What Is a Wind Mitigation Inspection?
A wind mitigation inspection is an assessment by a licensed inspector of your home's ability to resist hurricane-force winds. The inspector evaluates specific construction features — roof shape, roof covering, roof deck attachment, opening protection, and more — and documents them on a standardized form that you submit to your insurance company.
Insurers use this information to calculate discounts on your wind premium. The better your home's construction, the larger the discount.
What Inspectors Evaluate
- Roof covering — What type of roofing material, age, and installation method
- Roof deck attachment — How the sheathing is nailed to the rafters (8d nails vs. 6d nails, nail spacing)
- Roof-to-wall connection — Toenails vs. clips vs. single wraps vs. double wraps vs. structural connectors
- Roof geometry — Hip roofs perform better than gable roofs in high winds
- Opening protection — Impact-resistant windows/doors, hurricane shutters, or rated garage doors
- Roof age and permit date — Newer roofs built to current codes earn better credits
How Much Can You Save?
Savings vary by insurer and home construction, but the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reports average wind mitigation discounts of 25–45% on the wind portion of the premium. For a home paying $3,000/year in insurance with 60% wind coverage, that's $450–$810 in annual savings.
The inspection itself costs $75–$150. The math almost always works in your favor.
Roof Shape — The Single Biggest Premium Factor Most Homeowners Overlook
Of all the factors wind mitigation inspectors evaluate, roof geometry has the largest single impact on your insurance premium — and it's the one homeowners are least aware of going in.
Hip roofs vs. gable roofs — the difference in dollars
A hip roof slopes on all four sides and meets at a central ridge. Because there are no flat vertical gable ends exposed to wind, hip roofs shed wind pressure more efficiently and are dramatically more resistant to uplift in hurricane conditions. Insurers know this and price it accordingly.
A gable roof has two triangular end walls (the gable ends) fully exposed to wind. In high-wind events, these exposed gable ends create pressure imbalances that make the entire roof more vulnerable to uplift failure. This is why gable roofs consistently suffer more storm damage than hip roofs in the same storm event.
On the OIR-B1-1802 wind mitigation form, hip roofs qualify for the maximum roof geometry credit. In Florida, this can translate to a 25–40% reduction on the wind portion of the premium compared to an equivalent gable-roof home. For a coastal homeowner paying $4,000/year with 65% wind coverage, the hip roof credit alone can be worth $650–$1,040 annually — every year, permanently.
Converting a gable roof to a hip roof during a full replacement is a structural change that adds cost — typically $3,000–$8,000 above a standard same-design replacement depending on the home's size. But given the permanent annual premium savings on a coastal Florida or Texas home, the payback period is often 3–6 years. If you're replacing a storm-damaged roof anyway, it's worth getting a quote with and without the hip conversion to make the math concrete.
Florida PACE financing — government-backed funding for wind upgrades
Florida's Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program allows homeowners to finance wind mitigation upgrades — including roof replacements with stronger deck attachment, hip conversions, and opening protection — through their property tax bill rather than a personal loan. PACE financing is repaid over 5–25 years as a property tax assessment, and the debt transfers with the home if it's sold.
PACE is administered through approved private financing companies (Ygrene, Renew Financial, and others) under Florida Statute §163.08. It's available in most Florida counties. For homeowners who want to upgrade to a more insurance-favorable roof system but don't want to pay the premium upgrade costs out of pocket at replacement time, PACE provides a path. Important caveats: PACE assessments are senior to mortgages in lien priority, which means your mortgage lender must approve PACE financing. Some lenders won't allow it — check before applying.
The FORTIFIED Program
The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) FORTIFIED program goes beyond basic wind mitigation. Homes built or retrofitted to FORTIFIED standards have been shown to reduce damage by up to 95% in hurricane conditions. In Alabama, South Carolina, and increasingly other states, FORTIFIED certification can unlock 15–30% premium discounts — and some states now require insurers to offer these discounts by law.
How to Get a Wind Mitigation Inspection
- In Florida, the inspector must be a licensed contractor, engineer, architect, or certified home inspector
- The inspection uses the OIR-B1-1802 form — make sure your inspector uses the current version
- Results are valid for 5 years unless you make changes to your roof or openings
- After any roof replacement, get a new inspection — new roofs almost always qualify for better credits
Always get re-inspected after a new roof
If you've replaced your roof in the last few years, your current wind mitigation form may not reflect your improved roof deck attachment or covering. A new inspection could significantly increase your credits.