Florida Insurance Inspection Guide

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What Is a Florida Insurance Inspection?

When insurers say they need an “insurance inspection,” they usually mean one of three reports: a 4-point (roof, electrical, plumbing, HVAC), wind mitigation (hurricane-resistant features on form OIR-B1-1802), or a roof certification (remaining roof life). This page cites the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), Florida Statutes 627.711 and 627.0629, and Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Green Foot prices below are our posted fees—not a statewide survey.

We do not quote a premium dollar savings. Your declarations page after the carrier endorses the policy is the only proof of what you actually pay.

What Is a 4-Point Inspection?

A 4-point inspection is a limited, insurance-focused evaluation of the four systems most critical to your home's insurability. Unlike a comprehensive home inspection (which reviews 400+ elements), a 4-point takes 45 minutes to 1 hour and focuses only on these insurance-critical systems.

The Four Systems Evaluated

Why Do Insurance Companies Require It?

A 4-point is not a Florida statute. Each carrier writes its own underwriting rules. What we can cite:

• Citizens: requires a four-point inspection for all property-owner, dwelling, and mobile-home applications for properties more than 20 years old. The inspector records age, type, and condition of electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and roof. Serious hazards (exposed wiring, active leaks, or evidence of leaks) should be repaired before you apply. Source: Citizens Inspections.
• Private carriers: often ask for a 4-point on older homes, but the age trigger is the carrier’s rule—not a statewide number. Ask your agent.

The inspection answers: Are these four systems present, identifiable, and in a condition the carrier will underwrite?

What Citizens publishes about older roofs

Separate from the 4-point, Citizens says roofs older than 25 years (soft coverings such as shingle) or 50 years (hard coverings such as tile, slate, clay, concrete, or metal) need documentation of at least five years of remaining useful life. If remaining life is less than five years, Citizens requires proof of a full roof replacement before a policy is written. Source: Citizens Inspections. Citizens updated its 4-Point form (Insp4pt 03 25) and Roof Inspection Form (RCF-1 03 25) on March 20, 2025.

What a 4-point does not do

A 4-point does not set your premium and does not replace a buyer’s home inspection. Passing it does not guarantee any carrier will write the risk. We document condition; underwriting decides.

What Is a Wind Mitigation Inspection?

A wind mitigation inspection documents hurricane-resistant construction on Florida’s official Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form (OIR-B1-1802). Florida Statute 627.0629 requires residential insurers to include actuarially reasonable discounts, credits, or deductible reductions for fixtures and construction techniques shown to reduce windstorm loss. The inspector records what is installed. The carrier applies credits from its approved rate filing.

What the 2026 form documents

Citizens’ March 19, 2026 bulletin lists the mitigation features on the revised form: building code, roof covering, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall attachment, secondary water resistance (SWR), and opening protection. New fields include FORTIFIED Home™ (Roof, Silver, Gold) certificates, region by design wind speed, and roof slope. Citizens also states those new fields do not change the credits Citizens applies at this time. Source: Citizens form-change bulletin.

Citizens will still accept the prior OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 01/12) if it was completed within five years before April 1, 2026 and no structural changes have been made. New inspections on or after that date must use Rev. 04/26.

Features we actually look at

1. Building code / year built — Whether the home was built to a Florida Building Code edition that the form recognizes.
2. Roof covering — Material, permit/installation evidence, and condition as the form requires.
3. Roof deck attachment — Fastener type and pattern where we can see it (often from the attic).
4. Roof-to-wall connections — Clips, single wraps, double wraps, or toenails, including performance-based retrofits the 04/26 form allows when documented.
5. Roof geometry — Hip vs. gable (and multiple slopes on the new form).
6. Secondary water resistance — Self-adhering membrane or other SWR the form recognizes.
7. Opening protection — Impact-rated products or rated coverings on glazed and non-glazed openings, including garage doors. Partial protection is documented as partial—not as “full credit.”

If the attic is inaccessible, we document what is visible and note limitations. “Unable to verify” is honest; it is not a discount promise.

How credits actually work

Wind-mitigation credits apply to the windstorm / hurricane portion of the premium, not automatically to the whole homeowners bill. The percent—and whether a listed feature even qualifies—is the insurer’s table, not ours. The revised 1802 form itself states that some items on the form may not qualify for a discount with every insurer.

We do not publish a “typical $500–$1,500 a year” or “15–88%” figure. Those ranges are not on the current OIR consumer page, and OIR’s own discount-range forms are marked updates pending.

Citizens rate change (separate from your 1802)

For policies effective on or after July 1, 2026, OIR approved Citizens rate updates that Citizens describes as an average 8.8% decrease for homeowners multiperil statewide and an average 5.1% decrease for homeowners wind-only. The change varies by line, product, and territory; some policy types have decrease caps. That is a rate filing, not a credit from a Green Foot inspection. Source: Citizens July 2026 rate bulletin.

Why Florida Uses These Inspections

Florida’s residential market is hurricane-exposed. The rules below are the ones we can source.

4-Point is underwriting, not a statute

There is no Florida statute titled “every home needs a 4-point.” Carriers use the four systems (roof, electrical, plumbing, HVAC) because those are high-frequency claim drivers. Citizens publishes a hard trigger: applications on homes more than 20 years old. Private carriers pick their own age. A recently replaced roof can look very different from an original covering on a house of the same year built—that is why they inspect instead of rating by age alone.

Wind mitigation is in the statute

Florida Statute 627.0629 says insurers must provide actuarially reasonable savings to consumers who install or implement windstorm-damage mitigation, including roof-to-wall strength, opening protection, and related features. Statute 627.711 requires a uniform inspection form and lists who may sign it. That is why we use OIR-B1-1802 instead of a homemade checklist.

South Florida

Miami-Dade, Broward, and coastal Palm Beach sit in high design-wind regions. Salt air, humidity, and older housing stock show up on 4-points and on 1802 photos. We inspect the 15 advertised corridor cities; jobs farther west or south of that corridor are quoted per call.

How to Use These Reports With Your Insurer

1. Ask your agent which forms they need

Before you book, ask: 4-point, wind mitigation (OIR-B1-1802 Rev. 04/26), roof certification, or a bundle. Citizens’ 20-year four-point rule applies to their applications. Private carriers set their own list.

2. Get the 1802 before you spend on upgrades

A wind mitigation inspection records what is already installed. If toenails, missing SWR, or partial opening protection show up, you can price retrofits with a contractor using the form as a punch list. Do not assume shutters and impact glass earn the same credit with every carrier—your insurer’s posted discount page is the table that counts (Fla. Stat. 627.0629, effective October 1, 2023).

3. Re-inspect when the house changes

OIR: the 1802 is valid up to five years if the structure is unchanged and the form is accurate. After a reroof, new openings, or new roof-to-wall hardware, get a new form so the file matches the house.

4. Common underwriting red flags we document (not a repair-price list)

• Polybutylene supply piping — many carriers will not write it.
• Federal Pacific or Zinsco panels — often a bindability issue.
• Cloth-jacket or single-strand aluminum branch wiring — Citizens’ 2025 4-point form added fields for these; remediation of single-strand aluminum must be certified by a licensed electrician on Citizens’ form.
• Active roof or plumbing leaks — Citizens says repair before you apply.

Green Foot Insurance Inspection Prices

These are our posted prices for Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach corridor work—not a statewide market survey.

• 4-Point: from $125
• Wind mitigation (OIR-B1-1802): from $100
• 4-Point + wind on the same visit: $200
• 2-year roof certification: from $150

Larger or limited-access properties may quote higher. Call (786) 301-5677 for the number that applies to your house.

What often shows up on a 4-point

In older South Florida houses we commonly photograph worn coverings, dated panels, polybutylene or corroded supplies, and HVAC near the end of service life. Repair cost is a contractor bid—not a number we invent on this page.

4-Point vs. Wind Mitigation

Many files need both because they answer different questions. Order them together when your agent wants both—one visit, two PDFs.

How to Prepare Your Home for Inspections

Preparation Checklist for 4-Point Inspections

Preparation Checklist for Wind Mitigation Inspections

What to Fix BEFORE Inspection (If Needed)

If you know you have issues, addressing them before inspection is smarter than dealing with them after:

My Safe Florida Home (state program)

My Safe Florida Home is run by the Florida Department of Financial Services. It is not a Green Foot product. Official site: mysafeflhome.com.

• The program advertises free wind-mitigation inspections for eligible homeowners and grants up to $10,000 for approved upgrades.
• The July 2025 homeowner’s guide states the matching grant reimburses two-thirds of approved mitigation cost, with the state contribution capped at $10,000 ($2 state for every $1 you put in), subject to appropriation and eligibility.
• Eligible upgrades the program lists include roof-to-deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections, secondary water resistance, windows, and exterior/garage doors.
• Application windows and income/homestead rules change. Check the official portal before you apply. A paid Green Foot OIR-B1-1802 is a carrier form; MSFH uses its own inspection process for the grant track.

What we can say about the 2026 market

We do not publish a “typical South Florida premium” table. Premiums vary by territory, coverage, deductibles, and the house. Two sourced items:

• Citizens rates (July 1, 2026): Citizens says OIR approved an average 8.8% decrease for homeowners multiperil statewide and an average 5.1% decrease for homeowners wind-only, varying by line, product, and territory. Source: Citizens bulletin.
• Your wind credits: look up the carrier’s hurricane-mitigation discount page (required on insurer websites since October 1, 2023) or ask your agent. We document the 1802; they apply the table.

Citizens remains the residual market. Eligibility, assessments, and take-out rules are between you, your agent, and Citizens—not something an inspector can quote as a dollar comparison to surplus lines.

Common misconceptions

Ready for the forms your insurer asked for?

Book a 4-point, OIR-B1-1802 wind mitigation, or both with a CMI-certified South Florida inspector. We document the house. Your carrier applies credits and binds coverage.

For Green Foot 4-point and wind mitigation inspections, same-day and next-day slots are often available. Serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

Cities We Serve in South Florida

We provide 4-point, wind mitigation and roof certification inspections in these 15 corridor cities. Farther jobs are quoted per call.

See all 15 service-area cities