Florida Wind Mitigation Inspections: How Your Roof Can Lower Your Insurance Premium

If you own a home in Manatee or Sarasota County, your windstorm coverage is often one of the largest pieces of your insurance bill. The good news: Florida law requires insurers to give you credit for wind-resistant features, as long as you can document them. The tool that does this is the wind mitigation inspection, and your roof is the star of the show.

Updated October 2026: this guide now reflects the revised inspection form, OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26), which has been required for inspections since April 1, 2026. It's also part of our new wind mitigation series; see the links at the end.

Here is a clear, no-hype walkthrough of what the inspection checks, what changed in 2026, and how a properly permitted re-roof can strengthen your report. This is general information to help you understand the process. It is not insurance or legal advice, and every carrier and policy is different. Always confirm specifics with your agent or insurer.

What Is a Wind Mitigation Inspection?

A wind mitigation inspection is a short evaluation that records how well your home is built to resist hurricane-force wind. The findings go on a single statewide form, the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form (OIR-B1-1802), which Florida insurers must accept when it's signed by an authorized inspector. According to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), a completed form is valid for up to five years, provided no material changes are made to the structure and no inaccuracies are found on the form.

Florida law (s. 627.711, F.S.) lists who may sign the form: certain licensed home inspectors with hurricane mitigation training, certified building code inspectors, licensed general, building, or residential contractors, professional engineers, and architects. The report doesn't change your insurance on its own. You (or your agent) submit it to your carrier, and the insurer applies any credits you qualify for.

What Changed With the 2026 Form

OIR updated the form after a 2024 statewide study of how much different wind-resistant features reduce losses. The new version, OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26), replaced the 2012 version and has been required for inspections since April 1, 2026. Compared with the old form, it:

• has 9 questions, adding new ones for your wind region and roof slope,
• gives more detailed options for roof deck nailing, roof-to-wall connections, sealed roof decks, and opening protection, and
• requires at least one photo or document backing up each feature claimed in questions 2 through 9.

A form completed on the older version before April 1, 2026 generally keeps counting for the rest of its term. OIR has said it is still reviewing the related discount forms, so how carriers translate the new answers into credits may keep changing. Citizens Property Insurance, for example, told agents in March 2026 that the new form's added features would not change the credits it applies at this time. For a question-by-question breakdown, read Florida wind mitigation discounts, explained.

The Roof Features the Inspection Checks

Most of the credit-earning items on the form are tied to the roof. Here is what the inspector is looking for, and why each item matters in a windstorm. (The form also records your home's building code era, its wind region, and opening protection for windows and doors.)

1. Roof Covering

The inspector records each roof material on the house (asphalt shingle, tile, metal, and so on), along with its permit date or Florida / Miami-Dade product approval and the year it was installed. A newer covering installed under permit is easier to document than an older roof with no paperwork. This is why the permit date and product approval number on a recent re-roof matter so much.

2. Roof Deck Attachment

This is how the plywood or OSB is nailed to the trusses below. The form sorts deck nailing into levels. The lowest is staples or 6d nails at 6 inches on the edges and 12 inches in the field. Next is 8d nails at no more than 12 inches in the field, and the strongest wood-deck level is 8d nails at no more than 6 inches in the field. Many older Florida homes fall in the lower levels, and re-nailing the deck during a roof replacement is one of the most direct ways to move up.

3. Roof-to-Wall Attachment

This checks how your roof framing is anchored to the walls, the hardware that holds the roof down in high wind. The form classifies these connections from weakest to strongest:

• Toe nails: angled nails only, no metal connector. The lowest category.
• Clips: metal connectors nailed to the side of the truss that do not wrap over the top.
• Single wraps: one strap that wraps over the top of the truss, with at least two nails on one side and one on the other.
• Double wraps: two wrapping straps, one on each side of the truss (or one strap with at least three nails on each side). The strongest strap category.
• Structural: anchor bolts structurally connected, or a reinforced concrete roof. The only category rated above double wraps.

The form records your weakest connection, so one under-nailed or corroded strap can set the rating for the whole house (hip and valley jacks within five feet of a roof corner are excluded). We go deeper in Hurricane Straps 101.

4. Roof Geometry

A hip roof, which slopes down on all sides, is classified separately from a gable roof and other shapes. You can't easily change your roof's shape, but it is worth knowing how yours is classified.

5. Roof Slope (New in 2026)

The new form asks whether most of the main roof is steeper or shallower than a 6:12 pitch. Like roof shape, it's a fact about your house rather than something you upgrade.

6. Secondary Water Resistance (SWR)

Also called a "sealed roof deck," SWR is an extra barrier that helps keep water out if the top covering is torn off in a storm. Standard felt underlayment doesn't count. Under the 2026 form, a sealed roof deck can be a fully adhered self-adhering membrane, self-adhering tape over every deck seam, certain double layers of underlayment, or properly applied spray foam. Most of these are much easier to add while the roof is off.

How These Features Translate to Premium Savings

Mitigation credits apply to the windstorm portion of your premium, and on many Florida policies that portion is a large share of the total bill. A strong report can make a meaningful difference there, but the honest answer is that nobody can promise a figure in advance. Savings depend on your carrier's rating plan, your policy, and your home.

A few things to know before you spend money:

• Your insurer has to tell you what it offers. Florida law requires insurers to tell you which mitigation discounts are available, and their ranges, when your policy is issued and at every renewal.
• Credits are usually combined, not stacked. Carriers generally rate the combination of features your home has, so adding up individual percentages won't tell you your savings.
• Not every item counts everywhere. The form itself notes that some items may not qualify for a discount with every carrier.
• Ask for a with-and-without quote. Your agent can price your policy with and without a given upgrade before you commit.

One more caveat: a wind mitigation inspection is not the same as a four-point inspection or a roof condition report. Carriers may ask for those separately.

How a Re-Roof to Current Code Can Improve Your Report

If your roof is older, near the end of its service life, or was installed before modern wind standards, a re-roof can do double duty: it protects your home and it can add features your current roof doesn't have. A roof replaced today under permit is built to the current Florida Building Code, and that work can introduce or upgrade several of the items the inspection looks at:

• A documented, permitted covering with a current product approval and a clear installation date.
• Improved deck attachment when the deck is re-nailed to the current code schedule during tear-off.
• A sealed roof deck, such as a self-adhering underlayment or taped deck seams, for the SWR question.
• A chance to improve roof-to-wall connections. Wrapping straps over the trusses usually takes access at the eaves, which a reroof opens up. Whether it's possible depends on your home's framing.

Because the 2026 form requires photo or document proof for each feature, documentation captured during the job matters. Deck nailing, a sealed deck, and roof-to-wall straps are all covered up once the roof is finished. See how Providential helps you get wind-mitigation ready. And if your roof is coming due soon, it usually makes sense to schedule the inspection after the new roof is on; read when you don't need a wind mitigation inspection or upgrade.

Working With a Contractor Who Understands the Insurance Side

Providential Roofing and Construction is a dual-licensed Florida roofing and residential contractor (Certified Roofing Contractor license CCC1333042 and Certified Residential Contractor license CRC1333797) serving Manatee and Sarasota counties. We install the systems that show up on a wind mitigation report, including tile (Westlake, Eagle, Crown), asphalt shingle (GAF, Owens Corning, Atlas), standing-seam metal, stone-coated steel, and TPO/flat, and we install to current code with the permit paperwork to back it up.

Every home gets our comprehensive free roof inspection before we give an estimate. It includes checking for roof-to-wall clips and telling you what type you have. We also do the upgrade work, including re-roofs, deck re-nailing, sealed roof decks, and roof-to-wall strap and connection upgrades. For the official OIR-B1-1802 form, we recommend an independent third-party home inspector to verify the work and complete it. On shingle roofs, our crews photograph the deck nailing, the nail pattern in the shingles, the starter strip, the drip edge, and the mastic over the nails on the drip edge, showing the building-code spacing. The 2026 form requires at least one photo or document for each feature claimed, and deck attachment is one of the features it rates, so those photos give your inspector proof of work that's hidden once the roof is finished. Metal and tile jobs have their own documentation, so ask us what to expect for your roof. Note: we are a contractor, not an insurance agent or public adjuster, and we don't provide legal or insurance advice. Talk to your agent for anything specific to your policy.

Our 2026 Wind Mitigation Series

• Florida Wind Mitigation Discounts, Explained: the 9 questions on the 2026 form and the types of credits insurers offer.
• Hurricane Straps 101: toe nails vs. clips vs. single wraps vs. double wraps.
• How Providential Helps You Get Wind-Mitigation Ready: from roof deck to paperwork.
• When You Don't Need a Wind Mitigation Inspection or Upgrade: an honest guide.

If your roof is aging or you simply want to know how it might score on a wind mitigation inspection, we're glad to take a look. Request a free roof inspection or call (941) 226-4000, and we'll give you an honest assessment of where your roof stands and what your options are.