How To Save Thousands Of Dollars On Your Insurance With A Wind Mitigation Inspection

Houses in the Sunshine State are bombarded by different types of weather conditions including extensive rains, fast winds, and hurricanes. This means it’s critical for all homeowners residing in this state to confirm whether their home can withstand these challenges.

Sure, making sizable upgrades and retrofits to your home may cost you a lot of money, but taking these preventative measures will not only save your home in case a storm strikes but will save you a ton of money on your wind coverage.

But how can you evaluate the current wind mitigation features you have on your home?

Easy - a wind mitigation inspection that provides you with a comprehensive report on your home’s storm resistance compiled by a qualified professional.

But what does this inspection cover and more importantly, how much does a wind mitigation report save on insurance?

What Is A Wind Mitigation Inspection?

A wind mitigation inspection is an evaluation of a property conducted by a qualified professional. The main goal behind this service is to ascertain which construction features installed on your home improve its resistance to wind damage and hurricanes.

Experts agree that features such as roof-to-foundation attachments and water barriers help houses withstand wind damage. As such, insurance companies are legally required to provide homeowners whose homes have some wind-resistant features with significantly lower premiums on wind coverage.

In most circumstances, a wind mitigation inspection is scheduled right after purchasing a home or making improvements to your roof that increase its resistance.

Upon the completion of the inspection, you’ll receive a report that proves the existence of wind-resistant features on your property. Using this document, you’ll have no problems proving your eligibility for discounts on your insurance premiums.

How Much Does A Wind Mitigation Report Save on Insurance?

As we already mentioned, insurance companies are required to provide discounts and credits on premiums for homeowners who took proactive steps to make their property more resistant to wind damage.

These credits are very relevant because the majority of your policy’s cost comes from the higher potential of hurricane damage. Depending on the location of your property, upwards of 70% of your insurance premium goes to addressing the hurricane risk.

Sadly, many individuals who own older homes skip conducting this inspection because they wrongly believe their premiums can increase if the inspector finds they have no hurricane-resistant features. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Your insurance provider will in fact consider your home as having no wind mitigation construction features in place.

Put differently, a wind mitigation inspection won’t lead to a negative outcome regardless of the circumstances.

But, how much does a wind mitigation report save on insurance?

It’s impossible to come up with an exact estimate as insurance companies have different standards when it comes to valuing wind mitigation features. Each provider will have their own data on the effectiveness of different things. As such, it’s not uncommon to see one provider offering a 5% discount for a clip roof attachment, while the other one will only offer 2% for the same feature.

Thus, the question of the savings themself is impossible to pinpoint with accuracy. Some individuals achieve $100 of annual credit. This may not seem like much, but when you look at it over a longer period and consider an average wind mitigation inspection costs just $125, the inspection will pay for itself in under two years.

Depending on the circumstances, you may save anywhere between 3% and 55% on your wind coverage. This can result in hundreds or thousands of dollars of savings annually.

How To Make Your Home More Resistant To Wind Damage

To make the most of your inspection, it’s best to implement wind-resistant features before calling the inspector.

You can make these improvements:

• Roof deck attachment: replacing the fasteners between the roof deck and framing with a stronger, wind-resistant version prevents the roof from loosening during fast winds.
• Roof-to-foundation anchoring: these anchors fasten the roof structure to the walls of the home and the wall to the foundation. This creates a continuous load path so if a storm hits your home, the wind pressure will travel through the entire home instead of accumulating on the roof.
• Water barriers: you can also install an additional layer of water-resistant material under the shingles to keep the water from penetrating the interior if any tiles or shingles get damaged.
• Hurricane-resistant opening coverings: installing shutters and other protective coverings can prevent rain from entering the home, thereby reducing water damage. These coverings must be rated to resist wind speeds that reach 140 mph. In addition, shutters and impact-rated are less likely to shutter during a storm, which is super important as if any opening is uncovered during a storm, extra pressure can build up under the roof. In extreme cases the lower pressure blowing across the roof combined with the high pressure inside the home could result in utter destruction.

Save Some Cash With Our Reliable Wind Mitigation Inspection

Wind resistant features mentioned today will help your home survive even the toughest of storms. At the same time, making these additions, or simply scheduling a wind mitigation inspection could significantly reduce your insurance premiums.

Even though it’s impossible to determine exactly how much does a wind mitigation report save on insurance, even if your savings end up being just 5% it’s enough to make the inspection worth it.

If you’re ready to schedule a wind mitigation inspection, we’ve got you covered. Here at Certified Inspectors, we take pride in providing the most comprehensive inspections in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Treasure Coast, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter & Pasco Counties. With 30 years of experience in the industry and all the certifications under the sky, you can always count on us to deliver inspection services of unmatched quality, regardless of the season.

Start saving money on your insurance premiums - call (561) 570-6311 or fill out our contact form to book an inspection.