Wind Mitigation in Florida: How Your Roof and Windows Lower Your Insurance

If you own a home in Florida and you’re not thinking about wind mitigation, you could be leaving serious money on the table — up to $1,400 a year. This is the article where I explain the whole game — the inspection, the form, the credits, the grants — because nobody else will explain it straight.

What wind mitigation actually is

“Wind mitigation” is just a fancy term for: how well will your house stand up to hurricane wind? The state has a standard inspection for it, and insurance companies give you credits — real discounts — for every feature that makes your home stronger.

The inspection produces a form called the OIR-B1-1802. That’s the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form. Current revision is 04/26, and once it’s done, it’s good for five years. One inspection, five years of discounts. The inspection itself is cheap — and there’s no downside to knowing. Do the math on that ROI.

What’s on the form (and why it matters to your wallet)

The inspector documents seven things. Every one of them is a potential discount:

1. Roof covering and age. Newer roofs earn bigger credits. This is why a roof replacement isn’t just a roof — it’s an insurance event. When I put a new roof on, I tell the homeowner: get the wind mit done after. It’s part of the job in my mind.

2. Roof deck attachment. How the plywood (or planks, on the old ones) is nailed to the trusses. Ring-shank nails, proper spacing — the inspector checks. On re-roofs, this gets verified during the job.

3. Roof-to-wall connection. Clips, straps, toe nails — how your roof is tied to your walls. This is structural. On older homes it’s often the weakest link, and there are retrofit options.

4. Roof geometry. Hip roofs (sloped on all sides) perform better than gable roofs in wind. You can’t change your roof shape cheaply, but the form credits what you’ve got.

5. Secondary water resistance. A peel-and-stick membrane under the shingles or tile. If water gets past the covering, this is the backup. Modern re-roofs include it.

6. Opening protection. This is the big one for most people: impact windows, impact doors, shutters, and the garage door. Every opening needs to be protected to get full credit. One unprotected opening can cost you the whole category — which is why the 1998 garage door next to $30,000 of impact windows drives me crazy.

7. Surrounding features. Things like exterior doors and skylights.

You don’t need a perfect score. Every “yes” on that form is money. But the homeowners who save the most are the ones who treat it as a system — roof, openings, garage door, all of it.

The money: what are we talking about?

Straight talk: with the right combination — newer roof, impact windows and doors, rated garage door, documented on the 1802 — homeowners can save up to $1,400 a year on their premiums.

“Up to.” Not guaranteed. I’m a contractor, not your insurance agent, and your carrier makes the final call. But I’ve been doing this 15 years in Florida, and I’ve watched that form take real money off real bills, year after year, for five years per inspection.

Multiply it out. Even half of that number, over five years, pays for a serious chunk of the improvements that earned it.

The grants: My Safe Florida Home

On top of the insurance credits, the state will literally help pay for the work. My Safe Florida Home is active right now, offering up to $10,000 in grants to harden your home against hurricanes — impact windows, doors, roof improvements.

Read that again. The state gives you money to do the work, and then your insurance charges you less every year because you did it. This is the closest thing to free money in homeownership. If you qualify, you’d be nuts not to look at it.

The order of operations (do it right)

If I were spending my own money on a Florida house, here’s the sequence:

Step 1: Get the wind mitigation inspection first. Even before the work. It tells you exactly where you stand — what credits you already have, what you’re missing. It’s a roadmap.

Step 2: Do the work that earns the most credits per dollar. Usually that’s opening protection — impact windows and doors — plus the garage door if it’s not rated. Then the roof when it’s due.

Step 3: Get the inspection done again after the work. Updated form, updated credits, five more years.

Step 4: Send it to your insurance agent. The form goes to them, they apply the credits. Don’t assume they know — hand it to them.

I walk homeowners through this on every roofing and window estimate. Because selling you windows without telling you about the 1802 would be malpractice. The windows are the product. The form is the payoff.

What most contractors won’t tell you

The inspection is cheap and there’s no downside. Worst case, it confirms what you have. Best case, it finds credits you’re already entitled to. There’s no scenario where knowing costs you money.

Shutters count, but they’re the weak version. Accordion shutters and panels earn opening-protection credit. But you have to put them up every storm, take them down after, store them somewhere. Impact windows protect you 24/7/365 with zero effort. If you’re spending money, spend it on the thing that works while you sleep.

Your roof’s birthday matters. Insurance companies know roof ages. An old roof doesn’t just risk leaks — it’s a surcharge. A new roof with a fresh 1802 is the single biggest swing on most policies.

Financing the whole package

Roof plus windows plus garage door — that’s real money. Most of my customers don’t write that check outright. Through our financing partner: small jobs from around $120 a month, windows and baths typically in the $200s to $300s a month, rates as low as 4.49% APR on approved credit.

And remember — the improvements can cut your insurance by up to $1,400 a year. When the work pays you back every year, the monthly payment stings a lot less.

What to do next

Here’s my offer: free in-home estimate, and I’ll do the wind-mitigation thinking with you. We’ll look at your roof, your windows, your garage door, and I’ll tell you straight what’s earning credits and what’s costing you money.

Already have a written quote for windows or a roof? I’ll beat it or you get $50. Beat-the-Quote runs through October 1st.

Call or text (561) 462-9293. I’m Joe. Let’s stop leaving money on the table.

Related: Roof Replacement in Boca Raton · Impact Windows in Boca Raton · Hurricane Windows