Florida's 4-Point and Wind Mitigation Inspections

What a 4-Point Inspection Actually Covers

A 4-point inspection is a focused report on the four systems an insurer cares about most: the roof, the electrical service, the plumbing, and the HVAC system. It is not a full home inspection and it does not pass or fail a sale — it tells the carrier the age, material, and remaining service life of each system so the underwriter can decide whether to write or renew a policy on an older Florida home.

Each of the four points has a short list of conditions that get a system flagged. Knowing them in advance is the difference between a clean report and a coverage denial, because in a hard Florida market a single flagged system can stop a policy.

The roof

The inspector records covering type, age, visible damage, and remaining life, plus any active leaks or prior repairs. Most carriers want a shingle roof with several years of life left; a roof at the end of its service life is the most common reason an older home cannot be insured without replacement.

The electrical system

Here the report names the panel brand, the service amperage, and the branch-wiring material. Three findings reliably stop coverage in Florida:

• Federal Pacific (Stab-Lok), Zinsco, or Challenger panels — obsolete equipment with a documented failure-to-trip history that most carriers will not insure.
• Aluminum branch wiring — single-strand aluminum used on 120-volt circuits in many 1965-1975 homes, which loosens and overheats at terminations.
• Double-tapped breakers, open splices, or missing GFCI protection — defects an electrician corrects, but which a carrier sees as deferred maintenance.

None of these is a death sentence for the home; each is a scope item a licensed contractor can resolve, and the electrical point is where the most under-25 homes still get tripped up.

The plumbing

The plumbing point records supply and drain material, age, and the water heater. The standout red flag is polybutylene supply pipe — gray plastic tubing installed in many Florida homes between 1978 and 1995 that fails without warning at the fittings. Most insurers will not write a home that still has it in the walls.

The HVAC

The air handler and condenser are checked for age, function, and safety. Florida's heat and humidity shorten equipment life, so a system past its useful age is frequently asked to be replaced before binding. The plumbing and HVAC points together explain why so many additions and renovations begin with a mechanical upgrade.

The red flags that stop coverage, by system

Four findings come up again and again on Florida 4-point reports, each tied to a specific construction era and each resolvable during a renovation.

Each row is a scope item, not a dealbreaker — which is exactly why a renovation is the moment to clear them all at once.

The 25-Year Rule and When It Triggers

Most Florida insurers require a 4-point inspection once a home passes 25 years of age before they will write or renew a policy. After a run of costly claim years, a growing number of carriers now ask for one at 15 to 20 years, so the threshold is moving down rather than up.

The requirement is set by the insurer, not by statute, which is why the trigger age varies by carrier and by program. What does not vary is the logic: the older the systems, the more likely a claim, so the carrier wants documentation before it accepts the risk.

For a home approaching the threshold with original systems, the smart move is to scope the upgrades as a renovation rather than wait for a denial letter. Our whole-home renovation work is regularly planned around exactly this milestone.

The Wind Mitigation Inspection and OIR-B1-1802

A wind mitigation inspection is separate from the 4-point. It documents hurricane-resistant construction features on the OIR-B1-1802, the single statewide form every insurer must accept. Where the 4-point can stop a policy, the wind mitigation form can lower its windstorm premium.

The form is mandated by Fla. Stat. § 627.711, which also requires carriers to notify every policyholder of the available wind discounts at issuance and at each renewal. A newly revised version of the form takes effect April 1, 2026.

Who may complete the form

The statute lists who can sign a valid OIR-B1-1802. An insurer must accept the form when it is completed by an authorized inspector, including:

• A licensed home inspector who has completed at least three hours of hurricane-mitigation training.
• A building-code inspector certified under Florida law.
• A licensed general, building, or residential contractor.
• A professional engineer or a registered architect.

That overlap matters during a remodel: the same licensed contractor improving the home can document the upgraded features, so the report reflects the work the moment it is finished.

The Seven Features the Form Credits

The OIR-B1-1802 walks an inspector through the construction features that reduce hurricane loss. Each answer maps to a possible windstorm credit, and together they are the reason two identical-looking homes can carry very different premiums.

The form documents seven construction categories. Each is a yes/condition answer the inspector verifies on site:

1. Building-code compliance — whether the home was built to the 2001 Florida Building Code or later, which sets a baseline credit.
2. Roof covering — material and whether it meets current product-approval standards.
3. Roof-deck attachment — nail type, size, and spacing fastening the sheathing to the trusses.
4. Roof-to-wall connection — toe-nail, clip, single wrap, or double wrap, as shown above.
5. Roof geometry — hip roofs resist uplift better than gable ends and are credited accordingly.
6. Secondary water resistance — a self-adhering membrane under the covering that blocks intrusion if shingles blow off.
7. Opening protection — impact-rated windows, doors, skylights, and garage doors, or documented shutters.

The biggest swings come from roof-deck attachment, roof-to-wall connection, and opening protection, which is why those three drive almost every wind-mitigation retrofit decision.

Roof-deck attachment, in detail

The roof-deck attachment is how the plywood or OSB sheathing is fastened to the trusses. It is one of the highest-value answers on the form because a failed deck loses the covering, the underlayment, and the interior in one event.

Nail size and spacing

Older homes used 6d smooth nails spaced widely; a deck re-nailed with 8d ring-shank nails at 6-inch spacing earns a markedly better grade because ring-shank fasteners resist withdrawal under uplift far better than smooth shanks.

Roof-to-wall connection, in detail

This is typically the single largest windstorm credit on the form, which is why it drives so many retrofit decisions. The grade depends entirely on how the truss is tied to the wall and on the installation detail of that connector.

The three-nail rule

A metal strap or clip must carry at least three nails and be free of severe corrosion; a clip nailed with only two fasteners is downgraded to a toe-nail on the form, erasing the credit. The diagram above shows the ladder a retrofit climbs from toe-nail to double wrap.

How a Remodel Changes Both Inspections

A remodel is the natural moment to fix what the 4-point flags and to add what the wind form credits, because the trades and permits are already on site. Scoping the work deliberately can move a home from uninsurable to fully credited in a single project window.

What the 4-point side gains

Renovation removes the conditions that stop coverage. Replacing a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel, re-wiring aluminum branch circuits with AlumiConn connectors or COPALUM crimps, repiping out polybutylene, and swapping an end-of-life air handler each clears a flagged point. The home that could not bind last summer becomes a clean report.

What the wind side gains

When a remodel opens the roof or the wall framing, several wind features become accessible at once:

• Re-nail the roof deck to the 8d ring-shank pattern while the covering is off.
• Add roof-to-wall straps where the trusses meet the top plate, upgrading toe-nails toward wraps.
• Install a secondary water-resistance membrane under a new roof covering.
• Replace openings with impact-rated units that carry a current Florida product approval or, in the HVHZ of Miami-Dade and Broward, a Notice of Acceptance.

Done together, those upgrades let a single re-inspection rewrite the OIR-B1-1802 with stronger answers across multiple categories. Pairing the work with a code-built addition means the new square footage already meets current wind standards while the existing structure is retrofitted to match.

Scoping the Work in the Right Order

Sequence decides cost and disruption. Tackling the systems and the structure in the right order means a single permit cycle, one set of inspections, and one re-inspection of each insurance form rather than repeated visits.

A licensed contractor keeps that sequence intact across the permit, the trades, and the final inspections — the reason most homeowners hand the whole milestone to one team. Our general contracting service coordinates exactly this order of operations across Florida.

Match the upgrade to the home's age

The right first move is almost always the one that unblocks coverage, with the wind credits captured opportunistically while the structure is open.

How Long the Wind Form Stays Valid

The OIR-B1-1802 is valid for up to five years, provided no material changes are made to the structure and no inaccuracies are found on the form. A roof replacement, an addition, or new openings is a material change — and a reason to re-inspect early to capture the improved features.

Five-year ceiling

The form expires at five years even if nothing changes, so a homeowner keeping the same features re-inspects to keep the credits current.

Material change resets it

A remodel that touches the roof, openings, or structure supersedes the old form. File a new one after final inspection rather than riding the old answers.

The 4-point is per-carrier

Unlike the wind form, the 4-point has no statewide validity window; each insurer sets how recent it must be, often within the prior year.

Timing the re-inspection to the end of a renovation is the simplest way to make sure the paperwork reflects the work — and the cleanest path from a flagged older home to a credited, insurable one.