Wind Mitigation and Four-Point Inspections: The Reports That Set Your Insurance Bill

Here's a scenario we see fairly often. Someone finds a house they love, gets a general home inspection back that says everything's reasonable, moves toward closing, and then gets an insurance quote that's thousands of dollars higher than they budgeted. Sometimes they can't get a quote at all.

Almost always, the cause traces back to two short, cheap reports that most out-of-state buyers have never heard of: the wind mitigation inspection and the four-point inspection. In Florida, these two documents have an outsized effect on whether you can insure a home and what it will cost.

As always, we're a relocation site rather than inspectors or insurance agents. Use this to know what to ask for, then rely on your licensed inspector and agent for the specifics of your property.

The Four-Point Inspection

The four-point looks at exactly four systems: the roof, the electrical system, the plumbing, and the HVAC. That's it. It's not a general condition report and it won't tell you whether the kitchen is dated or the fence is leaning. It exists purely to answer one question for an insurance carrier: are the major systems in this house likely to cause a claim soon?

Carriers typically require one on older homes, often once a house passes a certain age threshold, though the exact trigger varies by company. If you're buying anything built more than a couple of decades ago in our area, expect it to come up.

What Each Point Means

Roof. Age, material, remaining useful life, and visible condition. This is the big one, and we'll come back to it.

Electrical. The panel brand and type, whether there's aluminum branch wiring, whether there's knob and tube, and whether anything looks unsafe. A few specific panel brands have a bad reputation with carriers and can block coverage outright until replaced. Aluminum branch wiring in a 1960s or 1970s house is a common finding here and often requires remediation.

Plumbing. Supply material and age, water heater age, and signs of leaks. Polybutylene piping, used widely in the 1980s and into the 1990s, is a frequent deal complication in Florida. Many carriers will not write a policy on a house that still has it.

HVAC. Age, condition, and whether it's functioning. Given how hard air conditioning works here, systems age faster than they would up north.

The Wind Mitigation Inspection

Where the four-point can cost you coverage, the wind mitigation report can save you real money. It documents features of the home that make it more resistant to hurricane winds, and Florida law requires carriers to give credits for them.

The inspector fills out a standardized form covering a specific set of items:

Roof covering. What the roof is made of and whether it was installed to current code standards, verified by permit records.

Roof deck attachment. How the plywood is fastened to the trusses. Nails versus staples, and the spacing. This sounds trivial and is not. It's one of the bigger credits available.

Roof-to-wall attachment. Whether the trusses are toe-nailed, strapped with metal clips, or secured with wrapped straps. Wrapped straps earn the best credit. An inspector often confirms this from inside the attic.

Roof geometry. A hip roof, which slopes on all four sides, performs better in wind than a gable roof and earns a credit.

Secondary water resistance. Whether there's a sealed underlayment barrier under the roof covering.

Opening protection. Whether all windows, doors, garage doors, and skylights are protected to impact standards. Our guide comparing hurricane shutters and impact windows covers this piece in depth. Note the word all, since a single unprotected opening usually disqualifies the credit.

Why This Report Pays for Itself

Wind is the largest component of a Florida homeowners premium in a coastal county. Mitigation credits reduce that component, and on a well-built home the combined credits can be substantial, often far more each year than the inspection costs once.

The reports are typically valid for several years, so one inspection keeps working for you across multiple renewals. If you're a current homeowner who has never had one done, that's probably money sitting on the table.

The Roof Is the Whole Ballgame

If there's one thing to take from this article, it's that roof age drives Florida insurance outcomes more than any other single factor.

Many carriers have age limits. Shingle roofs past a certain age frequently trigger either a demand for replacement, a reduced settlement basis, or a flat refusal to write the policy. Tile and metal roofs generally get longer runways. The exact thresholds vary by carrier and shift over time as the market changes.

For buyers, this means the roof's age is not a cosmetic question. A house with a fifteen-year-old shingle roof may be uninsurable at a reasonable price even if the roof isn't leaking. Ask for the permit history and the roof's actual install date, not the seller's estimate. Our guide to the Florida property insurance market explains how we got to this point.

What Buyers Should Actually Do

The mistake we see most often is sequencing. Buyers order the general home inspection during their inspection period, wait for the results, and only then start on insurance. By the time a problem surfaces, the inspection period is closing.

Do it in parallel instead. When you schedule your general home inspection, add the four-point and wind mitigation at the same time. Most inspectors here offer all three as a package, often at a modest bundled price, and they can do them in one visit.

Then get the reports to an insurance agent immediately and ask for a real quote, not a ballpark. A real quote on the actual property with the actual reports is the only number that means anything.

If the numbers come back badly, you still have options while you're inside your inspection period. You can negotiate a roof replacement or a credit, you can walk, or you can decide the premium is acceptable with eyes open. What you don't want is to discover it after your contingencies expire.

For Sellers

The same logic runs in reverse. If you're selling an older home here, having a current wind mitigation report ready gives buyers confidence and removes a source of late-stage renegotiation. If your home has good mitigation features, you want that documented and in front of buyers early.

Newer Homes Have It Easier

Homes built under the modern Florida building code in our wind zone generally come with strong mitigation features built in: proper deck attachment, wrapped straps, impact-rated openings. They tend to insure much more cheaply than comparable older homes, which is one of the quieter arguments in favor of new construction here.

That's worth weighing when you're comparing an older home with character against a newer one. Our guide to new construction versus resale puts the insurance difference alongside the other tradeoffs, and the hidden costs of moving to Florida covers what else tends to surprise people.

The Bottom Line

These two reports cost a few hundred dollars combined and can change your annual housing cost by thousands. Order them early, read them yourself, and get a real insurance quote before your inspection period ends. It's the highest-value homework in a Florida purchase.

If you'd like an introduction to a local Realtor who handles this sequencing as a matter of routine, reach out. We've gotten to know a few people here we genuinely trust, and there's never any obligation.