4-Point and Wind Mitigation Inspections: What Florida Homeowners and Buyers Need

What is a 4-point and wind mitigation inspection?

A 4-point and wind mitigation inspection is really two inspections, each with its own form, that insurance agents tend to request in the same breath. That is why so many people search for them as one service. The same inspector usually does both on the same trip, and the pair often goes by the name "insurance inspections", because the person reading both reports is an underwriter, not someone deciding whether to buy the house.

The 4-point inspection covers the four systems an insurer worries about most in an older home: the roof, the electrical system, the plumbing and the heating and air conditioning. For each one, the inspector records what it is, how old it is and what shape it is in, and backs that up with photographs. Citizens Property Insurance publishes a sample form, currently marked Insp4pt 03 25, that most Florida agents recognize. Citizens does not insist on that exact document, but any report submitted in its place has to carry at least the same level of detail. Our guide to what a 4-point inspection covers walks through each system in depth.

The wind mitigation inspection documents how the house is built to resist hurricane wind, on the state's Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form, OIR-B1-1802. Inspections from April 1, 2026 onward use revision 04/26, which has nine items running from the building code and the roof covering to the roof-to-wall connections and the protection on every opening. If you want the item-by-item version, read how a wind mitigation inspection works.

Neither one is a full home inspection. Neither will tell you whether the dishwasher drains, whether the slab has settled or whether a sliding door lets water in during a storm. If you are buying, those questions belong to a full home inspection, which is the report you use to decide on the purchase itself.

Eligibility vs. credits: what each report does to your policy

The quickest way to keep the two apart is to ask what the insurance company does with each report once it arrives.

The 4-point decides whether the insurer will write the policy

An underwriter reads a 4-point looking for conditions the company will not accept: a roof near the end of its life, a panel brand it refuses, plumbing it considers high risk, an air conditioner that does not run, an active leak. Citizens spells out what acceptable means in its form instructions: each system working as intended, with no visible hazards or deficiencies. The same document tells agents they may not submit applications for homes whose electrical, heating or plumbing systems are not in good working order or have existing hazards. A clean 4-point does not make the premium cheaper. It is what lets the application move forward at all.

The wind mitigation report changes how the wind premium is priced

A wind mitigation report works the other way around. It does not decide whether you can get coverage. Instead, it hands the insurer a documented list of features to price. Florida law requires residential property rate filings to include actuarially reasonable discounts, credits or other rate differentials, or deductible reductions, for construction features that reduce windstorm losses. Those credits apply to the windstorm part of the premium, and the amounts come from each company's own filed rates. With no report on file, the company has no proof of those features and prices the house without them.

That leaves a homeowner in one of four places: insurable with credits, insurable without credits (a good 4-point and no wind report), credits on paper but no policy (a strong wind report and a 4-point showing something the carrier will not take), or neither. The table sets the two reports side by side.

Why Florida insurers ask for a 4-point and wind mitigation report

The two requests come from different sources, and knowing which is which explains why one tends to arrive with a deadline and the other usually does not.

The wind mitigation report is built into Florida's insurance code. Section 627.711 of the Florida Statutes requires insurers to notify applicants and policyholders, when the policy is issued and again at each renewal, about the windstorm discounts, credits and deductible reductions available. The notice uses a form prescribed by the Office of Insurance Regulation, and it has to describe in general terms what a policyholder can do to lower the windstorm premium. The same section created the single form every insurer must use when it factors in wind discounts. Since October 1, 2023, Section 627.0629 has also required insurers to describe their hurricane mitigation discounts on their websites, which is worth a look before you call your agent.

The 4-point has no statute behind it. It is an underwriting rule, and each company writes its own. Citizens, the state-created insurer, publishes its rule: a four-point inspection is mandatory for property owner, dwelling and mobile home applications on homes more than 20 years old. Private companies pick their own cutoffs, commonly in the 20 to 30 year range, and an underwriter can ask for a 4-point on a younger house when something in the application raises a question. Your agent knows the current rule at each company they quote, and those rules change, so ask rather than assume.

In practice, the 4-point request usually comes from the insurer, often with a date attached. The wind mitigation report is something you order yourself, because you are the one who benefits from the credits.

Can an insurer double-check the reports?

Yes. Section 627.711 allows an insurer, at its own expense, to have a wind mitigation form independently verified by an inspector, an inspection company or a third-party quality assurance provider. Citizens also says it may order an exterior-only or an interior and exterior survey of an insured home during the policy term, at no cost to the policyholder, and may require repairs of the hazards it finds. Both are good reasons to want reports that describe the house exactly as it is, with nothing rounded up.

Do I need a 4-point, a wind mitigation inspection or both?

Two facts settle most cases: how old the house is and which insurer you are applying to. Your situation fills in the rest. Use the table as a starting point, and let your agent's written request settle any doubt, since the insurer's rule is the one that counts.

These are the situations that come up most often in South Florida, with what to order and what to watch for in each.

The buyer's timeline: from signed contract to bound insurance

For buyers, the order of events matters as much as the inspections themselves. Your lender will want proof of homeowners insurance before closing, and for an older home the 4-point is often what decides whether a company will quote at all. If an insurance problem only surfaces after your inspection period has ended, you have fewer ways to respond. Plan from that date backwards.

1. Call your insurance agent on day one. Give them the address, the year built and the roof age if the listing shows it. Ask which inspections each company they plan to quote will require, and whether any carrier is already ruled out because of the roof or the age of the home.
2. Pin down the last day of your inspection period. The number of days is written into your contract. Ask your real estate agent for the exact calendar date so nobody is counting from memory.
3. Book everything for one early visit. Schedule the home inspection, the 4-point and the wind mitigation inspection together in the first days of the period. Ask the listing agent to make the attic, panel, water heater, air handler and garage reachable, and ask the seller for permits and any earlier reports.
4. Receive the reports. The insurance reports usually come the same day. The full home inspection report arrives within 24 hours.
5. Forward both insurance reports to your agent right away. With real findings instead of assumptions, rough estimates become actual quotes.
6. Act on problems while you still can. If the 4-point shows something a carrier will not accept, get estimates from licensed contractors, ask your agent which companies can still write the house, and talk with your real estate agent or attorney about repair requests or credits before the period ends.
7. Bind the policy before closing. Choose a quote, bind coverage and make sure the lender receives proof of insurance with time to spare.
8. File everything. Keep both reports, their photos and the permits. A wind mitigation report on the current form can serve future renewals while the house stays unchanged.

Short closings are where this goes wrong. When only a few days separate the contract from the binder, a 4-point finding with no time to fix it can push the closing date or narrow your insurance choices to whatever company will take the house as it is. Booking all three inspections at the very start of the period is the simplest protection you have.

How a combined 4-point and wind mitigation visit works

The two inspections share a lot of ground. Both start with the roof, both need the attic and both lean on permits. That overlap is why booking them together makes sense: one walk around the house and one trip into the attic serve both forms, and each part of the visit feeds one report, the other or both.

Outside

We photograph each side of the house, one of Citizens' minimum photo requirements for the 4-point, and every roof slope, which serves both reports. On the roof, the 4-point side records the covering, its age, its remaining useful life and any cracking, curling, granule loss, exposed felt or missing tiles. The wind side records the covering type, measures the roof shape and slope and looks for permit and product approval records. Around the walls we check every window, door, skylight and the garage door for opening protection, and we photograph the outdoor A/C unit and its data plate for the HVAC section.

Inside

The electrical panel is photographed with its interior door label showing and again with the cover off, as the Citizens form requires, so the report can state the panel brand, the amperage, the wiring type and any hazards such as double taps, scorching or corrosion. Under-sink plumbing, exposed valves and the water heater with its temperature and pressure relief valve are photographed for the plumbing section, along with the air handler, its condensate line and its drain pan. Ceilings are checked for stains that point to past or active leaks.

The attic

This is where the two forms meet. For the wind report, we document how the roof deck is nailed and how the roof is tied to the walls. For the 4-point, the underside of the decking shows whether the roof has been leaking. One climb, two sets of photos. With pictures of each roof slope, the roof section of Citizens' 4-point form can also stand in for its separate Roof Inspection Form, which spares you a third document when an insurer has roof questions.

A combined visit runs longer than either inspection alone but far shorter than a full home inspection, and both signed reports usually reach you the same day.

What we need access to

• The attic hatch, with stored boxes moved, whether it sits in a closet ceiling or the garage.
• The main electrical panel and any second panel, with nothing stacked in front of them.
• The water heater, including tankless units on a garage or exterior wall.
• The air handler closet and the outdoor condenser, behind any locked side gate.
• The garage, every exterior door and any stored shutter panels.
• You, or someone you authorize, to let us in and sign the homeowner certification at the end of the wind form.

Documents to gather for both inspections

Paperwork fills the gaps that eyes cannot. On the 4-point, documents supply the dates the form asks for: the panel's age and the year it was last updated, the age of the supply and drain piping and whether the home was completely or partially re-piped, the age of the water heater, the age of the HVAC system and the date it was last serviced, and the date of the last roofing permit. On the wind form, permit application dates and product approval numbers often decide whether an item reads as verified or unknown.

One document deserves its own mention. If a home has single-strand aluminum branch wiring that was remediated, Citizens requires separate documentation of all the work, certified by a licensed electrician, and its form lists repairs made with COPALUM crimps or AlumiConn connectors. Without that letter, the report can only describe what is visible at the outlets and the panel.

Your city or county building department can usually search permits by address, so start a few days before the visit. The table shows which papers help which report.

Keep your current declarations page and any letter from your insurer close by as well. If the company has asked for something specific, such as an inspection by a certain date or answers about the roof, show it to the inspector before the visit so nothing on the request is missed.

What to send your insurance agent, and what happens next

Send each report complete: every page, every photo and every attached document. A summary page or a few screenshots will not do, because the underwriter checks each answer against its evidence. Citizens' notice on the 2026 wind form reminds agents that all required photographs must be attached before submission. Its 4-point form says the writing agent must review the report before submitting it with an application, and that making sure all rules are met before the policy is bound is the agent's responsibility.

In most cases the reports go to your agent, not straight to the insurance company. The agent submits them with the application or to your existing policy, fields the underwriter's questions and tells you if anything else is needed. If you buy directly from an insurer, ask it where mitigation and inspection documents should be sent.

When the wind credit starts

Timing can matter more than people expect. Citizens' guidance on mitigation forms received during a policy term separates two kinds of features. Credits for features built into the house, such as roof shape or code-required construction, are applied back to the start of the current policy term. Credits for later improvements, such as opening protection or a replacement roof, start on the date a qualified inspector certifies them, unless paid receipts, executed work orders or building permits show the improvement was in place since the term began. Other insurers set their own rules, but the lesson carries over: get the report soon after an upgrade, and keep the receipts.

Confirm what was recorded

After the reports are submitted, ask your agent which mitigation answers the insurer recorded and whether the credits were applied. A mismatch between the form and the insurer's records is much easier to sort out right away than at the next renewal. If an answer on the form itself puzzles you, our guide to reading a wind mitigation report translates each one into plain English.

How long are a 4-point and a wind mitigation report good for?

The two reports age very differently, and mixing up their shelf lives is a common cause of last-minute scrambles.

The 4-point: about a year, and less in some cases

Citizens wants a four-point report dated within the 12 months before the new-business application is submitted. It sets tighter windows in two cases. Where lender-placed coverage was in effect within 45 days of the policy's effective date, the inspection must be completed within 10 days before that date. For a home with a prior sinkhole claim, it must be dated within 90 days before the effective date. Private companies set their own windows. If your closing slips by months, or you shop for insurance long after the inspection, check the date on the report before your agent submits it.

Wind mitigation: up to five years

A wind mitigation form can be used for up to five years, provided the structure has not changed in a material way and nothing on the form proves inaccurate. Reports on the older 2012 version are a special case: Citizens keeps accepting them if they were completed within the five years before April 1, 2026 and the structure is unchanged, while other insurers decide for themselves. After a new roof, new windows or new shutters, a fresh report is how the change gets credited.

Can I use the seller's reports?

Sometimes. A seller's 4-point only helps if it falls inside your insurer's window, and Citizens' sample form has a line for the insured or applicant's name, so ask your agent whether a report prepared for the previous owner is acceptable. A seller's wind mitigation report can sometimes be reused if it is recent, on a form your insurer accepts and still accurate. Even when reuse is possible, a buyer of an older home usually benefits from a current 4-point, because it shows the systems as they are on the day you buy, not as they were a year earlier.

If the 4-point flags a problem

Nobody passes or fails a 4-point. The inspector records what is there, and the insurer decides whether it can accept it. Citizens' public guidance is that serious hazards should be repaired before an application for coverage is submitted. The conditions insurers most often object to have their own guide, what fails a 4-point inspection in Florida. Here is the short version of what to do next.

• Get the right estimate. A panel issue calls for a licensed electrician, a pipe material for a licensed plumber, a worn covering for a licensed roofer. Ask for a written scope an underwriter can follow.
• Pull permits where the work requires them, and keep the final invoice. Insurers trust dated paperwork from licensed trades.
• Update the report. Once the repair is finished, the 4-point is updated with new photos showing the corrected condition.
• Ask your agent what the insurer needs to see, and by when. Requirements differ between companies, and your agent can tell you whether another carrier would look at the house differently.

Roof age has its own rules

Roofs get special treatment, and our guide to how roof age affects your policy covers it in depth. For roofs older than 25 years with shingles or other soft coverings, or older than 50 years with tile, metal or other hard coverings, Citizens wants documentation of at least five years of remaining useful life. If less remains, it needs proof of a full roof replacement before the policy is written. State law adds a floor for every insurer: under Section 627.7011(5), a company may not refuse to issue or renew a policy solely because of the age of a roof under 15 years. For an older roof, it must allow an inspection at the homeowner's expense and may not refuse solely because of age if that inspection shows five or more years of useful life. A roof condition inspection documents exactly that.

Repairs and upgrades: which report to update, and when

Because each report covers different parts of the house, most upgrades touch only one of them. Ordering the right update at the right moment saves you a second visit.

A new roof: update both

A re-roof changes the 4-point roof section (age, permit date and condition) and can change three items on the wind form: the roof covering, the deck attachment if the deck was re-nailed, and the sealed roof deck if the roofer used one of the accepted methods. Book the inspection after the roof is finished and you have the permit and the roofer's paperwork in hand. Before the job starts, ask the roofer to put the underlayment method and the nailing pattern in writing.

Windows, shutters and garage doors: update the wind report

Opening protection is graded by the weakest glazed opening, so replacing some windows while leaving others unprotected may not change the answer at all. Citizens makes the same point in its homeowner material: windows and doors both have to meet the standard before the savings appear. Damaged openings are a separate trap. The 2026 form has an answer for openings in need of repair or replacement, and homes with them do not qualify for wind mitigation rate differentials, so fix broken glass, failed seals and damaged shutters first, then have the openings documented.

Panel, re-pipe, A/C or water heater: update the 4-point

None of these appear on the wind form. They matter on the 4-point, which asks when the panel was last updated, whether the home was completely or partially re-piped and how old the HVAC system and water heater are. Keep the permit or invoice and order the updated 4-point once the work is done.

Help with the cost of wind upgrades

The state's My Safe Florida Home program has offered free wind mitigation inspections and grants of up to $10,000 toward qualifying improvements. Funding and application windows open and close, so check mysafeflhome.com for current status and eligibility before planning a project around it.

Condos: what changes for unit owners

Condo owners face different rules on both reports. On the 4-point side, Citizens states that four-point inspections do not apply to condominium or tenant policies. Some private companies still ask for one on an older unit. If yours does, ask how it wants the roof section handled, since the roof belongs to the association and is not part of your unit.

On the wind side, most of what earns credits, such as the roof covering, the deck attachment, the roof-to-wall connections and the roof shape, describes the building rather than your unit. Citizens uses the standard OIR-B1-1802 form for single-family homes, residential buildings of one to four units including condominiums, and residential buildings of one to three stories. For condo unit owners in buildings of four or more stories, it uses a separate building-type form, the MIT-BT II and III. Before booking anything, ask your agent which document your insurer wants, and ask the association whether mitigation paperwork for the building is already on file.

Unit buyers also face building-level questions that no insurance inspection answers: milestone inspections, reserve studies and the special assessments they can lead to. Our condo milestone guide for buyers covers those, and a condo unit inspection looks at everything inside your walls.

4-point and wind mitigation inspections in South Florida

South Florida's housing stock makes the pair routine here. In 2026, any house finished before 2006 is past Citizens' 20-year line, and much of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach was built well before that, from the postwar neighborhoods near the coast to the suburbs that spread west in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. A 4-point request is ordinary when those homes change hands or change insurers, and many of them have something to gain from a wind report.

The building code adds a local twist on the wind side. The Florida Building Code applies the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone only to Miami-Dade and Broward. Homes there answer the region item as HVHZ and can use HVHZ-specific options for the building code and roof covering items, while in Palm Beach County the region depends on the design wind speed at each address. The 4-point reads the same in every county, but the systems it reports on age faster near the water.

Salt air is the common thread. It corrodes outdoor A/C units, exterior panel enclosures and electrical connections, and corrosion is one of the hazards listed in the electrical section of the 4-point. In the attic, the same exposure works on metal straps and clips, and the wind form only credits connectors free of visible severe corrosion. One visit sees both sides of the same problem. Our local pages explain what is typical city by city, including wind mitigation in Hollywood, where our office is.

How much is a 4-point inspection and wind mitigation in Florida?

We do not publish a flat price, because the right number depends on the house. These are the things that move it:

• Size and layout. More roof planes, more openings and more square footage mean more to measure and photograph.
• Number of systems. A second electrical panel, two A/C systems or two water heaters each have to be documented.
• Attic access. A tight or awkward attic takes longer to document properly.
• What else is booked. Adding the insurance inspections to a full home inspection, a roof inspection or a mold inspection on the same visit is usually more efficient than separate trips.

Call or text (954) 297-0317 with the address, the year built and what your insurer asked for. The estimate on the phone is free, and the price is fixed before the appointment is booked. For a wider look at what drives inspection fees in Florida and how to compare quotes, see how much a home inspection costs in Florida.

When you weigh the fee, think about what each report does. On an older home, the 4-point can be the difference between getting a policy and not getting one. The value of the wind report depends on the credits your insurer gives for your house's answers, which your agent can estimate once the report is in.

Mistakes that delay coverage or cost credits

• "I'll order the insurance inspections after the home inspection." Booking them separately burns days you may not have. Put all three on the same visit at the start of the inspection period.
• "A 4-point is a mini home inspection." It is a report for an underwriter on four systems. It says nothing about the foundation, the windows, the appliances or most of the interior.
• "A good 4-point lowers my premium." It makes you eligible. The credits come from the wind mitigation report.
• "My 4-point from a while back is fine." Citizens wants it dated within 12 months of a new-business application, and some situations need a much more recent one.
• "I'll get the wind report now and re-roof next month." The new roof would make the report out of date within weeks. Order it after the roof is done.
• "Replacing most of the windows is enough." One unprotected glazed opening can set the answer for the whole house.
• "The stickers on the new windows can come off." Labels and product approvals are often the only proof of an impact rating on site. Leave the labels until the report is done, and keep the paperwork for good.
• "I'll just send the agent the first page." Underwriters need every page and every photo. Send the complete report.

The bottom line

Think of the pair as two questions your insurer asks. The 4-point answers "will we insure this house?" by reporting the age, type and condition of the roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC. The wind mitigation report answers "what should the windstorm premium reflect?" by documenting how the house stands up to hurricane wind. Citizens requires the first on homes more than 20 years old and wants it dated within 12 months; the second is optional but can stay in use for up to five years while nothing changes. Book both early, in one visit, and send the complete reports to your agent the day they arrive. If you own or are buying in Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach County, send us a request or call (954) 297-0317, and read more about our 4-point inspection service.

About the author

Peter Lemos, Certified Master Inspector®

Owner and lead inspector of Global Home Inspectors in Hollywood, FL. Peter holds InterNACHI certifications in wind mitigation, 4-point and mold inspection and has served Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties since 2008.