Most Florida restaurants pay roughly $1.00 to $2.20 per $100 of payroll for workers' compensation on the main restaurant class code, before credits and the experience mod. For a full-service restaurant with about $400,000 in annual payroll, that usually works out to somewhere in the $4,500 to $9,000 a year range — but the real number swings on your class-code mix, whether you run delivery, your claims history, and your experience mod. These are general ranges to set expectations, not a quote.
Workers' comp premium isn't a flat fee — it's built from your payroll and the rate that applies to each class of work. For each class code, the carrier takes your payroll, divides by 100, and multiplies by the rate for that code. Then your experience modification factor (the "mod") adjusts the whole thing up or down based on your claims history, and the carrier applies its own credits or debits. Two identical-looking restaurants can pay very different premiums if one has clean claims and clean class-code splits and the other doesn't.
Florida uses NCCI class codes, the same national framework as most Southeastern states. The code that applies depends on the kind of operation you run:
| Class code | Type of operation | Typical rate per $100 payroll* |
|---|---|---|
| 9082 | Restaurant NOC (full-service, sit-down) | ~$1.10 – $1.80 |
| 9083 | Restaurant — fast food / limited service | ~$1.00 – $1.50 |
| 9084 | Bar, tavern, lounge (higher alcohol share) | ~$1.30 – $2.20 |
| 8810 | Clerical / office staff | ~$0.10 – $0.30 |
| 7380 | Outside delivery drivers | ~$3.50 – $6.50+ |
*Illustrative general ranges for setting expectations only, before experience mod and carrier credits/debits. Actual filed rates in Florida vary by carrier and change over time. Not a quote.
The takeaway from that table: not all restaurant payroll should be rated the same. A bookkeeper who never enters the kitchen shouldn't be rated at the 9082 restaurant rate, and a delivery driver shouldn't be buried inside kitchen payroll — delivery is a much higher-rated exposure. Getting these splits documented correctly is one of the most common ways Florida restaurants quietly overpay year after year.
Say you run a full-service restaurant in Florida with $400,000 in total annual payroll, split as $320,000 in restaurant staff (9082), $50,000 in a manager/office role that can be partly clerical (8810), and $30,000 in delivery drivers (7380). Even at illustrative mid-range rates, the delivery slice carries a disproportionate share of the premium because its rate is several times higher than the kitchen rate. Lumping that $30,000 of delivery into 9082 would understate risk and set you up for an audit surprise, while lumping the clerical role into 9082 would overstate it and cost you money now. The right answer is accurate splits — which is exactly what an audit-ready payroll record and an agent who checks the codes are for.
Here's where Florida differs from its neighbors. Florida law requires non-construction employers with four or more employees — full-time or part-time — to carry workers' compensation. A restaurant with four or more people on the payroll almost always has to carry it. That's a different threshold than Georgia, which sets the line at three employees. Sole proprietors and certain corporate officers can sometimes be excluded, but the four-employee rule sweeps in nearly every real restaurant. Going without coverage isn't just a legal exposure — a single serious kitchen burn or fall can dwarf a year of premium.
Florida restaurant comp often prices a bit above some neighboring states, and there are structural reasons: Florida's approved rate levels are set through the state's regulatory filing process, the state has historically had an active litigation environment, and the hospitality workforce is large and seasonal, which affects claims patterns. None of that is something an individual owner controls — but it does mean shopping the account matters even more in Florida, because carrier appetite and pricing spread out widely.
Bettr Coverage is an independent commercial insurance agency serving Florida and the Southeast. We write restaurant and bar workers' comp alongside the rest of the program — general liability, liquor liability, property (including Florida's coastal and named-storm exposures), and commercial auto for delivery — and we shop each account across multiple carriers to match your class codes and claims history to the market that wants them. We work owner-to-owner, we check the class-code splits most agents skip, and we review your whole restaurant program together instead of one line at a time.
Bettr Coverage shops your workers' comp, general liability, liquor liability, property, and delivery auto across multiple carriers — one agency, one relationship, the class codes checked and the whole program reviewed together.
Get a free coverage reviewRoughly $1.00–$2.20 per $100 of payroll on the main restaurant code before the mod and credits. A full-service restaurant with $400K payroll often lands around $4,500–$9,000/yr, depending on class mix, delivery, and claims history.
Full-service is usually NCCI 9082, fast food 9083, bars 9084, clerical 8810, and outside delivery drivers a separate higher-rated code (around 7380). Correct splits matter a lot.
Yes for most — Florida requires non-construction employers with four or more employees, full- or part-time, to carry it. That's a higher threshold than Georgia's three, but nearly every real restaurant crosses it.
Florida's approved rate levels, litigation environment, and large seasonal hospitality workforce tend to push restaurant comp a bit higher. Shopping the account matters even more here.
Total payroll, class-code mix, experience mod, delivery exposure, and safety practices. A mod above 1.0 and heavy delivery push it up; clean claims and accurate splits pull it down.
Yes — restaurant and bar workers' comp alongside GL, liquor liability, property, and delivery auto, shopped across multiple carriers.
For general information only. Not a quote or contract of insurance. Premium ranges and class-code rates shown are illustrative estimates for setting expectations, not filed rates, and vary by carrier, payroll, class code, experience mod, and underwriting; rates change over time. Workers' compensation requirements are set by Florida law and administered by the Florida Division of Workers' Compensation — confirm current requirements with a licensed agent or the Division. Coverage subject to policy terms and carrier appetite.