The purpose of a wind mitigation report is to provide relief from high insurance costs for Florida homeowners that own a sturdy, wind-resistant home. Insurers are required by the State of Florida to give a discount for the hurricane-reistant features of a home on the windstorm portion of an insurance policy. But Florida does not require insurance companies to receive a wind mitigation report before writing a policy. Many companies are now requiring one anyway, and it’s for either or both of these two reasons:

1)  To provide their customer with the lowest possible quote for their insurance.

2) To determine the age of your roof and, if it is too old (usually around 20 years or more), decline to insure the home until a new roof has been installed. Although the inspector does not actually go up on the roof and examine it, one part of the report requires certification of the age of the roof, based on providing a building permit copy or paid receipt from a roofing contractor.

    This means that a wind mitigation inspection could get you hundreds of dollars of annual insurance discount or cause the house to be uninsurable until a new roof is installed. Some companies will issue the policy and grant a 30 to 90-day grace period to get the roof replaced. 

    Homes built in compliance with the 2001 or later edition of the Florida Building Code (effective after March 1, 2002) automatically get a minimum 68% discount. That’s big. 

    But homes built before March of 2002 can also qualify for up to seven smaller hurricane-resistant discounts by having a licensed inspector complete a Wind Mitigation inspection on Florida’s Form OIR-B1-1802. Older homes can expect fewer discounts than newer ones built in the '80s and '90s.

    Insurance experts estimate that homeowners without a wind mitigation report pay an average of 20% too much. For an item-by-item listing of what is checked during a wind mitigation inspection, go to our blog post What is the wind mitigation inspection for homeowner's insurance? Also see our blog posts How do I get the hip roof discount for my homeowners windstorm insurance? and Why did I get no discounts or only a small discount from my wind mitigation inspection? 

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Here’s links to a collection of our other blog posts about INSURANCE:

* Could faulty work or lack of a building permit for home improvements cause an insurance company to deny a claim?

• Why is a fuse box/panel an insurance problem for homebuyers? 

• How is Citizens Property Insurance different from other Florida homeowners insurance companies?  

• Do I need a home inspection to get insurance? 

• Is the 4-point insurance inspection strictly pass or fail? 

• Which building permit date is used for the Building Code section of the wind mitigation form? 

• What are the different roof deck attachment discount categories for a wind mitigation inspection? 

• What determines the year of a house? 

• What is the difference between a toe nail, clip, single wrap, and double wrap for the wind mitigation form?

• Should I give a copy of the home inspection report to the bank or insurance company? 

• How do I get my home ready for a four point inspection for insurance? 

• Can I do my own wind mitigation inspection?  

• Will a house without air conditioning pass a 4 point inspection?  

• What’s the difference between a gable and hip roof for my insurance? 

• Why does my homeowner's insurance want a four point inspection? 

• What is the wind mitigation inspection for homeowner's insurance? 

• Which water pipes are an insurance problem and possibly uninsurable? 

• Why does my homeowner's insurance want a roof inspection? 

• Is it common for an insurance company to require an inspection? 

• How do I get insurance if my home can't pass a 4-point inspection? 

    Visit our HOME INSPECTION and INSURANCE pages for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.