SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI) Review 2026

Name: PEO Consulting Partners
Address: 470 Citi Centre St #1086, Winter Haven, FL, 33880, US
Telephone: +1-303-210-7320
Price range: Free

Quick verdict: the TL;DR.

Our score

3.0/5

An affiliated-carrier structure that solves a real problem for high-hazard employers, with nearly four decades of history and a large Florida book; held back by the absence of both credentials, basic technology, a thin benefits menu and a single-carrier dependency.

Best for: Construction, transportation, marine and staffing employers of 10 to 150 hourly workers, especially in Florida, who struggle to place workers' comp in the standard market.
Worst for: Tech and professional services offices that want a modern HR platform, companies whose main driver is rich medical benefits, and buyers who require a CPEO or ESAC-accredited provider.
Sweet spot: 5 to 500 employees (sweet spot: 10 to 150 hourly workers)
Pricing: Quoted per client; not published

We've placed clients with SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI) across multiple industries and headcounts. The assessment below reflects what actually happens in real engagements, not what the SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI) sales deck says happens, not what the affiliate review sites report based on commission spreads, and not what aggregated G2 stars suggest.

Company background: SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI).

Southeast Personnel Leasing, SPLI, was founded in 1986 and has more than 300 staff. It is a subsidiary of Jamestown Holdings Corporation, which also owns Lion Insurance Company, Plymouth Insurance Agency and Packard Claims Administration. That ownership structure is the whole story: the PEO, the workers' compensation carrier, the agency and the claims administrator sit under one parent.

The result is a PEO that can underwrite its own comp. Lion Insurance Company is A.M. Best A-rated, and because underwriting and claims are in-house, SPLI will write construction, transportation, marine, sanitation, staffing and forestry classes that most PEOs decline and that the standard market prices punitively. The company cites more than 6,000 clients and about 90,000 W-2s a year, with a large Florida base.

What SPLI is not is a credentialed or technology-led PEO. It is on neither the IRS CPEO list nor the ESAC accredited directory, its self-service tooling lags the national platforms, and its benefits menu is thinner than a mid-market PEO's. The model is built around comp, payroll and risk, and it is honest about that.

Founded: 1986
Ownership: Private (subsidiary of Jamestown Holdings Corporation, which also owns Lion Insurance Company, Plymouth Insurance Agency and Packard Claims Administration)
CPEO: No
ESAC: No
Sweet spot: 5 to 500 employees (sweet spot: 10 to 150 hourly workers)

Pricing: what to expect.

SPLI quotes per client and publishes no rate. Pricing is a percentage of payroll driven largely by workers' compensation class codes, which is what you would expect from a comp-led provider: the administrative fee and the comp premium are priced together on the payroll by class.

Pay-as-you-go comp premium is the feature that changes cash flow. Instead of an annual deposit and an audit-driven true-up at year end, premium is collected with each payroll on the actual wages by class. For a contractor whose payroll swings with the season, that removes a large upfront payment and the year-end surprise.

Agreements are typically annual. Read the comp and collateral terms in the client service agreement closely, confirm the notice and exit terms, and benchmark the quote against a comp-friendly accredited PEO before signing, because the single-carrier structure means both price and appetite move with one insurer.

Strengths: what SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI) does well.

It owns the carrier

Workers' compensation is written through Lion Insurance Company, an A.M. Best A-rated carrier under the same parent. Underwriting, pricing and claims sit in one organization, which is why SPLI can say yes to a roofing or trucking account that three brokers have already said no to.

High-hazard appetite

Construction, transportation, marine, sanitation, staffing and forestry are the classes it names. These are the employers the national PEOs decline outright, and for them SPLI is often the only co-employment option on the table.

Pay-as-you-go premium

No large deposit, no audit true-up. Premium follows actual payroll by class each cycle, which helps a seasonal contractor manage cash and removes the year-end adjustment that catches many small employers off guard.

In-house claims and safety

Claims administration and risk and safety services are delivered by affiliated companies rather than a third-party bolt-on, so the people handling a claim are the same organization that priced the risk.

Considerations: the things to weigh.

We frame these as considerations rather than negatives because most are real trade-offs rather than disqualifying flaws, but they are things we make sure clients understand before signing.

Neither CPEO nor ESAC

No IRS CPEO certification means no federal sole-liability shift for employment taxes and no wage base carryover on a mid-year start. No ESAC accreditation means no bonded financial assurance. A CFO who wants either should know that going in and weigh it against the comp advantage.

Basic HR technology

Self-service tooling lags the national platforms. An office that wants a modern employee app, onboarding flows and reporting will find SPLI thin. A trades contractor running hourly crews may not care.

A thin benefits menu

The model is built around comp, payroll and risk. A company whose main reason for a PEO is a richer medical offering should compare a mid-market PEO's plan menu before assuming SPLI's will do.

One carrier

The affiliated-carrier structure is the strength and the dependency. Comp pricing and appetite move with one insurer, so a change in Lion's underwriting stance reaches every SPLI client at once. Benchmark at renewal, not just at signing.

The fit: who should and shouldn't pick SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI).

Good fit for SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI)

+Construction and trade contractors with difficult workers' comp classes
+Transportation, marine, sanitation and forestry employers
+Staffing firms placing hourly labor
+Florida employers of 10 to 150 hourly workers who cannot place comp in the standard market

Bad fit for SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI)

−Tech and professional services offices that want a modern HR platform
−Companies whose main driver is rich medical benefits
−Buyers who require a CPEO or ESAC-accredited provider
−Employers who want several carriers competing for their comp

Common alternatives: PEOs to compare against SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI).

When a client is evaluating SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI), these are the three alternatives we most often put on the shortlist. The rationale below explains when each one beats SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI) and when it doesn't. For the full comparison on cost, benefits and service, read SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI) alternatives compared.

FrankCrum

Family-owned Florida PEO with its own workers' compensation carrier

Sweet spot: 10 to 500+ employees (sweet spot: 10 to 150)
Pricing: Bundled administrative fee quoted per client, driven by payroll size, headcount and workers' comp risk class
Typical cost: Quoted per client; not published

The closest structural peer: a family-owned Florida PEO that also underwrites workers' compensation through its own affiliated carrier and writes construction and skilled trades; like SPLI it carries neither CPEO nor ESAC, so compare class rates and service directly.

Read full review →

BBSI (Barrett Business Services)

Publicly traded, branch-based PEO built around workers' compensation and local business consulting, heavily weighted to California and the West

ESAC

Sweet spot: Small and mid-size businesses; 2025 figures imply an average near 17 worksite employees per client (sweet spot: 10 to 100)
Pricing: Custom rate quoted per client, driven by headcount, workforce mix, turnover, loss history, job-function risk and experience modification; BBSI states it does not use flat or generic pricing tiers
Typical cost: Quoted per client; not published

A NASDAQ-listed, ESAC-accredited West Coast PEO with self-insured comp in four states and a captive for two more; the benchmark for a blue-collar employer that wants audited financials and financial assurance behind its comp.

Read full review →

DecisionHR

St. Petersburg based national PEO for small and mid-sized employers, majority owned by Coalesce Capital since 2025

CPEO

Sweet spot: 1 to 500+ employees per the company's own intake ranges (sweet spot: 10 to 250)
Pricing: Quote-only, typically PEPM or percentage of payroll depending on the workers' compensation classes
Typical cost: Quoted per client; not published

A St. Petersburg national PEO with multiple IRS-certified entities, for a Florida employer that wants the federal tax-liability shift and quotes comp as PEPM or percentage of payroll depending on class.

Read full review →

Frequently asked questions SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI).

Is Southeast Personnel Leasing a certified PEO?

No. SPLI is on neither the IRS CPEO list nor the ESAC accredited directory, so neither the federal tax-liability shift nor bonded financial assurance applies. Its workers' comp carrier, Lion Insurance Company, is A.M. Best A-rated.

What size company is SPLI best for?

It positions for 5 to 500 employees and fits best between 10 and 150 hourly workers in higher-hazard classes.

Where does SPLI operate?

It has a large Florida client base and a national appetite for construction, transportation, marine, sanitation, staffing and forestry employers. It cites more than 6,000 clients and about 90,000 W-2s a year.

Does SPLI publish pricing?

No. Quotes are per client as a percentage of payroll, driven largely by workers' compensation class codes, with comp premium collected pay-as-you-go.

What is the main consideration with SPLI?

It is a comp company first. The credentials are absent, the HR technology is basic, the benefits menu is thin and comp pricing moves with one affiliated insurer. For the right employer the comp advantage outweighs all of that; for an office, it does not.

How does SPLI compare to FrankCrum?

Both are Florida PEOs that own their workers' comp carrier and write trades classes, and neither holds CPEO or ESAC. The comparison is class rate by class rate, plus the service team and the collateral terms in each agreement. Get both quotes on the same payroll by class.

What does pay-as-you-go workers' comp mean at SPLI?

Premium is collected with each payroll on actual wages by class rather than as an annual deposit with a year-end audit true-up. It smooths cash flow for seasonal employers and removes the large upfront payment.

Continue reading Keep reading.

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SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI) Review, an independent broker's honest assessment.

Quick verdict: the TL;DR.

Company background: SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI).

Pricing: what to expect.

Strengths: what SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI) does well.

It owns the carrier

High-hazard appetite

Pay-as-you-go premium

In-house claims and safety

Considerations: the things to weigh.

Neither CPEO nor ESAC

Basic HR technology

A thin benefits menu

One carrier

The fit: who should and shouldn't pick SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI).

Good fit for SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI)

Bad fit for SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI)

Common alternatives: PEOs to compare against SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI).

FrankCrum

BBSI (Barrett Business Services)

DecisionHR

Want help comparing SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI) against the 2-3 other PEOs that fit your business?

Frequently asked questions SouthEast Personnel Leasing, Inc. (SPLI).

Continue reading Keep reading.

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