Home Insurance Inspections as a Revenue Line for Inspectors

Short answer: Insurance inspections are short, form-driven jobs that the property owner orders to get or keep coverage, or to earn a discount. In Florida the main three are the 4-point, the wind mitigation form (OIR-B1-1802) and a roof inspection, and a licensed home inspector can sign all three if they meet each form's rules. They pay on volume and speed, so the business works when you price them as their own product and turn the form around the same day.

Buyers need a home inspection once. Owners in hurricane country need insurance paperwork every few years. That difference is why insurance inspections are one of the steadier add-on lines a residential inspector can build, and why this guide is written for the inspector doing the work, not the owner ordering it.

Three inspections, three different jobs

The word "insurance inspection" covers work that has almost nothing in common except the audience.

A 4-point is an eligibility check. A wind mitigation inspection is a discount document. A roof inspection is often a condition of writing or renewing the policy. The owner feels all three as "the insurance needs a form," but you should sell and price them separately.

Florida: who may sign each form

Florida is where most of this work lives, and the rules differ by form. Get this wrong and the form is rejected, your client loses a discount, and you do the job twice.

Wind mitigation. Section 627.711(2)(a), Florida Statutes, lists who an insurer "shall accept" a uniform mitigation verification form from:

1. A home inspector licensed under s. 468.8314 "who has completed at least 3 hours of hurricane mitigation training approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board," including the form itself, plus a proficiency exam
2. A building code inspector certified under s. 468.607
3. A general, building or residential contractor licensed under s. 489.111
4. A professional engineer licensed under s. 471.015
5. A professional architect licensed under s. 481.213
6. Anyone else the insurer recognizes as qualified to complete the form

So a Florida home inspector license alone is not enough for wind mitigation. You need the approved training and the exam. The statute also says the signer "must inspect the structures referenced by the form personally, not through employees or other persons," with a limited exception for engineers and contractors. Our wind mitigation inspector guide covers the path.

4-point. There is no statute listing 4-point signers. Each insurer sets its own rule. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation says its form "must be completed and signed by a verifiable Florida-licensed inspector," giving a general, residential or building contractor, a building code inspector, and a home inspector as examples, and it also accepts a verifiable Florida-licensed architect, professional engineer or building code official.

Roof. Section 627.7011(5), Florida Statutes, defines an "authorized inspector" for roof inspections as someone "approved by the insurer" who is a licensed home inspector, a certified building code inspector, a licensed general, building, residential or roofing contractor, a professional engineer, a professional architect, or another person the insurer recognizes. Note the words "approved by the insurer."

The state's My Safe Florida Home program has separate inspector rules in s. 215.5586, including drug testing and fingerprint background checks. Being eligible to sign OIR-B1-1802 does not by itself make you a program inspector.

What the insurers actually require

When a 4-point is needed. Citizens requires a four-point inspection "for all property owner, dwelling and mobile home applications for properties more than 20 years old." The inspector must "provide the age, type and condition of the wiring, heating and plumbing systems, and roof." Citizens also says serious hazards, "such as exposed wiring, active leaks or evidence of leaks," should be repaired before the application is submitted. Private carriers set their own age thresholds, so ask the client's agent which form and which carrier.

When a roof inspection is needed. Citizens says roofs older than 25 years for soft coverings such as shingle, or 50 years for hard coverings such as tile, slate, clay, concrete or metal, "require documentation showing at least five years of remaining useful life," documented on its Roof Inspection Form by a Florida-licensed inspector.

State law sets a floor for every insurer. Under s. 627.7011(5), an insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowner's policy on a roof less than 15 years old "solely because of the age of the roof." For a roof at least 15 years old, the insurer must let the owner get an inspection by an authorized inspector before requiring replacement, and may not refuse solely on age if that inspection shows "5 years or more of useful life remaining." Roof age is counted from the last date 100 percent of the roof surface was built or replaced.

That makes your remaining-useful-life opinion the document that decides whether the owner keeps coverage. Support it with photos and clear reasoning, and never stretch it. See our roof certification guide for how to word it.

Wind mitigation form rules. The current OIR-B1-1802 is Rev. 04/26, adopted by Rule 69O-170.0155, F.A.C., effective April 1, 2026. It is "valid for up to five (5) years provided no material changes have been made to the structure or inaccuracies found on the form," and "at least one photograph or document providing proof must accompany this form to validate each attribute marked in questions 2 through 9." Older copies of the form are still online; make sure you are filing the current revision. Our wind mitigation form guide walks through the questions.

The misconduct rules are real. Section 627.711(4) lists misconduct including falsely indicating that you personally inspected, falsely indicating a discount feature, gross negligence, and a pattern of false information. A wind mitigation form is a sworn discount document, not a favor to a client.

Outside Florida: describe the work carefully

Insurance inspection work exists in other states, but it looks different, and much of it is not open to home inspectors.

• Texas coastal windstorm. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association says Texas Insurance Code Chapter 2210 requires a windstorm certificate of compliance before a coastal property can be eligible for TWIA coverage. The Texas Department of Insurance says inspections during construction are done by a TDI-appointed Texas licensed professional engineer or a TDI inspector, and inspections of completed work by a Texas licensed professional engineer. This is engineering work, not a home inspector's form.
• Insurer field surveys. Citizens says it may order exterior-only or interior and exterior underwriting surveys "at no cost to the policyholder," carried out by an assigned field survey company. Postings for this kind of work describe scheduling with owners, photographing the property, writing a brief report and uploading photos, often as 1099 contract work. See our insurance inspector guide for that career path.

Before you market insurance inspections in another state, ask local agents which forms their carriers request and who is allowed to sign them. Do not copy Florida's rules into another state's marketing.

Pricing insurance inspections

We do not publish a price range here because we could not find a source we trust for one, and local markets vary widely. Use the method in our guide to pricing ancillary services, with a few insurance-specific adjustments.

Three rules help:

1. Price the standalone trip properly. A 4-point for an owner renewing a policy is a full trip. Do not price it like an add-on.
2. Bundle only what shares a visit. A 4-point and a wind mitigation on the same property share the drive and much of the walk. That is a real saving you can share. Our guide to the 4-point and wind mitigation combo covers it, and wind mitigation inspection cost covers the market side.
3. Never discount the signature. Your liability does not shrink with the price.

In Binsr, booking pricing rules can use year built or any custom booking question, so an answer such as "Does your insurer need a 4-point?" sets the price, and the same rule sets the calendar block so a combined job is scheduled for the right length.

Turnaround is the product

The owner ordering a 4-point usually has an agent waiting to bind a policy or a renewal deadline coming. Speed is what earns repeat referrals from the insurance agents who order or recommend these forms.

That means:

• Take the full photo set the form requires before you leave. A missing photo is a second trip.
• Fill the form on site, not from memory that evening.
• Deliver the signed form the same day where you can. See same-day inspection reports for the workflow.
• Keep a copy of every form and every photo. Wind mitigation forms can stay in use for up to five years.

Binsr has the Florida 4-Point, Florida Wind Mitigation, Florida Roof and Florida WDO forms built in, in the same template system as your home inspection. The built-in wind mitigation form is the current OIR-B1-1802 Rev. 04/26. One inspection can produce several reports, each with its own template, so a buyer's home inspection, a 4-point and a wind mitigation form can come out of one visit as separate documents. Photos attach at the inspection, section, line item or finding level, and the Report Builder works offline, so a missing signal at the property does not stop you. See the features page for the rest.

Building the line

Insurance inspections grow through insurance agents as much as real estate agents. A practical start:

1. Get qualified for all three forms. Finish the wind mitigation training and exam if you are in Florida.
2. Learn each carrier's quirks. Which carriers want which 4-point form, and which accept the Citizens form.
3. Introduce yourself to local insurance agencies. Offer fast turnaround and a clean, complete form.
4. Offer it to every buyer of an older property. The buyer may need a 4-point to insure a property over the carrier's age limit anyway, and ordering it with the home inspection saves a trip.
5. Tell your E&O carrier. Ask whether your policy covers signed insurance forms the same way it covers home inspections. Our home inspector insurance guide lists the questions.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• The 4-point inspection
• The wind mitigation form, question by question
• 4-point and wind mitigation together
• How to become a wind mitigation inspector
• WDO vs. WDI inspections
• How to price ancillary inspection services

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