A wind mitigation inspection is a formal assessment by a licensed Florida inspector that documents your home's hurricane-resistant construction features. The inspector completes the OIR-B1-1802 form — the state-standardized document your insurance company uses to calculate legally required wind mitigation discounts.

The inspection evaluates five things: your roof covering, roof deck attachment, roof shape, roof-to-wall connections, and opening protection (windows, doors, and skylights). Florida law requires all property insurers to offer premium credits based on the results.

It is not the same as a home inspection, a 4-point inspection, or a free state inspection under My Safe Florida Home — though they can sometimes be combined.

A wind mitigation inspection in Florida typically costs $75 to $200, with most inspections running $100–$150 for a standard single-family home. The inspection usually takes 45–90 minutes.

Because insurance savings from a strong wind mitigation report frequently exceed $1,000 per year, this is one of the highest-ROI steps a Florida homeowner can take — the inspection typically pays for itself in the first month after your renewed policy takes effect.

Savings range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars annually, depending on what your home's features actually are. Here's a rough breakdown by scenario:

Savings apply to the wind portion of your premium, not the total policy. Wind makes up a significant share of Florida coastal premiums — in Pinellas County, wind can represent 40–60% of total premium cost. According to data analyzed by SaferHome.AI, Pinellas homeowners with strong wind mitigation profiles save an average of $1,800–$3,500 per year compared to comparable homes with no documentation on file.

Wind mitigation inspections must be performed by a licensed professional. Qualified inspectors include:

• Licensed general contractors (CGC)
• Licensed building contractors
• Licensed roofing contractors
• Licensed engineers (PE)
• Licensed architects
• Licensed home inspectors under Florida Statute 468
• Licensed building code inspectors

The inspector must complete and sign the OIR-B1-1802 form under their license. Do not accept a wind mitigation report from anyone who does not hold one of these licenses — your insurer is entitled to reject it, and you would lose the credits.

The inspector evaluates five categories on the OIR-B1-1802 form:

1. Roof covering — the type and installation method of your roof material (FBC-rated products earn credits)
2. Roof deck attachment — how the plywood or OSB is nailed to your trusses; stronger nailing patterns resist wind uplift better
3. Roof shape — hip roofs earn the maximum discount; gable and flat roofs earn less
4. Roof-to-wall connections — whether trusses attach with clips, single wraps, double wraps, or structural anchors; stronger connections earn larger credits
5. Opening protection — whether windows, doors, and skylights are protected by impact-rated glass or code-compliant shutters

Each category contributes independently. A home with a gable roof can still earn meaningful credits in the other four categories — and those credits are often unclaimed simply because no one filed the report.

The OIR-B1-1802 is the standardized Florida wind mitigation inspection form required by the Office of Insurance Regulation. It was updated in April 2026. This is the document that directly triggers your insurance credits — your insurer uses it to calculate exactly what you qualify for.

Your inspector completes the form, signs it under their license, and you (or your agent) submit it to your insurer. The form is valid for five years unless relevant features of your home change.

If you've never submitted one, or if your most recent one predates a roof replacement or window upgrade, your insurer is pricing your home on older (or absent) data — and likely charging you more than you need to pay.

A Florida wind mitigation inspection is valid for five years from the date of completion, provided no relevant changes have been made to your home.

If you replace your roof, add impact windows, or make other changes that affect any of the five inspection categories, schedule a new inspection immediately — because new features can significantly increase your credits. Don't wait for your existing report to expire.

If your report is more than five years old, your insurer may no longer honor it, and you could be missing updated credits for improvements made since then.

After the inspection, your inspector delivers the completed OIR-B1-1802 form — typically within 24–48 hours. Then:

1. You or your insurance agent submit the form to your insurer
2. The insurer recalculates your wind premium based on the documented features
3. Credits are applied at your next renewal, or immediately if mid-term submission is allowed

If you believe the credits are lower than expected, you have the right to request a re-inspection or dispute the classification. SaferHome.AI's fortification score can help you understand what credits your specific features should be generating before you submit, so you know whether the numbers look right.

No. A new roof qualifies for wind mitigation credits, but the credits only apply once you have a completed OIR-B1-1802 form submitted to your insurer. The insurer does not automatically know your roof was replaced.

Many Florida homeowners replace their roof, assume their premium will drop, and are surprised when renewal arrives at nearly the same price — because no one filed the wind mitigation report. If you've replaced your roof in the past five years and have not had a new wind mitigation inspection, you are almost certainly leaving money on the table.

Schedule the inspection immediately after a roof replacement while the work is fresh and your contractor's documentation — nailing pattern, underlayment, clips — is still easy to access.

A hip roof — where all slopes meet at a ridge at the top with no vertical gable ends — qualifies for the maximum roof shape discount. Hip roofs shed wind more efficiently and generate significantly less uplift during hurricanes than gable designs.

Gable roofs and flat roofs earn lower or no credits in the roof shape category. If your home has a gable roof, the other four categories (deck attachment, connections, opening protection, and roof covering) become more important to document correctly — because you can't change your roof shape without a full replacement, but you can upgrade the other elements.

If you are replacing your roof and the structural framing allows it, converting from a gable to a hip design is worth discussing with your contractor specifically for the insurance impact.

FORTIFIED is a voluntary construction standard developed by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) that exceeds Florida building code. A FORTIFIED Roof uses reinforced deck attachment, a sealed roof deck layer for secondary water resistance, and enhanced edge and connection requirements.

In Florida, FORTIFIED certification qualifies for additional insurance credits beyond standard wind mitigation credits and makes your home eligible for grant programs including My Safe Florida Home. SaferHome.AI tracks FORTIFIED certification as part of its fortification score because it represents the most significant single upgrade most homeowners can make — combining hurricane safety, premium reduction, and grant eligibility in one project.

FORTIFIED certification requires documentation from the roofing contractor and a separate IBHS verification process. Your roofer must be trained and registered with IBHS to issue a valid FORTIFIED designation.

Renters cannot commission or submit a wind mitigation inspection — that is the property owner's responsibility. Wind mitigation credits apply to the dwelling policy (the landlord's policy), not renters insurance.

If you're renting in Florida, the most useful hurricane preparedness steps are: ensuring your renters policy covers personal property and additional living expenses, documenting your belongings with photos, and knowing your evacuation zone.

If you are purchasing a home, ask the seller for a copy of their existing wind mitigation report before closing. The report is transferable and can be submitted to your new insurer immediately, potentially delivering credits from day one of your policy.

My Safe Florida Home is a state-funded grant program that provides matching grants up to $10,000 to eligible Florida homeowners to make wind-resistant improvements. To qualify, homeowners first receive a free state inspection (separate from a paid wind mitigation inspection) to identify eligible upgrades.

Grant-funded improvements — typically impact windows, doors, and roof upgrades — are then documented in a new wind mitigation inspection, which typically increases your insurance credits significantly. The program creates a compounding financial benefit: the grant pays for improvements that then lower your annual premium for years to come.

SaferHome.AI's grants hub tracks My Safe Florida Home eligibility alongside FEMA FMA, BRIC, and local Pinellas County programs — so homeowners can see all the programs their home qualifies for in one place.

To find a licensed wind mitigation inspector in Pinellas County:

1. Search the Florida DBPR license lookup for inspectors holding a Home Inspector (HI), General Contractor (CGC), or Building Inspector credential
2. Ask your insurance agent — agents regularly work with inspectors they trust and have a stake in accurate documentation
3. Ask your roofing contractor if you recently replaced your roof; many offer inspections or can refer a qualified inspector who is already familiar with your project
4. Contact SaferHome.AI — our partner network in Pinellas County includes licensed inspectors familiar with the county's housing stock and common construction types

Inspections run approximately $100–$150 in Pinellas County for a standard single-family home.

A wind mitigation inspection is a point-in-time assessment by a licensed inspector that generates the OIR-B1-1802 form your insurer uses for discounts. It tells you what you have. A home fortification score tells you where you stand, what it's worth, and what to do next.

SaferHome.AI provides Florida's first home-level fortification score, combining inspection history, permit records, county property data, and upgrade modeling into a single score with:

• Prioritized upgrade recommendations ranked by premium impact
• Estimated premium savings by specific improvement
• Grant eligibility across My Safe Florida Home, FEMA FMA, BRIC, and local programs
• A five-dimension resilience profile showing exactly where your home is strong and where it is vulnerable

The wind mitigation inspection is one important input into the score. The score gives it context — helping homeowners understand what it means, whether the credits look right, and what upgrading further would actually be worth.