Roof inspection and wind mitigation in Tampa, FL

Around Tampa Bay a roof inspection is usually an insurance event. The renewal letter says the roof is 15 years old and asks for proof of remaining life; the new policy needs a four-point; the agent says a wind-mitigation report would lower the premium. Each is a different document, and it has to be signed by an inspector qualified for that report and accepted by your insurer. A roofing contractor can write the roof condition report. The wind-mitigation form (OIR-B1-1802) may be signed by a home inspector who has completed the state's wind-mitigation training and exam, a Division I contractor (general, building, or residential), an engineer, or an architect. A four-point is accepted from several license categories (home inspectors, general, building, or residential contractors, engineers, architects, and trade contractors for their own section); Citizens publishes the list it accepts for each report. Some roofing companies employ or partner with a qualified inspector so one visit covers all three; ask before the visit which document you need and who will sign it.

Say which document the insurer asked for.

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The rules the documents answer

• Florida Statute 627.7011(5): an insurer may not refuse to write or renew solely because of roof age while the roof is under 15 years old. At 15 or older, the owner may have the roof inspected, and an inspection showing five or more years of remaining useful life blocks a roof-age refusal.
• Citizens: shingle roofs older than 25 years, and tile, slate, clay, concrete, or metal roofs older than 50, require documentation of at least five years of remaining useful life.
• Wind mitigation (form OIR-B1-1802): an inspector qualified to sign it documents roof covering, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connection, roof shape, secondary water barrier, and opening protection. Each item can earn a premium credit; the form is good for five years.
• Four-point: roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC condition for a new policy on an older house; the roof section reports material, age, and condition.

What the inspection covers

The roof from above (covering, flashing, the boots that seal pipe vents, valleys, wear), from the attic (deck, nailing pattern, water stains, the roof-to-wall straps or clips the wind-mitigation form asks about), and from the permit record (the date of the last full replacement, which is what insurers usually use for age; a repair permit does not reset it). The report has photos and a remaining-useful-life estimate, the number of years the roof is expected to keep doing its job. If the roof will not pass, the inspector says so and what it would take.

My Safe Florida Home

The state's My Safe Florida Home program has offered wind-mitigation inspections at no cost to eligible homeowners and grants of up to $10,000 toward roof improvements, secondary water barriers, opening protection, and garage doors. Funding and eligibility change with each legislative session; check the program's site for what is open and who qualifies before planning around it, and do not count on a grant until it is approved.