What is the difference between a 4 point inspection and a wind mitigation inspection when buying in West Palm Beach?

What the 4 point report tells the insurer

The Florida Department of Financial Services inspection guide describes a focused condition and safety evaluation. Roofing review considers type, age, condition and visible deterioration. Electrical review examines wiring, panels and hazards. Plumbing review includes pipe materials, the water heater and leaks. HVAC review considers equipment condition and operation. This is a report about specified systems, rather than a complete account of the home's condition.

The guide says insurance companies can apply different criteria and determine how recent the report must be. It also explains that findings can require repairs before a policy is issued. Ask the proposed insurer for its accepted format, report age and repair requirements before ordering the work. For an older West Palm Beach home, the useful result is a clear written answer about whether the documented systems meet that insurer's requirements. An inspector's completed report alone is not that underwriting decision.

What the wind report documents

The current Office of Insurance Regulation form records building code, region, roof slope, roof covering, roof deck attachment, roof to wall attachment, roof geometry, sealed roof deck or secondary water resistance, and opening protection. It asks for evidence supporting the construction attributes. A roof's visible condition therefore does not establish how its decking or connections are classified. An apparently protective window also needs verification under the form's documentation requirements.

Section 627.0629 requires residential insurance rate filings to recognize qualifying wind loss reduction features through appropriate discounts, credits, rate differences or deductible reductions. The form itself warns that some listed items may not qualify for a discount. Use the completed report to request the insurer's actual rating treatment. For comparing quotes, keep coverage and deductibles alongside the premium so a cheaper offer is not assumed to reflect a mitigation credit when its insurance terms differ.

Check the form revision, evidence and signer

Florida DFS states that inspections from April 1, 2026 must use OIR-B1-1802 revision 04/26. Inspections before that date may use the older form. OIR describes validity as up to 5 years, conditional on no material structural changes and no inaccuracies. Ask the insurer to review a seller's existing report against the inspection date and the home's present features rather than assuming that a report transfers unchanged.

The current form requires photographs or documents to validate the marked construction attributes. Request the attachments with the report, not just its checked boxes. Section 627.711 identifies the authorized signer categories and the additional training required for a licensed home inspector. It also permits insurer verification at the insurer's expense. Confirm the license and mitigation qualifications before hiring, and ask how inaccessible areas or missing records will be documented. Keep the signed form and its evidence with the insurance paperwork.

Keep the purchase condition review separate

Florida's definition of home inspection services in section 468.8311 describes a limited visual examination of readily accessible installed systems and components. Its scope includes the structure, interior and exterior components, and site conditions affecting the structure, alongside the roof and mechanical systems. That broader scope helps explain why an insurance report is insufficient as the buyer's entire condition review. Even a broader inspection remains a visual examination with access limits.

Section 468.8321 requires a home inspector to provide a license copy and written disclosure of scope and exclusions before contracting for or commencing a home inspection. Read that disclosure against the property and your planned work. Ask which services produce separate reports and which concerns need a specialist. For a historic home, coordinate this condition review with your permit and renovation research. A favorable insurance report should not be used to infer that proposed alterations are approved or that concealed defects have been ruled out.

Resolve the reports and coverage before closing

A practical approach is to identify the insurer's required reports early, obtain the inspection scope in writing, and provide the reports with their supporting evidence while purchase diligence remains open. Ask the insurer to identify any unresolved repair, document or inspection condition and confirm the coverage terms it will offer. Keep repair negotiations and the insurance decision connected, because a seller's willingness to make a repair does not establish that the insurer has accepted the result.

DFS says an insurer may refuse certain coverage or decline the property if a requested inspection is not supplied. Its homeowners overview also distinguishes wind mitigation credits from condition inspections and explains that flood requires separate coverage. Budget the address specific premium, deductibles, required repairs and flood coverage together. This page states no universal West Palm Beach inspection fee, savings percentage or home age trigger. Obtain those answers from the proposed inspector and insurer for the actual property, then retain their written responses with the closing file.

What the records cannot show

• Public guidance does not establish the proposed insurer's acceptance of this home's systems or its actual premium.
• A wind form's construction classifications do not certify that a home will withstand a hurricane without damage.
• Insurance inspection reports do not establish permit approval for planned renovations or eliminate the access limits of a visual condition inspection.