APB
Contractor AuthorizationAPB South · Robbie's of Key West
Stock Island · Key West · the working side of paradise

Do your best work in the best place there is to do it.

A deep-water yard full of boats that need your trade, ten minutes from the reef. Register once and you are in the system, not on a clipboard: your certificates tracked so a lapsed policy never costs you a job, your quotes priced and put in front of owners by the yard so you never chase a boat down the dock, your projects planned on your own board, and one clean bill through APB. The yard sells the work. You do the work. Everybody gets paid. Registration takes minutes, the insurance bar matches the risk of what you actually do — a canvas shop is never asked to carry a welder's cover — and the software comes with the badge.

Working draft — not yet in force. This form is modelled on the authorization application a major Fort Lauderdale yard issues, adapted for this property. Every place the legal entity is named reads [LEGAL ENTITY — TBD] until counsel confirms the operating company. Nothing here should be signed by a contractor yet.
Contractor information
Who we deal with
Every person you send here gets registered too. Before your crew arrives we need a list from your payroll provider of everyone who will be working on this property. All must be W2 employees. A 1099 worker is only permitted if they are named on your workers' compensation policy, and we will ask for proof of that inclusion — not a statement that it exists.
Insurance is matched to the work, not to the company. Three levels. The higher the risk of what you do aboard, the more cover you carry — which means the trades least likely to hurt a vessel are not paying for a welder's policy. Pick the level that matches your work, or tick your services on the next step and it will set itself.
Green — low
Carpet cleaning, canvas and upholstery, detailing, provisioning.
  • General Liability $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate
  • Business Auto $1M combined single limit
  • Workers' Comp statutory + $500K / $500K employer's liability
Yellow — medium
Appliance installation and repair, carpet and flooring, joinery, interior work.
  • Everything in Green, plus:
  • Ship Repairers Legal Liability — the policy that pays when a contractor damages the vessel being worked on
Red — high
Engines and generators, mechanical, hot work, blasting, tanks, running gear.
  • Everything in Yellow, plus:
  • Umbrella / excess $2M over all liability cover
  • Pollution Legal Liability $2M where applicable — claims-made, retroactive to no later than your first day here, 3-year reporting tail
What every level carries
  1. Policies must prohibit cancellation, non-renewal or modification without 30 days' prior written notice to [LEGAL ENTITY — TBD].
  2. All liability cover except workers' compensation names [LEGAL ENTITY — TBD] and its subsidiaries as Additional Insured on a primary and non-contributory basis.
  3. All liability policies including workers' compensation provide a Waiver of Subrogation in favour of [LEGAL ENTITY — TBD] and its subsidiaries.
  4. A certificate for the following year reaches us at least five days before the current policy expires. Not on the day. Not after.
  5. A payroll-provider list of everyone working here. All W2. 1099 only if named on your workers' comp policy, with proof.
Certificates come from the carrier or the agent — never from you. A certificate forwarded by the contractor is not accepted, however genuine. It is the single rule that stops an altered document reaching the file, and it is not negotiable.
Everything your broker needs is on this page. Hand it to them as it stands — the limits, the endorsements and who to name. Nothing is approved from this form alone: the certificate still has to arrive from your carrier or agent. What this does is show you exactly where you stand before you go asking.
Who goes on the certificate
Certificate holder & additional insured
TBD
Legal entity name pending

Do not issue a certificate yet. The operating company for this yard is being settled by counsel, and a certificate naming the wrong entity is worthless — it has to be reissued, and in the meantime nobody is actually covered.

Ask your broker to prepare everything else now and leave the holder blank. As soon as the name is confirmed it will be published here and emailed to every contractor who has registered, and your broker can fill it in and send it.

Certificate holder[LEGAL ENTITY — TBD]
Additional insured[LEGAL ENTITY — TBD] and its subsidiaries — on all liability cover except workers' compensation
Address for certificates7281 Shrimp Road, Stock Island, Key West, FL 33040
Send them to[COMPLIANCE CONTACT — TBD] — from your carrier or agent, not from you
What every certificate must show
  1. 30 days' prior written notice before any policy is cancelled, non-renewed or modified.
  2. Additional insured, primary and non-contributory — on all liability cover except workers' compensation. “Primary and non-contributory” matters: without it your insurer can push the claim back onto ours.
  3. Waiver of subrogation in favour of the entity and its subsidiaries, on every policy — workers' compensation included. This is the one most commonly left off.
  4. Renewal certificates at least five days before expiry. Not on the day, not after. Access stops when a policy lapses, and it stops automatically.
  5. A payroll-provider list of everyone working here. All W2. A 1099 worker is only permitted if named on your workers' compensation policy, and we will ask to see proof of that inclusion — not a statement that it exists.
  6. Certificates come from the carrier or the agent, never forwarded by you. However genuine, a certificate that arrives from the contractor is not accepted. It is the single rule that keeps an altered document out of the file.
The cover your work needs
Need help with your insurance?
Who we send people to
Shawn Benyo
Chief Executive Officer
Bellwether Insurance Group
201 SE 15th Terrace, Suite 203
Deerfield Beach, FL 33441
754.366.5225 SBenyo@BIGRiskManagement.com www.BIGRiskManagement.com

Anyone who needs assistance with their insurance can contact Bellwether directly. Whether you are placing cover for the first time, renewing, or just need a certificate issued with the right endorsements on it — start here.

Bellwether writes marine contractors and knows what this yard asks for, including Ship Repairers Legal Liability and pollution cover — lines a general commercial broker will often not place at all. Tell them the risk level you are applying under and they can quote it directly.

A referral, not a requirement. You are free to use any carrier or agent you like, provided the cover meets the requirements above and the certificate reaches us from the carrier or agent rather than from you.

Tick everything you do here. Your risk level is set by the highest-risk service on your list, so this is what decides your insurance — and what your yard access is written against.
Facility use fee

Authorised contractors pay an annual facility use fee covering a full year of access, set by the scope of work ticked above. It is published and flat — not a percentage of what you invoice, and not a cut of your work. [FEE SCHEDULE — TBD]

The fee is non-refundable, and access can be restricted or ended if the safety, environmental or yard rules are not followed. If access ends that way, the remainder of the fee is forfeited.

The rules exist because the yard is a worksite, not a car park. Most of them are about not damaging somebody else's boat and not being the reason the fire department attends.
  1. Smoking in designated areas only, butts in the ashtrays provided. Smoking elsewhere means removal from the property.
  2. No soliciting vessels for work unless the vessel's representative contacted you first.
  3. Hot work — only by an authorised hot work contractor, following the yard's hot work procedure and fire watch.
  4. Paint spraying — only by an authorised paint contractor, following the yard's paint procedure.
  5. Blasting — only by an authorised blasting company, meeting OSHA 1915.34, NFPA 303 and the yard's hot work guidelines.
  6. Bottom paint application is performed by the yard. This is the one trade held in-house, because the yard carries the environmental permit and the liability for antifouling residue, sanding dust and overspray. Topside paint, varnish, detailing and general work stay open to you.
  7. Tank pump-out, cleaning and coating — authorised companies only.
  8. PPE is required anywhere in the working yard.
  9. Vehicles
    • Register every vehicle and display the parking pass in the windscreen.
    • No employee vehicles in the working yards.
    • Nothing left on the property after working hours.
    • No parking in traffic lanes, reserved bays, visitor bays or in front of the shops — vehicles will be towed.
    • Company vehicles carry company signage; unmarked vehicles go to general parking.
  10. Trailers
    • A trailer carrying materials is offloaded and removed promptly.
    • A trailer carrying equipment needed for the job may sit alongside the vessel while the work runs, then leaves.
    • In good order, clean, with company name and contact clearly displayed.
    • Trailer space may be charged.
  11. Storing equipment in the yards or lots needs approval first, is subject to space, and storage fees apply.
  12. Forklifts — pre-approval by the yard's HSE lead, OSHA 1910.178 compliance, proof of operator certification, an appearance and condition inspection before entry, maintained and inspected, parked in designated spaces after hours.
  13. Golf carts — permit required, appearance inspection, designated parking only. Not on the docks, not on grass, never blocking an access ramp. Repeat breaches and all your carts go.
  14. Conduct. Professional and courteous, to customers, to crews and to each other.
  15. These guidelines may be amended, and current ones will be published here.
Counsel has not settled this language. The indemnity below is the working draft, modelled on the equivalent clause a major Fort Lauderdale yard uses. It is here so the shape of the agreement is visible — it is not final and must not be signed.
Indemnification

Contractor shall indemnify, protect, defend and hold harmless [LEGAL ENTITY — TBD], its designated property management company, and their respective partners, members, affiliates and subsidiaries, and the officers, trustees, directors, shareholders, employees, servants, partners, representatives, insurers and agents of each of the foregoing (collectively, the “Indemnitees”) for, from and against all liabilities, claims, fines, penalties, costs, damages or injuries to persons, damages to property, losses, liens, causes of action, suits, judgments and expenses (including court costs, attorneys' fees, expert witness fees, costs of investigation, remediation and clean-up costs), of any nature, kind or description of any person or entity, directly or indirectly arising out of, caused by, or resulting from (in whole or part) (i) any activity, work or other things done, permitted or suffered by Contractor or Contractor's officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, licensees, invitees, customers, assignees or subcontractors (collectively, “Contractor Parties”) in or about the Facility, (ii) any breach or default in the performance of any of Contractor's obligations under this Agreement, (iii) any act, omission, negligence or wilful misconduct of a Contractor Party, (iv) any release of or damage caused by hazardous substances, or (v) any damage to a Contractor Party's property; EVEN IF SUCH LIABILITIES ARE CAUSED SOLELY OR IN PART BY THE NEGLIGENCE OF ANY INDEMNITEE, BUT NOT TO THE EXTENT SUCH LIABILITIES ARE CAUSED BY THE GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR WILFUL MISCONDUCT OF ANY SUCH INDEMNITEE. The foregoing indemnities shall survive termination or expiration of this Agreement.

Waiver. Contractor further agrees that the Indemnitees shall not be liable to Contractor or to any party claiming by, through or under Contractor for (and Contractor hereby releases the Indemnitees from any claim or responsibility for) any personal injury, death, or damage to or destruction, loss, or loss of use, or theft of any property of any Contractor Party located in or about the Facility, caused by casualty, theft, fire, third parties or any other matter or cause; EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT SUCH LIABILITIES ARE CAUSED BY THE NEGLIGENCE, GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR WILFUL MISCONDUCT OF ANY SUCH INDEMNITEE. Contractor acknowledges that the Facility does not carry insurance on, and is not responsible for damage to, any property of the Contractor Parties located in or about the Facility.

Acceptance

By signing, Contractor agrees to be bound by all the terms above, acknowledges that signing is a material inducement to being granted access, and accepts that a breach may suspend or revoke authorised status with the facility use fee forfeited. Contractor warrants that everything provided is accurate and complete, and undertakes to tell us immediately if any of it changes.

Send a price, the yard handles the customer. Quote your work here and it goes to the yard's accounting desk. They present it to the customer and come back to you with a yes or a no — you never chase the boat owner yourself, and no solicitation of vessels stays the rule. You will see each quote's standing below the moment it changes.
Submit a quote
Where your quotes stand
Working draft. Modelled on the contractor authorization application issued by a major Fort Lauderdale yard and adapted for this property; entity names, the fee schedule and the indemnity language are placeholders pending counsel. Data entered here is held in this browser only — a shared database and real submission routing arrive with the rest of the platform. This is not legal advice and is not an offer of insurance.