Buying a Home in Florida? What a Wind Mitigation Inspection Is and Why to Get One Before Closing

Quick version: a wind mitigation inspection is a visit from an authorized inspector who documents the wind related features of a Florida home on an official state form. You then take the completed form to your insurance agent when you ask about storm related premium discounts. Ordering one early in your purchase helps you see what insuring the home may really cost well before closing.

What a wind mitigation inspection is

In Florida, homeowners may earn insurance premium savings for windstorm mitigation features. Those features are documented on an official state form called the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form, OIR-B1-1802.

The form is completed by an authorized inspector. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation encourages consumers to be diligent when choosing an inspector and to verify that the inspector is authorized under Florida law. Ask any inspector you're considering how they're authorized before you book.

Florida's regulator explains that you can hire an inspector to examine the home using the official form, then take the completed form to your insurance agent to start processing the discounts.

Why it matters when you're buying

Homeowners insurance is part of what a home costs to own. When you have a mortgage, your lender generally requires proof that the home is insured, so the policy is part of the purchase, not an afterthought.

Many homeowners pay insurance through an escrow account as part of the monthly mortgage payment. The CFPB notes that the cost of homeowners insurance is listed on page one of your Loan Estimate, in the Projected Payments section.

That's why the timing matters. Depending on your purchase contract, your inspection or due diligence period may be the easiest time to ask questions or change course. Ask your agent what your contract allows, and try to have the insurance picture before that window closes.

If you rent today, this is the part that's easy to miss. If you've only ever rented, you may never have shopped homeowners coverage. Because insurers offer discounts for certain construction types and mitigation devices, two similar looking Florida homes may not cost the same to insure.

What changed with the form in 2026

Florida revised the form. According to the Office of Insurance Regulation, OIR-B1-1802 was updated effective April 1, 2026. The version it replaces was last revised in January 2012. The update follows a Residential Wind-Loss Mitigation Study completed in June 2024.

The regulator's wind mitigation resources page also notes that a completed form is valid for up to five years, as long as the structure has no material changes and the form has no inaccuracies.

So ask the seller for any existing report. If the home already has a recent form, it may still be usable. If the home has been changed since, or the form looks off, a fresh inspection may be worth ordering. Ask your insurance agent whether an older form still works for them.

What can earn a discount

A Florida law passed in 2005 required residential property insurers to file a range of premium discounts for homes of certain construction types, or for owners who add loss mitigation devices, like shutters. Insurers must also send a list of those discounts to new and renewed policyholders.

You can read how this works on the regulator's page about premium discounts for hurricane loss mitigation. Residential insurers are also required to post their hurricane mitigation discount information on their websites.

Whether a specific home qualifies, and for how much, depends on the insurer and on what the inspector documents. An inspection doesn't promise a discount. It gives the insurer the facts to work from.

A simple order for Florida buyers

1. Get preapproved first. Know your price range before you tour, so you're comparing homes that fit your preapproved price range.
2. Ask for the seller's wind mitigation form. Check the date and whether anything has changed since.
3. Order an inspection early if there's no usable form, ideally within any inspection period your contract gives you. Hire an authorized inspector.
4. Get insurance quotes with the form in hand. The CFPB suggests doing your own research on homeowners insurance costs, and you can shop separately for the provider and plan that's right for you.
5. Share the quote with your lender early, so the full monthly picture is clear well before closing.

For a look at what happens on the loan side once you're under contract, see what happens after you apply for a mortgage. The steps are written for Colorado, and some details can differ in Florida, so ask your lender how your file will move.

Your next step

Buying in Florida means thinking about the house and the weather at the same time. A wind mitigation inspection won't make every decision for you, but it puts real facts behind the insurance part of your budget.

If you're planning a Florida purchase, start with the Florida mortgage page, then take the homebuyer quiz to see where you stand. You can also reach Diane at 719-687-2112.

Diane also helps buyers in Arizona, Montana and Florida.

Diane Beaumont, Mortgage Loan Originator, NMLS #247026. Benchmark Mortgage, a dba of Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, LLC, NMLS #2143. Equal Housing Lender. Not a commitment to lend.