Why Florida Homeowners Can't Afford to Skip This
Florida homeowners pay some of the highest property insurance premiums in the nation — and with hurricane season running June through November every year, those costs aren't going down on their own. But there is one proven tool that can meaningfully reduce what you pay: a Wind Mitigation Inspection.
A wind mitigation inspection evaluates the structural features of your home that help it resist wind damage during a hurricane or tropical storm. When your insurance company sees that your home is built or fortified to withstand high winds, they reward you with substantial premium discounts — sometimes up to 45–50% off the wind portion of your policy.
What Does a Wind Mitigation Inspector Look For?
The inspection follows Florida's standardized OIR-B1-1802 form. Inspectors evaluate seven key areas that insurance carriers use to calculate your risk:
- Roof Covering: FBC-compliant roofing materials (post-2001 Florida Building Code) significantly reduce risk scoring.
- Roof Deck Attachment: How the plywood or OSB sheathing is nailed to the trusses. 8d nails at 6" spacing is the gold standard.
- Roof-to-Wall Connection: This is the big one. Hurricane clips or straps connecting the roof structure to the walls dramatically reduce uplift risk — and give the biggest insurance credits.
- Roof Shape: Hip roofs (four-sided, sloping to all walls) perform significantly better in high winds than gable roofs and earn larger credits.
- Opening Protection: Impact-rated windows and doors, or storm shutters rated to Miami-Dade standards, protect against wind-borne debris and reduce uplift inside the structure.
- Roof Age and Permit Date: Roofs installed under post-2002 Florida Building Code get automatic credits for improved construction standards.
- Secondary Water Resistance (SWR): A self-adhering membrane under the roofing material that prevents water intrusion if the covering fails.
How Much Can You Actually Save?
Savings vary by insurer and by what features your home has, but these are typical credit ranges:
- Hurricane straps or clips: 15–30% credit
- Hip roof shape: up to 30% credit
- Impact-rated windows & doors on all openings: up to 45% credit
- FBC-compliant roof covering: 5–15% credit
A homeowner with a fully-fortified home (hip roof, hurricane straps, impact windows, FBC-compliant sheathing) can realistically cut the wind portion of their annual premium in half. For a policy costing $4,000/year, that's $2,000 back in your pocket — every single year.
What If My Home Doesn't Have All the Features?
Most homes qualify for some credits, even if they don't have every feature. Knowing exactly which credits you qualify for is the first step. Some upgrades — like installing hurricane straps during your next roof replacement — are relatively low-cost and pay for themselves in insurance savings within a year or two.
The inspection itself costs a fraction of what the credits are worth. In most cases, a single year of savings more than covers the cost of the inspection many times over.
When to Schedule
The best time to schedule a wind mitigation inspection is:
- Before hurricane season (June 1) — so your discounts are locked in before storm risk peaks.
- After a new roof is installed — new roofs often unlock credits your previous report didn't capture.
- After installing impact windows or shutters — opening protection credits are among the largest available.
- When purchasing a new home — get the report before your first policy renewal.
Florida Strong provides certified wind mitigation reports accepted by all Florida insurers. Reports are delivered the same day as your inspection.
Book Wind Mitigation Inspection