Insurance & wind mitigation · 10 min read
Wind mitigation & insurance credits: the Florida homeowner's guide
What the OIR-B1-1802 inspection actually checks, which seven features insurers credit, what each is worth on a Florida premium, and how to document it so the credit holds at renewal.
What "wind mitigation" actually means in Florida
Wind mitigation is the set of building features that reduce a home's chance of catastrophic damage in a hurricane — and, equally important in Florida, the set of features the Office of Insurance Regulation has decided your insurer must give you a credit for. Under Florida Statute 627.0629, every admitted homeowners carrier writing wind coverage in the state has to offer premium discounts for verified mitigation features. The form that proves you have them is the OIR-B1-1802, commonly called the wind mit inspection. No form, no credit — even if your house has every feature on the list.
What the OIR-B1-1802 inspection looks at
A licensed Florida inspector (general contractor, building inspector, architect, engineer, or a home inspector with the appropriate certification) physically verifies seven categories. They photograph each one, measure where required, and submit the standardized form with the date the home was inspected. Your insurer applies the credits from that form to your policy at the next renewal — and, in many cases, retroactively to the current term. The inspection costs $75–$150 in most Florida metros and is good for five years.
The seven features that get credited
1) Roof covering. FBC-compliant shingles or tile installed under the 2001 or later code earn the credit; older roofs generally don't. 2) Roof deck attachment. The nail pattern and nail size that hold your decking to the trusses — 8d nails at 6" / 6" spacing is the modern standard. 3) Roof-to-wall connection. Toe-nails get the smallest credit; clips, single wraps, and double wraps progressively earn more. Double wraps are the biggest single credit on most Florida homes. 4) Roof geometry. Hip roofs (slopes on all four sides) outperform gables in wind and earn the largest geometry credit. 5) Secondary water resistance (SWR). A self-adhering peel-and-stick membrane over the decking seams that keeps water out if the shingles fail. 6) Opening protection. Hurricane shutters, impact windows, and impact-rated doors on every glazed opening (including skylights and garage doors) — partial protection earns a partial credit; full impact-rated protection earns the largest. 7) Gable end bracing. Only applies if you have gable ends; reinforcement reduces failure risk.
What each feature is roughly worth
Exact dollar values depend on your carrier, ZIP code, and base premium — but the rough proportions hold across the market. On a typical Florida policy, the biggest single mover is opening protection: full impact-rated coverage commonly cuts the wind portion of the premium 25–45%. Roof-to-wall connection (double wraps) is next, often 10–20%. Roof covering and roof deck attachment combined can move another 10–15%. Hip roof, SWR, and gable bracing typically add single-digit percentages each. A home with every credit can see total wind-premium reductions of 60–80% compared to an unmitigated baseline — which on a $6,000 Florida policy is real money, year after year.
Why so many Florida homeowners leave the credit on the table
Three reasons, in order. First, they never file the inspection — most commonly after a roof replacement or shutter install, when the new credits are sitting there waiting to be claimed. Second, the inspection is filed but the contractor's documentation is incomplete (no NOA numbers, no photos of the roof-to-wall connection from the attic, no garage door product approval). Carriers and re-inspectors throw out poorly documented forms. Third, the credit is applied and then quietly removed at a later renewal because the carrier ordered a re-inspection and the homeowner couldn't reproduce the documentation. Keep the original 1802, all product approval numbers, and all permit documents in a single folder — paper or digital. That folder is the credit.
How carrier behavior has shifted in 2024–2025 Florida
Post-Ian, post-Helene, and post-Milton, several private carriers have tightened the verification process. Citizens has been ordering desk re-inspections at higher rates. A few private carriers now require that the inspector be on their approved-vendor list, not just any qualified Florida inspector. Practical implication: when you book your inspection, ask your agent whether your carrier has a preferred-vendor list, and use someone on it. The cost is the same; the credit is more likely to stick.
When the inspection pays for itself — and when it doesn't
If your home was built after 2002 to the modern Florida Building Code, has a hip roof, and you've installed shutters or impact windows, the wind mit inspection almost always pays for itself in the first year and then some. If your home is pre-1994, has a gable roof with toe-nail connections, no SWR, and no opening protection, the inspection will mostly document what you don't have — useful as a baseline before you start upgrading, but it won't deliver an immediate credit windfall. The honest answer in that case is: do the inspection right before your next major upgrade (new roof, shutter install) so the new credits flow through to your premium immediately.
Sequencing upgrades for maximum credit
If you're going to do multiple upgrades, the cheapest path to the biggest credit is usually: opening protection first (largest single credit, often pays back in 3–5 years), then roof replacement with FBC-compliant covering plus upgraded deck attachment plus SWR at the next roof cycle (capture three credits in one project), then roof-to-wall upgrades only if you're already doing major roof or framing work — retrofitting straps into an existing roof is expensive and disruptive. Don't do them in reverse order: a brand-new roof with no opening protection still gets clobbered by the largest single credit you're leaving unclaimed.
What this site doesn't replace
A real wind mit inspection done by a qualified Florida professional is the only thing that gets you the credit. We're a research resource — we can't sign your 1802. What this guide is for: knowing what your inspector should be checking, what each item is worth, and how to keep the credit through future renewals. Cross-reference with the related guides on opening protection (shutters and impact windows) and on contractor selection.