Have you heard of the wind mitigation report or the 4-point inspection? If you are buying an older single-family home in Miami-Dade County, you will meet both before closing — and together they can move your monthly payment by hundreds of dollars.
Most buyers think of these two reports as insurance paperwork that the agent handles in the background. However, the numbers they produce flow straight into your escrow account, onto page 1 and page 2 of your Loan Estimate, and into the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) that decides whether the loan is approved.
A Florida wind mitigation report (form OIR-B1-1802) documents features that earn required premium credits. A 4-point inspection checks roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC and can decide whether a carrier writes the policy at all.
What The Wind Mitigation Report Actually Does
Florida law requires every residential property insurer to offer discounts for wind-resistant construction. Under section 627.0629(1), Florida Statutes (as amended by chapter 2023-172), rate filings must include "actuarially reasonable discounts, credits, or other rate differentials" for mitigation features.
The statute names the features that count, including but not limited to roof strength, roof covering performance, roof-to-wall strength, wall-to-floor-to-foundation strength, and opening protection. That said, the discount percentages themselves live in each insurer's filed rates, which is why two carriers can price the same report very differently.
The inspector records those features on the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form, OIR-B1-1802. The Office of Insurance Regulation adopted a revised version, Rev. 04/26, through Rule 69O-170.0155, Florida Administrative Code, effective April 1, 2026, and posts consumer guidance on its wind mitigation resources page.
What Changed On The April 2026 Form
According to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation's March 19, 2026 notice on the form changes, every inspection performed on or after April 1, 2026 must use Rev. 04/26. The revision is summarized below.
- Updated sections. Building code, roof covering, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall attachment, secondary water resistance, and opening protection were all revised. Roof-to-wall attachment now includes performance-based options.
- New fields. The form adds FORTIFIED Home certificate eligibility, a region designation based on design wind speed, and roof slope indicators for homes with multiple roof slopes.
- Credits unchanged for now. Citizens states the revisions do not affect the credits it currently makes available. Other carriers file their own rates, so confirm with your agent.
Keep in mind that a prior-version form, Rev. 01/12, remains acceptable to Citizens if it was completed within five years before April 1, 2026. In other words, a seller's 2022 report may still work, while a 2019 report will not.
A completed OIR-B1-1802 is generally accepted for up to five years if the structure has not materially changed. Citizens still accepts the older Rev. 01/12 form if completed within five years before April 1, 2026.
What The 4-Point Inspection Decides
The 4-point inspection is an underwriting gate rather than a discount. It documents the age and condition of four systems — roof, electrical, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning — so the carrier can decide whether to write the policy and on what terms.
Citizens' underwriting FAQ on four-point inspections (last updated February 18, 2026) states that a four-point inspection "is mandatory on any Personal Residential Multiperil application for homes more than 20 years old." The report must be completed within the last year by a Florida-licensed inspector, contractor, or building code inspector.
Note that the same FAQ says four-point inspections do not apply to tenant or condominium unit risks. Private carriers set their own age thresholds, so a 17-year-old home may still trigger a request from a non-Citizens insurer.
Citizens requires a 4-point inspection on new homeowners (Personal Residential Multiperil) applications for homes more than 20 years old. The report must be dated within the last 12 months and does not apply to condo unit policies.
Where The Roof Age Rule Fits
The roof line on the 4-point often carries the most weight in Miami-Dade, where older shingle and tile roofs are common. Under section 627.7011(5), Florida Statutes (last amended by chapter 2024-182), an insurer "may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowner's policy insuring a residential structure with a roof that is less than 15 years old solely because of the age of the roof."
For older roofs, the same subsection bars refusal based solely on roof age if an authorized inspection "indicates that the roof has 5 years or more of useful life remaining." Of course, that protects eligibility, not price — the carrier can still rate an older roof higher.
What A Pass Or A Fail Looks Like
A 4-point report does not carry a printed pass or fail stamp. Instead, the carrier reads it against its own underwriting guidelines, and the outcomes tend to fall into a few categories:
- Clean report. The carrier binds the policy at the quoted premium, and the wind mitigation credits apply as filed.
- Conditional acceptance. The carrier requires a specific repair — for example, replacing an electrical panel type it will not insure or remediating a plumbing material it excludes — before or shortly after binding.
- Declination. The carrier will not write the home, which sends the buyer to another admitted carrier, to Citizens, or to the surplus lines market, usually at a different premium.
All of these outcomes change the insurance number your lender uses. This is why the 4-point belongs in your inspection-contingency window, not in the last week before closing.
How The Premium Becomes An Escrow Payment
Most Miami-Dade purchase loans escrow property taxes and hazard insurance, which means one-twelfth of each annual bill is added to your monthly payment. The servicer also collects a reserve at closing, and federal rules cap how large that reserve can be.
Under Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.17(c)(1), the servicer may collect enough at settlement to cover charges attributable to the period before the first payment date, plus a cushion that "shall be no greater than one-sixth (1/6) of the estimated total annual payments from the escrow account." One-sixth works out to two months of escrow.
Federal Regulation X (12 CFR 1024.17(c)) caps the escrow cushion at one-sixth of estimated annual escrow disbursements — about two months. A lower hazard premium shrinks both the monthly escrow and that cushion.
Accordingly, every dollar of annual premium you remove with wind mitigation credits comes off the monthly escrow and also reduces the cushion collected at closing. If you are curious how a later premium increase can create an escrow shortage, our breakdown of the escrow shortage and annual analysis mechanics walks through the same Regulation X math in another county.
Where It Lands On The Loan Estimate
The Loan Estimate is governed by Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.37, and the hazard premium shows up in three places. Here's how each one maps to the insurance number:
- Projected Payments (page 1). The Estimated Escrow row includes one-twelfth of the annual premium, and the Estimated Taxes, Insurance and Assessments box shows the monthly total and whether it is escrowed.
- Prepaids (page 2, Section F). The homeowner's insurance premium line typically shows the first year's premium, which Florida carriers generally require paid in full at binding.
- Initial Escrow Payment at Closing (page 2, Section G). This line shows the number of months of insurance and taxes collected to seed the account, within the cushion limit above.
As a result, a change in the premium after the Loan Estimate is issued can change the Closing Disclosure. Remember that the premium is a third-party charge you select, so the lender re-discloses it rather than absorbing the difference.
How Insurance Changes Your DTI
Your lender does not qualify you on principal and interest alone. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide B3-6-02, Debt-to-Income Ratios (04/02/2025), includes the full PITIA housing payment — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and association dues — in the ratio.
The same section sets a 36% maximum for manually underwritten loans, extendable to 45% when the borrower meets the credit score and reserve requirements in the Eligibility Matrix. For loans underwritten through Desktop Underwriter (DU), the maximum allowable DTI is 50%.
| Underwriting path (Fannie Mae B3-6-02, 04/02/2025) | Maximum total DTI |
|---|---|
| Manually underwritten | 36% |
| Manually underwritten, credit score and reserve requirements met | Up to 45% |
| DU loan casefile | 50% |
Yes. Fannie Mae B3-6-02 counts the full PITIA payment, including hazard insurance, in DTI. A lower premium from wind mitigation credits lowers both the housing ratio and the total DTI.
A Worked 2026 Miami-Dade Example
The example below follows one buyer through two scenarios on the same house. Every premium, tax, and rate figure is illustrative — Miami-Dade premiums vary widely by ZIP code, construction, carrier, and deductible, and your tax bill depends on the Property Appraiser's assessment and your millage.
Illustrative assumptions. A 1998 concrete-block single-family home in Miami-Dade, purchase price $550,000, 20% down, $440,000 30-year fixed loan at an assumed 6.25% note rate. Gross monthly income of $15,000, other monthly debts of $2,500, and an assumed annual property tax bill of $10,000.
Because the home is more than 20 years old, a Citizens application would require a 4-point inspection, and most private carriers will ask for one as well. The seller also provides a wind mitigation report showing a hip roof, secondary water resistance, and opening protection on all glazed openings.
Scenario A: No Wind Mitigation Credits Applied
Suppose the buyer's agent quotes the policy without the report on file, at an illustrative $9,600 per year. That adds $800 per month to escrow on top of $833 per month for taxes.
Scenario B: Credits Applied After The Report Is Submitted
Once the report is submitted, assume the same carrier re-rates the policy to an illustrative $6,720 per year after its filed credits apply. The monthly insurance escrow falls to $560, and the two-month cushion shrinks accordingly.
| Line item (illustrative) | Scenario A: no credits | Scenario B: credits applied |
|---|---|---|
| Principal and interest ($440,000 at 6.25%, 30 years) | $2,709 | $2,709 |
| Property tax escrow ($10,000 / 12) | $833 | $833 |
| Hazard insurance escrow | $800 | $560 |
| Monthly housing payment (PITI) | $4,342 | $4,102 |
| Housing ratio ($15,000 income) | 28.9% | 27.3% |
| Total DTI (with $2,500 other debts) | 45.6% | 44.0% |
| Two-month insurance cushion at closing | $1,600 | $1,120 |
In this example, the credits lower the monthly payment by $240 and pull total DTI from 45.6% to 44.0%. For a DU loan the buyer qualifies either way, but on a manually underwritten file the credits are the difference between exceeding and meeting the 45% ceiling.
Scenario C: The 4-Point Comes Back With A Problem
Now suppose the 4-point shows a roof near the end of its useful life, and the carrier declines to write the home. If the only available replacement quote is, illustratively, $12,000 per year, the insurance escrow rises to $1,000 per month.
That pushes PITI to $4,542 and total DTI to about 46.9% in this example — above the manual-underwriting ceiling. At that point the buyer may want to consider negotiating a roof credit, asking the seller to replace the roof, or re-running the file through DU, all while the inspection contingency is still open.
A failed 4-point can force a new carrier or a required repair, raising the premium. The higher escrow increases PITI and DTI, which can push a manually underwritten loan past its 36% or 45% limit.
Timing The Reports Before You Sign
Because both reports feed the insurance quote, the order of operations matters. Here's a list of the steps that keep the numbers stable between the Loan Estimate and closing:
- Request the seller's existing wind mitigation report first. Check the form version and completion date against the five-year window before ordering a new one.
- Order the 4-point inside the inspection period. Many home inspectors can perform it alongside the general inspection, which keeps any repair negotiation inside your contingency.
- Get a bound-ready quote with both reports attached. Send it to your loan officer so the Projected Payments table reflects the real premium.
- Re-check DTI if the premium moves. Ask your lender to re-run the ratio whenever the quote changes by more than a few hundred dollars a year.
What's more, if the house needs mitigation work, the state's My Safe Florida Home program under section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, has funded inspections and grants in past cycles. Funding status changes, so confirm current availability with the Department of Financial Services before relying on it.
Closing Costs And County Charges That Sit Alongside Insurance
The insurance premium is only one of several Miami-Dade-specific lines on page 2 of the Loan Estimate. Buyers should also review how the Miami-Dade documentary stamp surtax on deeds is allocated in the contract and how Florida documentary stamp and intangible taxes on the mortgage add to cash to close.
After closing, the property tax side of escrow depends on your exemption status. Our guide to Florida homestead portability explains how a transferred assessment difference can change the tax figure your servicer escrows in year two.
Condo Buyers: A Different Set Of Reports
If you are buying a condominium unit, the picture changes. Citizens' FAQ excludes condominium unit risks from its four-point requirement, and the building's master policy — not your HO-6 — carries most of the wind exposure.
In that case, the association's insurance costs arrive through your HOA dues, which count in the "A" of PITIA. For the building-level review that lenders perform, see our explainer on Florida condo financing and project approval and our read on the South Florida condo market.
Putting The Numbers Together
All of these moving parts — the 1802 credits, the 4-point outcome, the escrow cushion, and the DTI limit — resolve into one monthly payment. Overall, the buyer who has both reports in hand before the Loan Estimate is finalized sees fewer surprises at the Closing Disclosure.
For the statewide context on why premiums weigh so heavily in 2026 approvals, read our analysis of the insurance affordability squeeze. For the full sequence of Florida purchase steps, start with the Florida mortgage guide, and compare counties on the HomeWealthMap affordability map.
This article is for informational purposes and is not financial / mortgage / contractor advice. Consult a licensed professional in your jurisdiction.