Wind Mitigation Inspections in Central Florida: What the New 2026 Form Checks

If you buy a house in Winter Park, Maitland or anywhere around Orlando, someone will eventually ask you for a ’wind mit.’ It’s usually the insurance agent, and usually right in the middle of your inspection period. The wind mitigation report is a short form, but on an older Central Florida house it can make a real difference in what you pay to insure it. This year the form changed, too.

What a wind mitigation inspection is

Florida law requires insurers to offer premium discounts for features that reduce windstorm losses, and to tell policyholders what those discounts are at each issuance and renewal (section 627.711, Florida Statutes). To prove which features a house has, the state uses one standard document: the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form, OIR-B1-1802. Insurers have had to accept a properly completed form since 2008.

A new version, OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26), took effect April 1, 2026 and must be used for any inspection done on or after that date. The state rewrote it after a 2024 wind-loss study. It adds categories such as the home’s design wind-speed region and roof slope, and it now requires at least one photo or document as proof for each feature the inspector marks. A completed form is good for up to five years, as long as the structure hasn’t materially changed and nothing on the form turns out to be wrong. Citizens Property Insurance has said it will keep accepting the older 2012 version if it was completed within five years before April 1, 2026 and nothing about the house has changed.

Who can sign it

Not just anyone with a clipboard. The statute lists who an insurer must accept the form from:

• A Florida-licensed home inspector who has completed approved hurricane mitigation training and a proficiency exam
• A certified building code inspector
• A licensed general, building or residential contractor
• A licensed professional engineer or architect

The inspector has to look at the house personally (engineers and contractors can send a direct employee), and the law bars inspectors from paying insurance agents for referrals. If an agent hands you one name, that’s fine, but you’re free to hire any qualified inspector you like.

What the inspector actually checks

Most of the action is in the attic and on the roof. Here are the items that tend to move the needle on Central Florida homes:

• Building code. The form asks which Florida Building Code was in force when the house was permitted. The statewide code took effect March 1, 2002, so many homes in older Winter Park neighborhoods like College Quarter, Orwin Manor or the streets around Lake Sue were built long before it and won’t get that credit. For homes built in 2002 or 2003, the inspector needs a permit application dated after March 1, 2002.
• Roof covering. A roof installed with a permit on or after March 1, 2002, or with a product approval current at installation, scores better. A replaced roof on a 1950s house can earn this even though the house itself can’t.
• Roof deck attachment. How the plywood or boards are nailed to the trusses. Older houses with board decking can surprise you here; the form gives credit for tongue-and-groove or dimensional lumber nailed properly.
• Roof-to-wall connection. This is the big one. The weakest connection is graded from toenails (nails driven at an angle, typical of older homes) up to clips, single wraps and double wraps of metal strapping. You can’t see it from the street, which is why it’s on the form.
• Roof shape. A true hip roof, sloping on all four sides with less than 10% of the perimeter in other shapes, is treated better than a gable. Plenty of Central Florida ranch homes have a hip roof with one gable over the garage or a porch, so measure before you assume.
• Secondary water resistance. A sealed roof deck, such as self-adhered underlayment or taped seams, keeps water out if shingles or tiles blow off. Standard felt doesn’t count. If you’re reroofing anyway, ask your roofer about it.
• Opening protection. Every window, door, skylight and garage door is judged by the weakest one. Impact glass or rated shutters on every opening except an old garage door can still knock you down a level. The form also says that openings needing repair disqualify the house from these credits altogether.

Why this matters more on older Winter Park homes

Central Florida isn’t in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (that’s only Miami-Dade and Broward), but anyone who was here for Charley in 2004 remembers what a strong storm can do to oak-lined streets inland. Insurers price that risk, and an older house with toenailed rafters, a gable roof and unprotected windows gets little or no wind credit. That’s not a reason to walk away. It’s a reason to know the numbers before your inspection period ends.

The useful part is that the form shows exactly where the upgrades are. When a roof is due anyway, adding a sealed deck and stronger roof-to-wall connections during the reroof can change several answers on the next inspection. Impact windows and a rated garage door are the other common upgrades. For the insurance side of buying an older home, my post on buying an older Winter Park home covers the four-point inspection and when to bind coverage, and buying a historic home in Winter Park covers what the city reviews before you change a historic house.

If you’re buying

• Ask the seller for their existing wind mitigation report. If it’s under five years old and nothing has changed, your insurer may accept it, which saves you time and money.
• If there isn’t one, book the wind mitigation with your home inspection. Many inspectors do both on the same visit.
• Look up the permit history yourself. For a Winter Park address, use the city’s permit search; for unincorporated Orange County, Orange County’s Fast Track site has permit records. Roof permits are what you’re after.
• Get real insurance quotes with the report in hand before your inspection period ends, not after.

If you’re selling

A current wind mitigation report is one of the cheapest things you can put in the listing documents. Buyers’ insurance agents ask for it right away, and handing it over early keeps the deal moving. If you replaced the roof, keep the permit and product approval paperwork with it. If you’re getting ready to list, my Winter Park seller page walks through how I prepare a home for market.

A note on the free state inspection

Florida’s My Safe Florida Home program offers free wind mitigation inspections, and grants toward some upgrades, to eligible owners of homesteaded single-family homes and townhouses. Funding is limited, and the Legislature tells the program to put low- and moderate-income households first, so check mysafeflhome.com for what’s open now. Since it applies to your homestead, it pairs well with my guide to the Florida homestead exemption. The program’s own rules say not to start an upgrade before a grant is approved, or it won’t be reimbursed.

The bottom line

A wind mitigation report takes an hour or so and can be the difference between an insurance quote that works and one that doesn’t. On an older Winter Park house, it’s also a clear list of what to fix next. With over 37 years in the Real Estate Industry, I’ve learned to ask for it early.

If you’re buying or selling in Winter Park or anywhere in Central Florida and want help sorting out the inspections or the insurance timing, call or text me at 407-620-7785, email will@irlhomes.com, or reach me through the contact page.

This post is general information, not insurance or engineering advice. Discounts vary by insurer; confirm how your carrier applies a wind mitigation report with a licensed insurance agent.

Will LaValle, REALTOR® · RE/MAX 200 Realty · 1155 Louisiana Ave., Suite 110, Winter Park, FL 32789