Wind Mitigation Credits
Wind Mitigation Credits and Your Homeowner’s Insurance
Are You Taking Advantage of Wind Mitigation Credits?
The State of Florida requires insurance companies to offer discounts for protecting your home against damage caused by windstorms. These discounts are known as Wind Mitigation Credits and are offered after a certified inspection is done to your home.
What Does a Wind Mitigation Include?
Florida wind mitigation inspectors examine these key safety features:
- Roof Shape
- Roof Bracing of Gable End
- Roof Deck Attachment
- Roof Covering
- Roof-to-Wall Connections
- Secondary Water Resistance
- Doors
- Protection of Openings (windows and other openings)
These features are evaluated to determine how wind resistant your home is with its current features. All Florida homes built after 2002 were constructed to specific safety codes that will likely result in some savings to you. If your roof has not been replaced since before 2002 but was built after 1974, we still recommend having a wind mitigation inspection. Based on how it was constructed, there are some features of the roof that you may still qualify for discounts.
There are a few cost-effective measures you can take to safeguard your home and reduce your hurricane-wind premium. A few examples would be securing your roof with hurricane clips or wraps and hurricane protecting your windows, doors and other openings to your home. To qualify for the opening protection credit, all window and openings must be protected by wind impact resistant glass. This also includes a hurricane resistant garage door.
Awind mitigation certificate is good for five years. After that time, a new inspection will be required to make sure that you still qualify for these credits. In order to receive the greatest amount of discounts available to you, proof of your home’s wind mitigation features must be submitted to your insurance company.