Land surveying in Lee County is dominated by 1–4 person operations — a licensed surveyor (PSM) plus 1–3 field crew. Health insurance for this scale doesn't fit neatly into the "small group" or "individual marketplace" buckets. This page covers the realistic options for a Cape Coral surveying outfit and when each makes sense.
If you're the only person on payroll (solo PSM, no W-2 employees), Florida small group carriers won't write a plan. Your options:
Once you have one non-owner W-2 employee on payroll, you can buy a small group plan. For a 2-person Cape Coral survey crew:
If you have 1–10 employees and don't want the complexity of a group plan, QSEHRA (Qualified Small Employer HRA) lets you reimburse employees for marketplace premiums tax-free up to:
The firm gets a deduction; the employee gets tax-free reimbursement; no group plan to administer. Especially well-suited to surveying firms where the field crew may turn over and you don't want to deal with group enrollment paperwork.
| Setup | Owner | 1 Field Crew | Annual Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo, marketplace Bronze HSA | $5,400/year | n/a | $5,400 |
| Solo, marketplace Silver | $6,600/year | n/a | $6,600 |
| 2-person, group Silver HMO 50/50 | $3,000 firm share | $3,000 firm share | $6,000 firm spend |
| 2-person QSEHRA $400/mo | n/a (owner uses marketplace separately) | $4,800 firm contribution | $4,800 |
Florida surveying field work is physically demanding (heat, terrain, snake bites, ATV-related injuries) — workers' comp matters more for budgeting than the health plan, but health benefits help with retention. Surveying class code (8601 — Geophysical Exploration) carries higher workers' comp rates than office classes; your group health spend is small compared to workers' comp.
Florida carriers don't write owner-only groups. Solo surveyors use the ACA marketplace, the SE health insurance deduction, and possibly an HSA-eligible plan. Once you hire one non-owner W-2 employee, group coverage becomes available.
On a Silver HMO group plan with 50/50 split, roughly $5,500–$7,500 per year in firm cost for the owner's share plus the employee's share. QSEHRA contributions of $400/month per employee runs $4,800/year per employee.
QSEHRA is simpler and lets employees keep marketplace subsidies. Group plans are usually slightly cheaper in nominal dollars but eliminate subsidies. For 1–3 employee firms with high marketplace subsidy eligibility, QSEHRA is often the better answer.
Yes for sole proprietors, single-member LLCs, and partners in partnerships. Premiums for medical, dental, vision, and qualified long-term-care insurance deduct above the line on Schedule 1 up to net SE earnings. S-corp owners use the W-2 add-back path.
Whether solo or small crew, we'll model marketplace, group, and QSEHRA paths for you.
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