Roofing advice
Roof inspections for insurance in Florida: four-point, wind mitigation, roof certification and the 15-year rule
Your carrier has asked for an inspection. Which one it means, who can do it, what it usually costs, and what Florida law says when the problem is your roof's age.
First, ask which document
"We need an inspection" from a Florida insurer can mean a four-point inspection, a wind mitigation inspection, the carrier's own roof condition or certification form, or a full home inspection. They are different documents, done for different reasons, and not every inspector can sign every one. Before you book anyone, ask your agent or carrier three things: which form, by what date, and who they will accept as the signer. Get the answer by email if you can.
The 15-year roof rule
This is the one that worries people most, and the law is more specific than most summaries suggest. It is in s. 627.7011(5), Florida Statutes, and it applies to homeowners' policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2022.
Under 15 years old. An insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowners' policy solely because of the roof's age.
15 years or older. Before an insurer can require replacement as a condition of writing or renewing the policy, it has to let you have the roof inspected by an authorized inspector, at your own expense. If that inspection shows the roof has five years or more of useful life remaining, the insurer may not refuse or non-renew solely because of roof age.
Who counts as an authorized inspector. The statute lists licensed home inspectors, certified building code inspectors, licensed general, building, residential and roofing contractors, professional engineers and architects, plus anyone else the insurer recognizes as qualified. In every case the inspector also has to be approved by the insurer, so confirm that before you pay anyone.
How age is counted. From the last date 100 percent of the roof's surface was built or replaced to the code in effect at the time. If the roof was replaced in sections, the clock runs from the first of the partial replacements that together covered the whole roof. A repair, a coating or a rejuvenation treatment does not reset it.
What the rule does not do. It stops refusals based on age alone. It does not stop an insurer acting on the roof's condition, or on its other underwriting criteria. A 16-year-old roof in good shape has real protection; a 16-year-old roof with visible problems is a different conversation, which is why it is worth having the roof looked at before the formal inspection rather than after.
The four-point inspection
A four-point inspection covers the roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC, on a form the insurer uses to decide whether it will cover an older house at all. It is about eligibility rather than price. It is usually done by a licensed home inspector, often at purchase or when a policy is being written on an older home.
Published 2026 pricing guides commonly put a standalone four-point at roughly $75 to $200, with discounts when it is booked together with a wind mitigation inspection. Prices vary with the size and age of the house and how easy the attic is to get into.
The wind mitigation inspection
This is Florida's Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form, OIR-B1-1802. It records the features that reduce wind loss: the roof covering and its permit date, how the deck is attached, how the roof is tied to the walls, the roof shape, whether there is a secondary water barrier, and how the windows and doors are protected.
It is about price rather than eligibility. Under s. 627.0629, insurers have to offer discounts for those features, and the form is how they see them. The form itself lists who may sign it. Standalone wind mitigation inspections are commonly quoted at roughly $75 to $150 in published 2026 guides. After a new roof, this is the inspection most worth getting, because the new roof's features only count once they are on paper.
Roof certification and roof condition forms
Some carriers use their own roof inspection or certification form, typically asking for the roof's covering, age, condition and estimated remaining useful life, with photographs. On roofs approaching or past 15 years, this is often the document that matters most, because it is the evidence for the five-years-remaining test above.
Because the form and the accepted signer vary by carrier, the only reliable approach is to get the carrier's form, read who may sign it, and then book someone who qualifies.
A sensible order of operations
1. Find out exactly what is wanted, in writing, with the deadline.
2. If the roof is older, have it looked at first. A cracked tile, a lifted flashing or a failed pipe boot is cheap to fix before a formal inspection and reads badly on one. Do not hide anything, though. Misrepresenting a roof's condition to an insurer causes far bigger problems than the roof does.
3. Book the right inspector for the right form. Combining a four-point and a wind mitigation inspection usually saves money if both are wanted.
4. Keep every copy, with the photographs, alongside your roof permit records. You will want them at the next renewal and when you sell.
What our inspection is, and is not. Ours is a free roofing condition report: photographs of every problem area and a written assessment of condition and roughly how long the roof has left. It is the right first step before any of the forms above, and a useful thing to have on file. It is not a four-point or a wind mitigation form. If your carrier wants a roof certification and accepts a licensed roofing contractor, tell us the carrier and the form, and we will tell you plainly whether the contractor can complete it.
If the inspection shows the roof genuinely needs work, the options run from a repair to restoration to a replacement, and they are not interchangeable. The report says which one fits.
Get the roof looked at before the form.
Free roof inspection across Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero and Bonita Springs. Photographs of every problem area and a written report you keep.
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