Insurance
What a Wind Mitigation Inspection Actually Checks
The inspection that can lower a Florida premium — what it looks at, and why your roof is most of it.
Limited time offer 4 point home inspection or wind mitigation with any new roof See what is includedA wind mitigation inspection checks the features of your home that help it resist wind: how the roof covering is attached, how the roof connects to the walls, and whether your openings are protected. It is not a pass or a fail. It is a record of what your house already has, and it is worth timing with a re-roof.
Florida requires insurers to offer discounts for certain wind-resistant features — so what gets written down affects what you pay.
Most of it is about the roof
The inspector records how the roof deck is fastened to the trusses, how the roof structure is tied to the walls, what the covering is and whether it meets current code, and whether there is a secondary water barrier beneath it. Four of the things being examined are parts of your roof, which is why a re-roof is the moment this matters most.
Roof-to-wall connections carry a lot of weight
Clips and straps that tie the roof structure to the walls are one of the biggest single items on the form. They are also invisible once a house is finished, which is why the inspector goes into the attic to look for them.
Opening protection is the other half
Shutters, impact-rated windows and doors, and how the garage door is rated all get recorded. Partial protection is not the same as full protection on the form, so protecting most of a house but leaving one opening unrated can change the answer.
Why timing it with a re-roof pays
Some of what the form rewards is decided while a roof is open — how the deck is fastened, whether a secondary water barrier goes down. Those are cheap to do while the roof is off and expensive to add later. Tell your contractor you intend to have a wind mitigation inspection, before the work starts.
What we cannot tell you
How much you will save. Discounts depend on your insurer, your policy and what the inspection actually finds, and anyone quoting you a figure without seeing your home and your policy is guessing. Your agent can tell you what your carrier gives credit for.
Who does the inspection
It is carried out by a qualified inspector and recorded on a standard state form, which you then give to your insurer. It is a separate visit from a roof estimate — we can tell you what your roof will show, but the inspection itself is not ours to sign.
Yes. We fit a secondary water barrier and improved deck fastening as standard on a re-roof, which is exactly what this inspection rewards. Code minimum is not the standard we build to — the point of a roof is that it does not leak, and these are the two details that decide it.
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