Florida Home Inspections: 4-Point, Wind Mitigation & the Credits They Owe You
The quick answer: In Florida, insurance companies usually require a 4-point inspection for homes that are 20 years old or older. While a wind mitigation inspection is not mandatory, it is often worth the investment as it can quickly pay for itself. You can expect to pay between $75 and $175 for each inspection. Additionally, wind-mitigation credits can often reduce the windstorm portion of your premium by $300 to $600 annually.
Key Takeaways
A 4-point inspection covers exactly four systems — roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC — and is an insurance document, not a home inspection.
Wind mitigation is the rare inspection that makes you money: Florida law requires insurers to offer premium credits for documented wind-resistant features.
Typical 2026 pricing: 4-point $75–$175, wind mitigation $75–$150, bundled $125–$325. A wind-mitigation report stays valid for five years.
The official form, OIR-B1-1802, was updated effective April 1, 2026, and insurers apply the new credit structure from July 2026.
Sellers of older Naples homes benefit from ordering both before listing — clean reports remove the most common insurance surprise from the closing timeline.
Reviewed and current as of July 2026. The inspection requirements described here are driven by statute and insurer underwriting practice; dollar figures are mid-2026 market ranges.
If you own — or are buying — a Naples home built before the mid-2000s, two short inspections will decide more of your insurance bill than almost anything else you control. Neither is a full home inspection. Both are cheap. And one of them, wind mitigation, is the closest thing Florida homeownership has to free money. Here is how the system actually works.
What a 4-Point Inspection Actually Covers
A 4-point inspection is an insurance underwriting document. An inspector evaluates the age and condition of exactly four systems: the roof, the electrical panel and wiring, the plumbing (including the water heater), and the HVAC. Insurers typically require it before writing or renewing a policy for homes roughly 20 years old or more — and many carriers draw the line at 30. The inspector is not grading cosmetics; they are answering one question for the underwriter: is this house likely to generate a claim?
What fails a 4-point inspection is predictable: roofs near the end of their service life, older electrical panels with known defect histories, polybutylene plumbing, and water heaters past their expected age. If you own an older home in Collier County, it is worth knowing your weak points before a carrier finds them at renewal.
Wind Mitigation: The Inspection That Pays You
A wind mitigation inspection documents the features that help your home resist hurricane winds: the roof-to-wall attachment (clips versus straps), roof deck fastening, roof covering permit date, secondary water resistance, and opening protection such as impact glass or rated shutters. Under Florida law, insurers must offer premium credits for these documented features — this is not a courtesy; it is a statutory requirement enforced through the Office of Insurance Regulation.
Typical savings run $300–$600 per year on the windstorm portion of a premium, and homes with strong feature sets — hip roof, straps, impact protection — can save $1,000 or more annually. Newer construction often qualifies automatically; owners of homes built or re-roofed after the 2002 Florida Building Code era frequently hold credits they have never claimed.
What They Cost in 2026
Inspection | What it documents | Typical cost (2026) | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
4-point | Roof, electrical, plumbing, HVAC age and condition | $75–$175 | Current policy application or renewal |
Wind mitigation | Wind-resistant construction features for premium credits | $75–$150 | Five years |
Bundled together | Both reports in one visit | $125–$325 | Both purposes |
Two practical notes. First, order both at once — the bundle discount is real, and the inspector is already on your roof. Second, keep the reports. A wind-mitigation report is transferable in practice: a buyer’s insurer will generally accept a recent report, which is why sellers of older homes should include it in the listing package.
The 2026 Form Update: OIR-B1-1802
The uniform wind mitigation form — OIR-B1-1802 — was revised effective April 1, 2026, and insurers apply credits under the updated structure beginning July 2026. The revision refines the documentation of roof-covering compliance and opening protection. If your last report predates the update, it remains valid for its five-year life, but homeowners near renewal may find it worthwhile to re-inspect under the new form, particularly if they have added impact windows or re-roofed since the original report.
Ed’s Take: What I’m Seeing in the Field
Most owners treat inspections as something buyers do to them. After enough Naples closings, you learn it works better the other way around. The sellers who order a 4-point and wind mitigation before listing control the story — they fix the $400 problem before it becomes a $4,000 renegotiation, and they hand the buyer’s insurer a clean file instead of a question mark. The math is lopsided: a $125 report against $300–$600 a year in credits, every year, for five years. On older homes near Naples Bay, I consider it part of the listing package, not an option. My prediction: once the July 2026 credit structure settles in, homes with documented mitigation will start showing the difference in days on market, not just premiums.
Final Thoughts
Florida’s inspection regime looks like bureaucracy until you realize half of it is a discount program. The 4-point is defensive — it keeps you insurable. Wind mitigation is offensive — it is the one document that lowers your premium. If you are preparing to sell, both belong in your pre-listing file; if you are buying an older home, price them into your first week of ownership. And if you want the insurance picture before you ever write an offer, that is part of what a buyer’s agent who works on a credit-back model should be walking you through. Sellers can see how the same preparation logic fits a 1% listing, and buyers comparing homes by age and construction can start with the current Naples inventory.
Real estate commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable. Figures shown are illustrative examples only, not a quote or guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a 4-point inspection on a newer home?
Usually not. Most carriers only require a 4-point inspection once a home is roughly 20 to 30 years old, depending on the insurer. Newer homes are typically underwritten from the permit record alone.
How long is a wind mitigation report valid?
Five years, provided the home’s wind-resistant features have not changed. If you re-roof or add impact protection mid-cycle, re-inspect — the new features usually earn larger credits than the report you are holding.
How much can wind mitigation actually save?
Typical Florida homes see $300–$600 per year off the windstorm portion of the premium; strong feature sets can save more than $1,000. Savings vary by carrier, location, and construction, so treat any single figure as a starting point, not a promise.
What changed with the OIR-B1-1802 form in 2026?
The state updated the uniform inspection form effective April 1, 2026, with insurers applying the revised credit structure from July 2026. Existing reports remain valid for their five-year term; homeowners with recent upgrades may benefit from re-inspecting under the new form.
Should sellers order these inspections before listing?
On homes older than about 20 years in Collier County, yes. Pre-listing reports surface insurability problems while you can still fix them quietly, and a transferable wind-mitigation report is a genuine selling point in a market where insurance costs decide deals.
Ed DiMarco is a Naples, Florida Realtor with Realty Hub offering full-service listings at a 1% fee and buyer representation that credits leftover buyer-agent compensation back at closing. He writes data-first guides to the Southwest Florida market at NaplesEd.com.
References
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation — Wind Mitigation Resources (form OIR-B1-1802): floir.gov/consumers/wind-mitigation-resources
Kore Home Inspections — Wind Mitigation and 4-Point Inspection Cost (2026): korehomeinspections.com
Halley Home Inspections — Wind Mitigation Reports and Insurance Savings in Florida: homeinspectionshalley.com
Greenfoot Home Inspections — Florida Insurance Inspections Guide (2026): greenfoothomeinspections.com
Full Circle Home Inspectors — 4-Point and Wind Mitigation Complete Guide: fullcirclehomeinspectors.com
