HOME CONDITION

Wind mitigation inspection: what the form checks and what it can change

A wind mitigation inspection documents how well a house resists hurricane wind, and in Florida it does so on one state form, OIR-B1-1802, now in its April 2026 revision, with nine questions. Florida law requires insurers to file actuarially reasonable credits for wind-resistant features and to tell you at every renewal what discounts exist. The inspection is how you prove which features your house has. It cannot add a feature that is not there; it can stop you paying as if your roof straps and shutters did not exist.

This page explains the inspection form and the Florida rules around it. It does not estimate any credit or premium, and it is not insurance advice. Your insurer's filed discount schedule decides what each answer is worth, and flood coverage is separate.

Why the form exists

Florida writes the link between construction and price into statute. Section 627.0629 of the Florida Statutes requires residential property rate filings to include actuarially reasonable discounts, credits, other rate differentials or deductible reductions for properties with windstorm-loss-reducing features. The statute names wind uplift prevention, roof strength, roof covering performance, roof-to-wall strength and opening protection among those features. It also requires insurers to post hurricane mitigation discount information on their websites, and requires the hurricane portion of the premium to be shown separately on the premium notice.

Section 627.711 then deals with proof. Insurers must notify applicants and policyholders, at issuance and at each renewal, of the availability and range of these discounts, on a form the regulator prescribes. The state adopts a uniform mitigation verification inspection form that all insurers must use, and insurers must accept that form when it is signed by a qualified inspector. The current version is listed in Florida Administrative Code rule 69O-170.0155 as OIR-B1-1802, Rev. 04/26.

That structure means two homes on the same street, insured by the same company, can pay different wind premiums because one has a verified form and the other does not. It also means the inspection matters most on the wind or hurricane line of the premium, which the notice shows on its own. Look at that line first; it is the amount the credits act on.

Who can sign the form

Under section 627.711(2), insurers must accept forms signed by:

• a home inspector licensed under section 468.8314 who has completed the required hurricane mitigation training and passed a proficiency exam;
• a building code inspector certified under section 468.607;
• a general, building or residential contractor licensed under section 489.111;
• a professional engineer licensed under section 471.015;
• a professional architect licensed under section 481.213;
• or any other person or entity the insurer recognizes as qualified.

The signer must inspect personally. Only licensed contractors and professional engineers may have a qualified direct employee carry out the inspection, and they are responsible for that employee's work. The form itself repeats the warning in the statute: knowingly providing a false or fraudulent mitigation form to obtain a discount you are not entitled to is a first-degree misdemeanor. An insurer may also require independent verification of a form, at its own expense, before accepting it.

The nine questions, one by one

The table summarizes each question on the April 2026 form, what the inspector looks for, and the options that represent more resistance. The form does not print credit amounts; your insurer's filed schedule assigns those.

The form requires at least one photograph or document to accompany each attribute marked in questions 2 through 9. A FORTIFIED Home Roof, Silver or Gold certificate may be used to validate questions 4 through 6 and 8 through 9.

The weakest-link rule

Three of the most valuable questions ask for the weakest feature, not the typical one. Question 5 asks for the weakest form of roof deck attachment. Question 6 asks for the weakest roof-to-wall connection. Question 9 asks for the weakest protection on any opening. That wording explains most of the disappointment homeowners feel after an inspection.

Consider roof-to-wall connections. The form sets thresholds by connector type: toenails or other methods with a documented uplift capacity of 185 pounds or more; clips, or purpose-made connectors rated at 386 pounds or more; single wraps, or connectors rated at 535 pounds or more; double wraps, or connectors rated at 891 pounds or more. A house with double wraps on almost every truss but clips on a few will be classed by the clips. Connectors not installed as intended fall to the lowest category. The form excludes hip and valley jacks within five feet of the roof corners from the determination, but nothing else.

Opening protection works the same way, with a sharper edge. If one window lacks protection, the answer drops to X. If any opening is damaged and needs repair or replacement, the answer is Z, and the form states that buildings with openings needing replacement do not qualify for wind mitigation rate differentials, regardless of other features. A cracked garage door panel can therefore cost more than the door itself.

Practical consequence: before the inspection, walk the house. Fix damaged openings, find the shutter paperwork, locate product approval labels, and clear access to the attic so the inspector can photograph the connections. If there is no attic access, the form has an answer for that too, and it is not a helpful one.

Worth it? A break-even framework

Whether an inspection pays depends on three numbers you can find: the wind or hurricane portion of your premium, the credit your insurer publishes for the features you are likely to have, and the inspection fee. The figures below are a labeled illustration with stated inputs, not averages or quotes.

House 1 recovers the fee in the first policy year and keeps the saving at every renewal the form remains accepted. House 2 is the more common surprise: an older roof with nailed decking, toenailed trusses and no shutters earns little from verification alone. For that house, the inspection's value is as a diagnostic. It shows which retrofit, such as re-nailing the deck when the roof is replaced, adding a secondary water barrier, or protecting openings, would change an answer, and that is what the next section is about.

To get the real inputs, read the hurricane premium on your notice and ask your insurer for its mitigation discount schedule, which Florida requires insurers to make available. Our percentage deductible guide covers the separate hurricane deductible, which credits do not change.

Retrofits: the answers you can change

Some answers are fixed for the life of the house: the building code at permit, the wind region, and usually the roof slope and shape. Others can be changed with work, most cheaply when the roof is being replaced anyway.

• Roof covering (question 4). A new permitted roof installed to current requirements changes this answer.
• Roof deck attachment (question 5). Re-nailing the deck to the stronger patterns is practical during a reroof, when the sheathing is exposed.
• Secondary water resistance (question 8). A sealed roof deck by one of the listed methods is also typically installed during a reroof.
• Opening protection (question 9). Impact-rated windows and doors, or tested shutters, change the answer only when every opening is protected and documented.
• Roof-to-wall attachment (question 6). Retrofit connectors must be purpose-made and installed to the manufacturer's specifications to meet the stated capacities, according to the form.

Florida's My Safe Florida Home program supports some of this. Its FAQ describes a free wind mitigation inspection by a program-contracted inspector for single-family, site-built, owner-occupied homes with a homestead exemption, and matching grants of $2 for every $1 the homeowner contributes, up to $10,000 of state money, subject to appropriation, for homes insured at $700,000 or less and built before January 1, 2008. Low-income grants of up to $10,000 require no match. Grant availability depends on funding, so check the program's current status. How roof age and material feed into underwriting more broadly is covered in our roof age and material guide.

Outside Florida

The nine-question form is a Florida instrument, but the idea travels. The Texas Department of Insurance notes that an impact-resistant roof may qualify a homeowner for a discount, and coastal Texas homes must meet windstorm building code certification to be eligible for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, as our TWIA guide explains. The Florida form already accepts FORTIFIED Home certificates as evidence for several of its questions. If you live elsewhere on the Gulf or Atlantic coast, ask your insurer which construction features it credits, whether a FORTIFIED designation counts, and what documentation it accepts.

Mistakes that waste an inspection

1. Booking the inspection before fixing a damaged window or garage door, so question 9 returns Z.
2. Leaving the attic inaccessible, so questions 5 and 6 return no attic access.
3. Not having permit or product approval records ready for questions 1 and 4.
4. Forgetting to send the completed form to the insurer, or not checking the next renewal for the credit.
5. Replacing the roof and not updating the form, so the insurer keeps rating the old answers.

After the inspection: getting the credit applied

1. Read the completed form before the inspector leaves, or as soon as it arrives. Check the address, year built and every checked box against what you know about the house.
2. Ask for the photos. The form requires evidence for each attribute in questions 2 through 9. Keep a copy; it is your record if the insurer asks for verification.
3. Send the form to your insurer or agent. Ask them to confirm in writing which credits were applied and the effect on the hurricane premium.
4. Check the next renewal. Florida requires insurers to show the hurricane portion separately and to tell you at renewal what discounts exist; the credit should be visible.
5. Keep the form with your policy documents. If you change insurers, the new insurer will ask for it.

If an answer looks wrong, ask the inspector what evidence set it. An unknown answer often means the evidence was not available that day, such as a missing permit date or a blocked attic, and can sometimes be corrected with the document rather than a new visit.

Questions to ask before booking an inspector

• Which license do you hold, and does it appear on the list of signers insurers must accept under section 627.711?
• Will you inspect personally, or will an employee do it? Only licensed contractors and engineers may send a qualified direct employee.
• Will you go into the attic and photograph the deck nailing and roof-to-wall connections?
• What documents should I have ready: permits, roofing product approvals, window and shutter labels?
• How soon will I receive the signed form and the photos?
• If I am eligible for the My Safe Florida Home program, should I apply there first for the free inspection instead?

An inspector who cannot answer the first two questions clearly is a risk to the form's acceptance. The rest decide whether the visit captures every feature the house actually has.

Situations the form handles differently

• The roof was replaced after the inspection. Questions 4, 5 and 8 may now have better answers. A new inspection is how the insurer learns that.
• How long a form stays valid. Section 627.711 leaves validity to rule. The form itself states, in its footer, that it is valid for up to five years provided no material changes have been made to the structure and no inaccuracies are found on the form. A new roof or new windows are material changes worth a fresh inspection.
• Condominiums and multi-unit buildings. The flat roof answer applies to buildings of five or more units. Unit owners should ask the association whether a form exists for the building.
• The insurer asks for verification. The statute allows independent verification at the insurer's expense. Keep the photos the inspector took; they are your record too.

A mitigation credit can also change the deductible in some states; the storm deductible guide lists where the statutes say so.

Questions about the inspection

Citizens requires Florida homes more than 20 years old to provide a second report, on condition rather than wind features; our four-point inspection guide covers it, and the Citizens guide covers the state insurer's eligibility rules.