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Workers' Comp for Drywall Contractors in Florida

Code 5445 - 2026 FL filed rate $4.53/100 of payroll.

Drywall Workers' Comp in Florida - One Code, Broad Coverage

Drywall is one of the cleaner workers' comp classification situations in Florida construction - there is essentially one code that covers everything your crew does. Code 5445 covers hanging, taping, finishing, texturing, and metal stud framing when done by drywall crews. You are not typically fighting a code battle or trying to separate payroll between multiple classifications.

What you are fighting is claim frequency. At $4.53/100 of payroll, code 5445 is mid-range for construction - but drywall companies tend to generate claims at a rate that makes the underlying frequency significant. A company with $400,000 in annual payroll is paying approximately $18,120/year in base premium. One stilt fall or a series of shoulder injuries can push your experience mod above 1.0 and send that number significantly higher at renewal.

Code	Description	2026 Rate	Covers
5445	Drywall and Wallboard Installation	$4.53	Hanging, taping, finishing, texturing, metal stud framing by drywall crews

The Real Risk Drivers - Stilts, Shoulders, and Florida's Humidity

Drywall finishing work involves spending most of the workday on stilts. Drywall stilts are not ladders - workers walk, carry material, and apply compound while elevated 18-36 inches off the floor on spring-loaded metal extensions attached to their feet. Falls from stilts are a consistent source of serious ankle, knee, wrist, and head injuries in drywall workers' comp claims.

Stilt and scaffolding falls - the severity driver in drywall claims. A fall from stilts onto a concrete subfloor in a commercial build is not a minor incident. Ankle fractures, knee injuries, and wrist fractures from impact are the most common outcomes. Head injuries occur when workers fall in areas with obstructions.
Shoulder injuries from taping - repetitive overhead motion while applying joint compound generates rotator cuff injuries at high rates in finish carpenters and drywall finishers. These claims are slow to resolve, expensive in physical therapy and potential surgery, and common enough that any drywall company with more than a few finishers will see them regularly.
Wrist and elbow strain - repetitive motion from drywall screw guns and taping knives generates lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) and carpal tunnel claims that compound over time with workers who have spent years in the trade.
Back injuries - sheets of drywall are awkward and heavy. A standard 4x12 sheet of 5/8" drywall weighs approximately 90 lbs. Loading, carrying, and positioning overhead generates lower back strain that is one of the highest-frequency claim types in the industry.
Florida humidity and mold - Florida's humidity creates a situation where drywall companies are sometimes called to do water damage remediation and mold remediation work alongside installation. Mold remediation is a different risk profile (respiratory exposure, chemical exposure from biocides) and may create classification issues if your crew is doing substantial remediation work without it being separately documented.

Metal stud framing under 5445. Drywall crews in Florida regularly do metal stud framing as part of their scope - particularly in commercial construction. Metal stud work done by drywall crews is classified under 5445, not under a separate framing code. This is standard across Florida carriers. If your crew frames and hangs, it all stays under the same code.

Commercial vs. Residential Drywall - Same Code, Different Environments

Code 5445 applies to both residential and commercial drywall in Florida. The rate is the same. But the exposure profile differs enough that it affects your actual claim experience. Commercial drywall work typically involves taller ceilings, more scaffold work, and larger crews - which means more exposure per project. Residential work involves lower heights but smaller crews and more direct homeowner contact (which occasionally creates their own complications).

Multi-family residential - apartments, condos - is particularly active in Florida and represents a major market segment for drywall contractors. These projects share characteristics of both commercial (scale, scaffold work, multi-story exposure) and residential (code requirements, timeline pressure). A drywall company doing new multi-family construction in South or Central Florida is in one of the most active construction markets in the country right now.

Frequently Asked Questions - Florida Drywall Contractors

Yes. Drywall installation is classified as construction under Florida law, which means the one-employee threshold applies. One W-2 employee triggers the requirement. Corporate officers can apply for exemptions (up to three per company), but field workers - hangers, tapers, finishers - cannot. Given stilt work and the realistic injury exposure, this is not a coverage to operate without.

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Code 5445 covers all phases of drywall and wallboard installation: hanging, taping, finishing, texturing, and metal stud framing done by drywall crews. There is no separate code for commercial versus residential drywall - the same code applies to both. The 2026 filed rate is $4.53/100 of payroll. That rate applies to all employees whose primary work is drywall installation.

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It can, depending on how much painting your crew does and whether it can be separated from the drywall work. Painting has its own class code (5474) at a different rate. If your employees regularly perform painting tasks, a carrier may require payroll to be separated by work type. If painting is incidental to the drywall finish work - applying primer or touch-up paint as part of the finishing process - it typically stays under 5445. If you have a dedicated painting crew, that payroll should be separately tracked and classified.

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Claim frequency drives your experience modification factor, which is applied to your base rate at renewal. Multiple soft-tissue claims - shoulders, backs - even if individually modest in cost, will push your mod above 1.0. A mod of 1.3 means you're paying 30% above the filed rate. PEO workers' comp pools your experience with a much larger group, which buffers the impact of a bad claim year on your specific rate. If you've had a rough year on claims, it's worth comparing your current renewal rate against what PEO pricing would be.

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This is one of the most common mistakes in the drywall industry and one of the most frequently cited in Florida DFS audits. Simply calling someone a 1099 contractor does not make them an independent contractor under Florida's workers' comp statute. DFS applies a multi-factor test. If the workers use your equipment, work exclusively for you, do not have their own business, and work under your direction, they will be reclassified as employees and uninsured payroll added to your audit. The penalties for misclassification are significant.

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