To avoid purchasing workers' compensation insurance from an insurance carrier, a company in Florida can opt to self-insure its employees. The State of Florida, recognizing the inherent risk that the self-insured company might not be able to fulfill its obligations to workers' compensation claims, requires added security in the form of a surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit. The Florida Self-Insurers Guaranty Association, Inc. (FSIGA) oversees these self-insured companies and requires them to become members before offering a workers compensation option.
The Self-Insurer’s Surety Bond for FSIGA Members is a financial guarantee from the Surety Company to the State of Florida that should the self-insured company fail in their responsibilities promised in the workers’ comp policy, then the Surety Company will become liable and make payments up to the limit set upon the bond.
The Surety Company remains liable for all bond claims initiated during the bond term for the claims’ duration. After the bond is cancelled, a worker comp claim filed for a prior instance that occurred during that bond’s term is still covered by that surety bond.
The bond limit starts at $100,000 and can increase based on the self-insured companies credit rating. The cost for the bond is a percentage of the bond limit. Jet Insurance Company will base eligibility and the bond rate based on the financial status, size, and function of the self-insured company.
All applications are reviewed by a Jet underwriter. We may require business and personal financial statements as part of the underwriting process. If approved, the bond can be delivered by Jet or by the self-insured company to the following address.
State of Florida
Department of Financial Services Division of Workers' Compensation
200 East Gaines Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0318
As spoken to above, the Surety Company assumes liability for the self-insured companies failure. However, the surety bond does not work like insurance and is based on the principle of indemnification. Meaning the self-insured company must reimburse the surety company for any and all damages paid out should they ever want to continue as a self-insured company in Florida.