Commercial owners in that mix routinely ask subcontractors for a certificate naming them as certificate holder, and many require a waiver of subrogation. A policy that cannot produce those quickly costs bids. Where crews work in Spanish, bilingual safety training and claim reporting are practical needs here. Orlando Utilities Commission, owned by the city, provides electric and water service inside much of Orlando, so service connections run through a municipal utility. In the southeast, Lake Nona's medical and research campus has grown into a district of hospitals, labs and housing, adding steady institutional and residential work far from downtown.
- Central Florida's frequent summer lightning means outdoor crews lose afternoons to storms and work longer shifts on clear days.
- Hospitality, theme-park and convention construction keeps commercial jobs running year-round, which favors contractors that can document a steady payroll.
Common claims for roofing contractors in Orlando
Orlando roofers split time between tile and shingle re-roofs in established neighborhoods like College Park and large flat-roof commercial jobs on hotels and warehouses near the airport. Inland roofers see fewer surge repairs but steady shingle replacement after hail, wind and tree damage from summer storms.
- 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 an Orlando roofing quote
- Payroll for your Orlando roofing work, split by class (5551) and with office staff listed separately
- Certificates or exemptions for every sub on your Orlando 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 Orlando Permitting Services, which show the volume and type of Orlando work
- Any jobs planned outside Orange County or outside Florida this year, so the policy covers them
Get a workers' comp quote for your Orlando 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 Orange County. Certificates can be issued the same day for qualified accounts.
Questions from Orlando roofing contractors
What does workers' comp cost roofing contractors in Orlando, FL?
Start from payroll. Orange County roofing contractor firms paid about $54,477 per employee in 2023, and class 5551 costs $6.752 per $100 of it, so each Orlando worker carries roughly $3,680 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 Orlando?
The Census Bureau's 2023 ZIP Code Business Patterns lists 94 roofing contractor establishments in ZIP codes with an Orlando postal address, out of 154 across Orange County and 2,201 statewide. Any of those Orlando firms with employees must insure them, which is why owners and GCs ask for a certificate before work starts.
Where do roofing contractors in Orlando get permits, and is proof of coverage required?
Permits inside Orlando come from the City of Orlando Permitting Services. Roofing contractors in Orlando work under a state certified or registered license from the Florida DBPR. An Orlando 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.
Do Orlando theme-park and hotel jobs require special workers' comp terms?
Large owners usually ask for a certificate naming them as holder, a waiver of subrogation, and sometimes higher employer's liability limits than the standard policy. Those are endorsements on a regular Florida workers' comp policy, and they should be in place before you mobilize.
Can the owner of an Orlando roofing company opt out of workers' comp?
Only officers can, and only up to three. In construction, Florida lets up to three officers of a corporation or LLC, each owning at least 10%, file an exemption; sole proprietors and partners cannot. Everyone else on the Orlando payroll must be insured. The state enforces this with stop-work orders and penalties of twice the unpaid premium for the prior two years.
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 Orlando, Permits and inspections
- 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.