Wind mitigation, the largest discount on a Florida home
One inspection, one state form, five years of credits. It is the highest return on a few hundred dollars available on a Florida homeowners policy, and most owners have never had one done.
The form and what it reports
Florida uses a uniform mitigation verification form, OIR-B1-1802, completed by a qualified inspector and generally accepted for 5 years. It reports building code compliance date, roof covering and its permit dates, roof deck attachment, roof to wall attachment (toe nails, clips, single wraps or double wraps), roof geometry, secondary water resistance, and opening protection.
Which items move the money
Roof to wall attachment
The jump from toe nails to clips, and from clips to double wraps, is typically the biggest single credit on the form.
Opening protection
Impact rated glass or shutters on every opening. Partial protection earns much less than complete protection, and the word every is doing real work in that sentence.
Roof covering and permit date
A roof permitted under the current code, with documentation, is worth more than a roof that is merely new.
Roof geometry
A hip roof earns a credit that a gable does not. You cannot change this one, but you should be credited for it.
What it costs and what it returns
An inspection typically costs less than one month of premium on most South Florida homes. Where credits apply they run for the life of the form. We do not perform inspections and we do not take a referral fee for them, which is why we can tell you plainly whether yours is likely to be worth it.
Have it done before you shop, not after
A completed form lets us quote every carrier at your real, credited rate instead of an uncredited estimate that changes after binding. It also settles arguments about roof age at the point of underwriting rather than later.
The state grant programme
Florida has run a grant programme helping homeowners pay for mitigation improvements and inspections. Funding opens and closes, so check the current status with the state rather than trusting any agency's page, including this one.
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Do I have to use my insurer's inspector?
No. Use a qualified independent inspector. The form is the same regardless of who fills it in.
My credits disappeared at renewal. Why?
Usually an expired form. They are generally good for 5 years and then need redoing.
Work it out before anybody sells you anything
Four calculators that run in your browser, a page for every situation Florida puts people in, and the claims data for your own county. All of it free, and none of it behind a form. The form is for the other half of the job: when you have read enough and want a person on the phone.
Leave a name and a number and a licensed Florida agent gets in touch. No obligation, and no call from six companies you have never heard of.
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