Anyone can bolt a panel to a wall. The credentials below are what separate an installation that holds design pressure, passes inspection and earns an insurance credit from one that fails at the anchors.
A current contractor license, a certificate of insurance naming you or your association, and the product approval or Notice of Acceptance for the exact system being quoted.
OSHA-30 safety certification
OSHA-30 is a 30-hour construction safety program covering fall protection, ladder and scaffold safety, electrical hazards and site management. Shutter work happens on ladders and lifts, over balconies and around live circuits — a crew trained to OSHA-30 is measurably less likely to injure someone or damage your property, and most resorts and condo associations now require it before granting site access.
Licensing and insurance
- A current contractor license in the territory where your property sits, not a neighboring one.
- General liability insurance with the owner or association named as additional insured.
- Workers' compensation for every person on your property — including subcontractors.
- A written warranty on both product and labor, with the labor term stated in years.
Product approvals and engineering
The system on your quote should carry a Florida Product Approval number or a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, tested to ASTM E1886/E1996. Ask for the anchor schedule too: the approval is only valid when the fastener type, size, spacing and edge distance match the tested assembly. A contractor who cannot produce the anchor schedule is guessing.
Installer training and in-house crews
We use in-house crews, not day labor or subcontracted panels. Every installer is trained on each manufacturer's system and works from the engineered anchor schedule for your specific openings. That is also why we can service what we install years later — the same team knows how the building was fastened.
Questions to ask any shutter contractor
- Which system are you quoting, and what is its approval number?
- What Design Pressure did you calculate for each opening?
- What fastener are you using, at what spacing, into what substrate?
- Who does the install — your employees or a subcontractor?
- What is the labor warranty, and who services the shutters in five years?
- Will you file the wind-mitigation documentation with my insurer?
Red flags
- A price per window with no site visit and no measurement.
- No product approval number anywhere on the quote.
- Large deposits demanded in cash before permits are filed.
- Storm-season pressure selling with a same-day discount.
- No local presence to service the system after the sale.
FAQ
Indirectly but importantly. Insurers require a permitted installation of an approved product; a licensed contractor who files the documentation is what makes that credit stick.
Increasingly yes, along with a certificate of insurance naming the association and a schedule that limits noisy work to set hours.
The number appears on the manufacturer's approval document and can be looked up in the issuing authority's public database. We include the documents with every quote.