# Bright Coast Insurance **Florida-Licensed Independent Insurance Agency** | Florida License #L103957 Phone: (239) 475-0361 | Email: support@brightcoastins.com Address: PO Box 417, Pineland, FL 33945 Website: https://brightcoastins.com Google Business Profile: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Bright+Coast+Insurance&query_place_id=ChIJ2bHi4scRv4gRzuxlEjQ0a84 --- # Class 8111: plumbers' supply and hot-water apparatus dealers and their drivers 8111 is the class for businesses that sell plumbing supplies and gas, steam and hot-water apparatus, with their yard staff and delivery drivers. It covers the dealer, not the plumber. When a supply house sends its own staff to install fixtures, Florida treats that installing work very differently from counter sales. ## Verified facts about code 8111 - The FWCJUA (FL assigned-risk) 2026 table lists 8111 as "Gas, Steam and Hot Water Apparatus - Supplies Deal[er]" at $1.543 per $100 of payroll, effective January 1, 2026. Florida is a rate state, so carrier pricing starts from the OIR-approved approved rate, then the carrier's deviation, schedule rating, premium discount and your experience mod. ([Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (I-File 25-055760, acknowledged January 26, 2026), published by FWCJUA](https://www.fwcjua.com/Home/DisplayDocument?intDocId=16046)) - the classification phraseology for 8111 is a single, undivided entry: Plumbers' Supplies Dealer & Drivers. ([Montana State Fund](https://montanastatefund.com/web/docs/class-codes-py2026.pdf)) - Plumbing NOC and drivers (5183) is on Florida's construction code list in Rule 69L-6.021, and 8111 is not. Under 69L-6.021(2), an employer is in the construction industry when any portion of its operations falls under a listed code. ([Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers' Compensation](https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ruleNo.asp?id=69L-6.021)) - OSHA lists four common forklift injury events: driving off a loading dock, falling between the dock and an unsecured trailer, workers being struck by the truck, and falls from elevated pallets or tines. ([OSHA](https://www.osha.gov/powered-industrial-trucks)) ## 8111 against the codes a supply house is most often confused with | Class | Florida description | Rate | |---|---|---| | 8111 | GAS, STEAM AND HOT WATER APPARATUS - SUPPLIES DEAL | $1.543 per $100 of payroll | | 5183 | PLUMBING NOC AND DRIVERS | $2.737 per $100 of payroll | | 8018 | STORE: WHOLESALE NOC | $2.918 per $100 of payroll | | 8232 | BUILDING MATERIAL DEALER - NEW MATERIALS | $3.848 per $100 of payroll | FWCJUA (FL assigned-risk) 2026 rate, effective January 1, 2026: [OIR-acknowledged exhibit](https://www.fwcjua.com/Home/DisplayDocument?intDocId=16046), checked 2026-10-24. Florida is a rate state, so carrier pricing starts from the OIR-approved approved rate, then the carrier's deviation, schedule rating, premium discount and your experience mod. 8111 is one of the lower-priced dealer classes in Florida. It costs less than general wholesale (8018), much less than a building material yard (8232), and less than plumbing installation (5183). The difference with 5183 is about more than price: 5183 is a construction class, so installing what the dealer sells changes which Florida coverage rules apply. **Illustration (not a quote):** A supply house with two counter staff, three warehouse pickers and two box-truck drivers runs $420,000 of 8111 payroll. Its claims history earned it a 0.95 experience mod. $420,000 ÷ 100 × $1.543 = $6,481; × mod 0.95 = $6,157. FWCJUA (assigned-risk) estimate: $11,883, before the $160 expense constant, $475 flat fee and minimum premium. ## Counter, yard and route work at a plumbing supply house 8111 follows the dealer's operations from receiving dock to customer. It covers pulling pipe, fittings, valves and fixtures from racks, staging contractor orders, loading trucks, and the drivers who deliver to job sites. The phraseology names drivers explicitly, so delivery payroll stays in 8111 instead of moving to a trucking class. FWCJUA's description also reaches dealers in gas, steam and hot-water apparatus. That puts water-heater and boiler supply houses in the same class as pipe-and-fitting distributors. ## When a supply house is no longer only a supply house Installing what is sold is plumbing, and plumbing NOC (5183) is a Florida construction class. A dealer whose staff connect water heaters at customers' homes has that payroll classified outside 8111. Under Rule 69L-6.021(2), the dealer is then engaged in the construction industry. Manufacturing plumbing supplies is also outside 8111. FWCJUA lists Plumbers' Supplies Mfg. as 3188. A showroom that also sells lumber and general building materials may belong in 8232 instead. ## Payroll that typically lands in 8111 These roles describe dealer operations named in the phraseology: - Counter salesperson who also walks the racks to fill a plumber's will-call order - Yard worker cutting and bundling lengths of pipe for pickup - Warehouse picker staging water heaters and fixtures for morning routes - Driver delivering a pallet of fittings to a commercial job site and unloading it ## Heavy, awkward stock and dock traffic Water heaters, cast-iron fittings and bundles of pipe are heavy and awkward to grip, and much of the stock moves on forklifts. OSHA points out that a high-lift rider truck is more likely than a hand truck to drop a raised load. It also notes that sites mixing pedestrians and lift trucks have a harder time keeping walkers safe, and a busy will-call counter is exactly that kind of site. Delivery drivers face the road and the unload at the end of it. OSHA's motor vehicle guidance treats driving for work as a workplace hazard that employers must manage like any other. ## Practices suited to a pipe-and-fixture operation Each control below tracks a hazard OSHA has identified: - Mark separate forklift and pedestrian lanes between the will-call counter and the racks - Document each operator's forklift training and evaluation under 29 CFR 1910.178(l)(1) - Secure trailers and box trucks at the dock before loading water heaters - Set route and load policies for drivers in line with OSHA's motor vehicle safety resources ## Selling versus installing: the 8111 audit question Auditors look at invoices. A line item for installation labor next to a water heater sale tells them someone was installing. Keep install jobs on separate tickets, and keep separate payroll records for staff who do them. Otherwise the whole crew's hours can be pulled toward the construction class. The opposite mistake is putting a pure distributor in 8018 because it does not have a storefront. The 8111 phraseology does not depend on retail or wholesale; it depends on what is sold. ## Florida thresholds and officer exemptions for a supply dealer A dealer that only sells and delivers is non-construction, so Florida requires coverage from the fourth employee under s. 440.02. Once any operation falls under a construction code such as 5183, the employer is in the construction industry. The rule then becomes one or more employees, and no more than three corporate officers may be exempt. Exempt officers must each own at least 10 percent of the corporation and file the election electronically with DFS under s. 440.05. Construction officers must also list the chapter 489 licenses they hold. ## Plumbing supply dealers' questions about class 8111 **Is a plumbing supply house a construction employer in Florida?** Not when it only sells and delivers, because 8111 is not on Rule 69L-6.021's construction list. If its employees install plumbing, that work falls under 5183, which is listed, and the employer counts as construction. **Are delivery drivers classified separately from the store?** No. the classification phraseology is "Plumbers' Supplies Dealer & Drivers", so drivers delivering the dealer's goods stay in 8111. **Does 8111 cover water-heater and boiler dealers?** Yes. FWCJUA's Florida description covers gas, steam and hot-water apparatus supply dealers. **Can a supply house put installation crews on the same application as the counter staff?** Only if the application describes both operations. Crews who install piping inside buildings are a construction class, and the carrier will ask which payroll belongs to the warehouse and which belongs on the job site. ## Sources - Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (I-File 25-055760, acknowledged January 26, 2026), published by FWCJUA: [1-1-2026 Rate Filing: OIR Acknowledgement of Filed Rates, class rates effective January 1, 2026](https://www.fwcjua.com/Home/DisplayDocument?intDocId=16046) - Florida Workers' Compensation Joint Underwriting Association (FWCJUA): [2026 rates and minimum premiums by class, effective January 1, 2026](https://www.fwcjua.com/Rates) - Montana State Fund: [Classification Codes PY2026: classification phraseologies and suffixes](https://montanastatefund.com/web/docs/class-codes-py2026.pdf) - Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers' Compensation: [Rule 69L-6.021, F.A.C.: Construction Industry Classification Codes, Descriptions, and Operations Scope of Exemption](https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ruleNo.asp?id=69L-6.021) - OSHA: [Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklifts): hazards, operator training under 29 CFR 1910.178(l)(1)](https://www.osha.gov/powered-industrial-trucks) - OSHA: [Motor Vehicle Safety](https://www.osha.gov/motor-vehicle-safety) - Florida Senate: [Section 440.02, Florida Statutes: Definitions (employment, employee, employer, exemptions)](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/440.02) - Florida Senate: [Section 440.05, Florida Statutes: Election of exemption; revocation; notice](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/440.05) --- ## About Bright Coast Insurance Bright Coast Insurance is a Florida-licensed independent insurance agency (Florida License #L103957) specializing in commercial insurance for Florida contractors, builders, property owners, and HOA/condo associations. As an independent agency, we represent multiple carriers including US Assure (builders risk), Employers Holdings, AmTrust Financial, and others — allowing us to find the best coverage at the most competitive rate for each client. **Contact:** (239) 475-0361 | support@brightcoastins.com **Address:** PO Box 417, Pineland, FL 33945 **Website:** https://brightcoastins.com **Hours:** Monday–Friday, 8 AM–5 PM ET *Bright Coast Insurance is an authorized FWCJUA placement agency and an authorized US Assure builders risk agency.*