Wind Mitigation Inspection in Florida
A wind mitigation inspection documents how your home is built to resist wind — roof covering, deck nailing, roof-to-wall connectors, roof shape, sealed roof deck, opening protection — on Florida’s OIR-B1-1802 form. It works for you twice: documented features open more carriers for your home, and Florida law requires carriers to credit what a report verifies. One current report, compared across 20+ Florida homeowners carriers, shows where your home prices best with every credit applied.
Wind mitigation at a glance
Facts verified against the revised OIR form and Citizens’ published guidance. Check your specific policy for the coverage you need.
What a wind mitigation inspection is — and why the report does two jobs
A wind mitigation inspection is a short visit from a qualified, licensed professional who documents the construction features that help your home resist wind, on one state form — OIR-B1-1802 — the document Florida homeowners carriers read when they price your home’s wind risk.
The report works for you twice, and the order matters. Eligibility comes first. Each carrier decides its appetite from what it can verify, so documented construction widens the set of markets willing to quote the home. The credits come second. Florida law — s. 627.0629 — requires residential insurers to apply premium credits for verified wind-mitigation features. How much each credit moves the premium varies by home, feature, and carrier — the spread a 20+-carrier comparison puts in front of you.
Two boundaries keep the report honest. It verifies construction features only — it is not proof of roof condition or roof age, which carriers ask about separately. And it carries no surcharge mechanism: a feature that verifies earns its credit; a feature that doesn’t simply earns nothing. The inspection itself is a modest cost owners commonly recover quickly once credits apply, and a report generally holds about five years. For how the inspection fits the rest of the policy, see our Florida homeowners insurance guide.
OIR-B1-1802, revised: what changed on Florida’s wind mitigation form
Florida revised the form — from Rev. 01/12, in use since 2012, to Rev. 04/26 — and every inspection performed on or after April 1, 2026 is written on the revised edition. No valid report expired that day — older 01/12 inspections stay usable for five years from their inspection date. What changed is what the form can see:
- Building code: a selection for homes permitted under the 2007-or-later code (permit application after December 8, 2006) joins the 2002 statewide era; the Miami-Dade/Broward path (South Florida Building Code, permits after September 1, 1994) is unchanged.
- Region: the inspector identifies your wind-speed region from updated wind hazard maps.
- Roof slope: pitch is measured and recorded — informational, feeding replacement-cost data; it changes no credits.
- Roof covering: adds a synthetic/composite tile option; validation asks for a permit application date or product approval number, plus the year of installation, for every covering — primary and secondary.
- Roof deck attachment: uplift-resistance thresholds are defined, plus a spray-foam option with its own uplift requirements.
- Roof-to-wall attachment: purpose-made connectors rated by uplift capacity get their own selections (manufacturer documentation required); the “minimal conditions” test eases to needing one of its three conditions.
- Roof geometry: unchanged — the hip-roof credit keeps its photo-documented rules.
- Sealed roof deck: “secondary water resistance” is retitled, with multiple qualifying methods defined — spray foam among them.
- Opening protection: category Z arrives — a damaged or compromised opening sets the credit aside until it’s repaired, with a fresh form after the fix.
- Documentation: compliance documentation can stand alongside photos, and FORTIFIED Home certificates are formally integrated.
What the inspector checks, in plain English
Building-code era. The form starts with when the home was permitted, because Florida’s codes strengthened in steps. Homes permitted under the modern statewide code carry that era in base rating from the start; the form documents everything built on top of it.
Roof covering. Whether each covering on the house — shingle, tile, metal, synthetic/composite — meets Florida Building Code product standards, tied to the year it went on.
Roof deck attachment. How the sheathing is fastened to the framing — nail size and spacing, read against defined uplift-resistance thresholds.
Roof-to-wall attachment. The hurricane straps and clips in your attic, recorded on a ladder of classifications — toenails, clips, single wraps, double wraps, structural connections — each step documenting more uplift capacity, each with its own credit treatment. The third-nail retrofit below moves exactly this section.
Roof geometry. A hip roof — slopes on all sides — earns the shape credit when no other roof shape adds up to more than 10% of the perimeter.
Sealed roof deck. A water barrier applied to the deck beneath the covering, with multiple qualifying methods — spray foam among them.
Opening protection. Every exterior opening is documented — windows, doors, skylights, garage doors — and the credit is set by the weakest opening, which is why a rated garage door matters as much as the windows. Class A (hurricane-rated) and Class B (intermediate) are the credit levels. Wood structural panels can satisfy insurability requirements in the wind-borne debris region but earn no discount, and in the high-velocity hurricane zone (Miami-Dade and Broward) only the A.1 selection earns Class A.
Report in hand? Send it with a quote request — every verified feature gets priced across the field.
When you may not need the full inspection
The full inspection is not always required. Citizens’ published guidance recognizes four situations where something simpler serves:
- A valid Rev. 01/12 report within five years of its inspection date — usable as-is.
- Hip-roof credit only: clear photographs of the roof can substitute.
- Roof-covering credit only: a valid, completed roofing permit can substitute.
- Built under the Florida Building Code on or after January 1, 2002 with no features beyond code: the code era is already reflected in base rating, so a form may have nothing extra to add.
One note on that last path: many homes built under the modern code carry features base rating alone can’t see — a hip shape, protected openings — and only a report puts those on paper. When more than one credit is plausibly in play, one full inspection captures them all.
FORTIFIED certificates count. The revised form formally integrates FORTIFIED Home certificates from IBHS, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (fortifiedhome.org): FORTIFIED Roof, FORTIFIED Silver, and FORTIFIED Gold. A certificate can validate features and stand in for some photos: any level establishes the roof covering as code-equivalent with sealed-roof-deck standing; Silver and Gold add Class A opening protection; Gold adds upgraded roof-to-wall standing. Have one? Bring it — its credits get priced into every quote.
Retrofits that move the form — starting with the third nail
In many Florida homes built from about 1960 on, the hurricane straps are already in the attic — installed with fewer nails than the form’s higher classifications ask for, or with spacing that keeps a connector from verifying. The third-nail retrofit addresses exactly that: a licensed, insured retrofit contractor works through the attic, adding the missing nail or a wood block at each connector, so the same hardware verifies at a higher rung of the roof-to-wall ladder — out of clips range, into wraps territory. It’s attic-access work, typically finished in a single morning.
Typical contractor pricing for third-nail work on existing straps runs roughly $950 for homes under 2,500 square feet, scaling to around $1,450 up to 5,000 — ballparks that vary by contractor and attic. Homes built before roughly 1960 often lack truss connectors entirely; adding clips or straps from scratch starts around $2,000, and free evaluations are common. Many owners report recovering the cost within the first year or two of premium credits — contractor-reported experience that varies by home and carrier, never a promise.
Three other upgrades move the form. Opening protection — rated shutters or impact glass, garage door included, since the weakest opening sets the credit. A sealed roof deck — inexpensive during a re-roof and expensive as a standalone job, which makes re-roof week the moment to decide it. And full FORTIFIED certification, which carries standing across several sections at once.
Reputable retrofit contractors are state-licensed and insured, and they arrange an independent, third-party wind mitigation inspection after the job — nobody inspects their own work — because that fresh report carries the new classification to your policy. We’re glad to point clients to vetted local retrofit contractors on request.
Weighing a retrofit? We can price a quote both ways — current classification and the one the retrofit targets — so you can see what the step could be worth before hiring anyone; the credits themselves apply once the post-work report verifies the new classification.
From report to policy: who inspects, and what happens next
Florida limits who can complete the form: licensed home inspectors, licensed contractors, and licensed engineers are the qualified signers; credits are denied when the form comes from someone unlicensed, so a minute on the state’s DBPR license lookup protects everything downstream. The homeowner signs as well: the current owner, the prior owner in a new-purchase situation, or an authorized representative.
From there the report becomes the working document. Cornerstone Insurance holds Florida agency license L061107, and our licensed agents write in every county in Florida. Bring a current report and it goes across the 20+ Florida homeowners carriers we compare, with your credits applied at every market — and where auto, umbrella, or flood ride along, the comparison spans 25+ carriers across our personal lines. No report yet? Working with your agent, lining one up is the first task: a qualified inspector, the right form edition, and the features worth documenting flagged before the visit.
Already insured? Put the renewal next to the market. The quickest opening move is Canopy Connect — it delivers your current policy to us securely, straight from your carrier, so the with-credits comparison runs against your real coverage instead of memory. A wind-mitigation report newer than the policy is a common find in a rate re-shop — earned credits sitting outside the file. A fresh quote takes a few minutes, or call or text 813.920.8181.
Wind mitigation questions we hear most
Does a wind mitigation inspection expire?
A report generally holds for about five years from its inspection date. Order a fresh one sooner after a re-roof or a retrofit — the new covering, deck nailing, sealed roof deck, or connector work only earns credits once it’s documented.
Is my older wind mitigation form still good?
A valid Rev. 01/12 report remains usable for five years from its inspection date — nothing on file expired when the form changed. The revised Rev. 04/26 edition governs inspections performed on or after April 1, 2026. The practical question is age: a report near its fifth year is due regardless, and a re-roof or retrofit since then means the old report can’t see your newest features.
Can a wind mitigation inspection hurt my rates?
The form works in one direction: it verifies credits and carries no surcharge mechanism — a feature that verifies earns its credit, and one that doesn’t just leaves that line blank. Two boundaries: it is not proof of roof condition or roof age, which carriers ask about separately — and a damaged opening sets the opening-protection credit aside until repaired, a reason to schedule repairs before the inspector, not a surcharge.
What is a “third nail,” exactly?
On many Florida homes built from about 1960 on, hurricane straps or clips are present but went in with fewer nails than the form’s higher classifications require. A licensed, insured retrofit contractor works from the attic — typically a single morning — adding the nail or a wood block each connector needs, moving it up the form’s classification ladder. An independent inspection afterward puts the new classification on paper for your policy.
Do I need a third nail on a newer home — say, built after 2002?
Usually the report answers before any contractor needs to. Homes permitted under the modern statewide code generally went up with connectors installed to that code — the retrofit conversation mostly belongs to earlier-built homes where straps exist but the nailing stops one short. Inspect first; the report says whether anything is left to move.
My only feature is a hip roof — do I still need the full inspection?
For the hip-roof credit alone, Citizens’ guidance recognizes clear photographs as a substitute; a valid, completed roofing permit can do the same for the roof-covering credit alone. Individual carriers set their own documentation rules, though, and a single-credit path captures exactly one credit — if deck nailing, connectors, or opening protection are plausibly in play, one full inspection documents everything at once.
What does a wind mitigation inspection cost — and what does it save?
The inspection runs a modest amount, commonly recovered quickly once credits apply. On savings, no single number would be honest: Florida law — s. 627.0629 — requires insurers to credit verified features, but how much each credit moves the premium varies by home, feature, and carrier. That variation is the argument for comparing — the same report priced across 20+ homeowners carriers shows the with-credits figure at each one.
Who can perform a wind mitigation inspection in Florida?
Qualified, licensed professionals: licensed home inspectors, contractors, and engineers. Verify the license through the state’s DBPR lookup before booking — credits are denied when the form was completed by someone unqualified. The homeowner signs as well: the current owner, the prior owner in a new-purchase situation, or an authorized representative.
