We work with a lot of firms doing plan review and code compliance inspections in Florida. Almost every one of them has the same problem at some point: the policy they have was written for something they don’t do.
To be super clear, a private provider is not a design firm. You review plans and inspect work against the building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing codes. You hold a license as an engineer, architect or building code administrator, but on these projects you aren’t designing the building. Your insurance should say that.
What the statute requires
The insurance section of Florida Statute 553.791 (subsection 18 in the current statutes) is short. Here’s what it says, in plain terms:
- Professional liability covering all services you perform as a private provider. If you also do plan review, ask whether the policy covers it too.
- $1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate for any project with a construction cost of $5 million or less.
- $2 million per occurrence / $4 million aggregate for any project over $5 million. Construction cost is what’s on the building permit application.
- 5 years of coverage after the work if you use a claims-made policy. That means no gaps at renewal, and a plan for tail coverage if you ever stop. Tail options vary by carrier.
- An insurer authorized to do business in Florida, rated A or better by A.M. Best.
- A certificate of insurance on file with the local building official before you provide services in that jurisdiction.
The statute also lets the owner ask for more. These are minimums.
Who can act as a private provider
The statute defines a private provider as a person licensed in Florida as a building code administrator, an engineer or an architect. Inspections and plan reviews can also be done by a private provider’s duly authorized representative: someone identified in the permit application who is a licensed engineer or architect, or who holds a standard or provisional certificate under the building code administrators and inspectors law. A representative with only a provisional certificate must work under the direct supervision of a licensed building code administrator.
That matters for insurance because the people doing the work, and how they are licensed, should match what your application and policy describe.
What the services cover, and what stays with the building official
Under the statute, building code inspection services include reviewing building plans, and site plans and site work engineering plans, for compliance with the applicable codes, and the inspections required by law for each phase of construction that needs a permit, done in person or virtually. “Applicable codes” means the Florida Building Code and local technical amendments. It does not include the fire prevention and firesafety codes adopted under Chapter 633.
The local building official keeps a role. The statute allows audits of private provider work and lets the official issue a Notice of Corrective Action for a condition that violates the code or approved plans. Your policy should cover plan review and inspection work as you actually perform it.
Permit fees when a private provider is used
When a fee owner or contractor uses a private provider, the statute requires the local jurisdiction to reduce the permit fee by the cost savings it realizes from not doing that work itself. It may not charge for the inspections the private provider performs, but it may charge a reasonable administrative fee based on its actual costs. The statute does not set a fixed percentage; the amount depends on the jurisdiction.
The “authorized insurer” problem
This part rarely gets explained. Professional liability for small design and inspection firms is often written by surplus lines (non-admitted) carriers. Florida’s insurance code defines an authorized insurer as one holding a certificate of authority from the state (F.S. 624.09), and defines an eligible surplus lines insurer as an unauthorized insurer that has been made eligible to write surplus lines coverage (F.S. 626.914).
We’ve had underwriters tell us their surplus lines or Lloyd’s policy satisfies 553.791 anyway. Maybe it does. But if a building official or an owner’s attorney reads the statute the other way, the risk sits with you, not the carrier.
So we do two things:
- Ask the underwriter to confirm in writing that the policy meets the insurance requirements of 553.791.
- Quote an admitted carrier alongside it, so you have a clean option if the answer isn’t clean.
Why private providers end up with the wrong policy
The application is usually the cause. An engineering application asks about design, structural, geotechnical and construction management. If you answer it like a design firm, the underwriter prices and words the policy like one.
The details underwriters actually want from a private provider:
- Plan review vs. inspections, and in-person vs. virtual.
- Residential vs. commercial, and the largest construction cost you take on.
- How much of your review touches structural sheets. A quick audit of your recent projects, showing what share of plan sheets are structural, gives underwriters something concrete instead of a guess.
- What you don’t do: structural design, threshold inspections, geotechnical work, materials testing, construction management.
Put that in writing up front. It can save a lot of back and forth, and it helps keep the policy wording matched to the work.
Why it helps to work with an agent who knows this work
A private provider firm recently came to us with a policy written around engineering design. The firm does code compliance plan review and inspections. Its underwriters had questions about how much structural review it does, whether condo work was allowed, and whether a surplus lines policy met the authorized insurer requirement. The policy had simply been set up for a different kind of work than the firm does.
An agent who works with private providers should be able to:
- Describe plan review and inspection services accurately on the application, instead of answering a design firm’s questions.
- Match the limits to the largest construction cost you take on, and to any higher limits an owner requires.
- Tell you whether a quoted insurer is admitted or surplus lines, and get the underwriter’s position on 553.791 in writing.
- Read the endorsements for condo, inspection and specialty-service exclusions before you bind.
- Keep claims-made coverage continuous and plan for the 5 years after the work.
Whoever your agent is, those are the questions to ask. Coverage is always decided by the policy as issued.
Watch the exclusions
Two come up a lot with private providers:
- Condominiums. Some carriers exclude condominium work entirely. If you do single-unit interior renovations in condo buildings, ask whether that counts. Get the answer in writing. See how condo exclusions work.
- Specialty services. Admitted carriers often list services they won’t cover (asbestos, site safety consulting, CM at risk, materials testing, geotechnical and more). If you don’t do them, confirm it in writing so it doesn’t become a question later.
Before you send a certificate to a building official
- Limits match the largest project you’ll inspect.
- The policy describes private provider services, not engineering design.
- You know whether the carrier is admitted or surplus lines, and you have something in writing either way.
- If it’s claims-made, you know your retro date and your plan for 5 years after.
If any of those is a maybe, send us the policy and the requirements. We’ll tell you what we see.
Sources
- Florida Statutes 553.791, alternative plans review and inspection (definitions of private provider, duly authorized representative and building code inspection services; permit fees; insurance requirements)
- Florida Statutes 624.09, “authorized” and “unauthorized” insurer defined
- Florida Statutes 626.914, surplus lines definitions
Statutes checked against the Florida Senate’s official text in October 2026.
Related: Code consultants and plan reviewers · Special inspection firms · How claims-made coverage works · Admitted vs non-admitted carriers