What this guide covers
The covers required by law or in practice, what a US commercial lease contains that its European equivalent does not, and the constraints specific to a hurricane-exposed state. It is the cost line that market-entry forecasts most often understate.
What exists
Workers’ compensation
Mandatory above a headcount threshold set by the state, with particular rules in construction. Failure exposes the employer to penalties and to direct liability.
General and professional liability
Rarely imposed by law, almost always by contract: a landlord, a prime contractor or a large client will require it before signing.
The commercial lease
Often “triple net”: the tenant bears property taxes, building insurance and maintenance on top of rent. The headline rent is therefore not the real cost.
Climate risk
Wind and flood damage are covered under separate policies, with their own deductibles. In Florida this is a budget line in its own right.
What surprises people arriving from Europe or Quebec
The advertised rent per square foot almost never includes what a European rent includes. Between triple net, common charges and required insurance, the real cost routinely exceeds the headline figure by half, and it is discovered at signature.
Where it gets complicated
Insurance requirements vary by county and by sector, and the insurer asks for certificates the company can only produce once registered and licensed. The chain is sequential: each brick waits for the previous one.
Official sources
- Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation
- Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
- Florida DBPR, regulated professions
What French Executive Network can do
Introduce you to the French-speaking business lawyers, accountants and tax advisers in the network who handle this subject, and to the members who have already been through it.