Every wind-mitigation discount in Florida flows through one document: the OIR-B1-1802 Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection form. Insurers price your wind premium off what's checked on it — so understanding the form line-by-line is understanding your own money. Here's the whole document, decoded. (New to the topic? Start with the complete wind mitigation guide.)
The 1802 must be completed by an authorized professional — licensed home inspector, general contractor, building contractor, engineer or architect — typically for $75–$150, in under an hour. Once signed, it's valid for five years, and you submit it directly to your insurer (or agent) to trigger the statutory credits. Photos are mandatory throughout: every answer must be documented, which is why attic access and paperwork prep decide how smoothly your inspection goes.
The form first establishes your home's code era. Homes permitted under the 2001 Florida Building Code (effective March 2002) or later — or, in Miami-Dade/Broward, the 1994 South Florida Building Code — earn baseline credit automatically, because post-Andrew construction standards are the reason the modern code exists. Older homes aren't shut out; they simply earn their credits feature-by-feature through the questions below.
Roof covering: when your roof was permitted and whether it meets FBC or Miami-Dade product approvals — a new-ish permitted roof is the entry ticket. Roof deck attachment: how the decking is fastened to the trusses; the inspector measures nail type and spacing from the attic, and the difference between 6d nails at wide spacing and 8d nails at 6-inch spacing is a real premium difference. Roof-to-wall attachment: the big one — toe nails score worst, then clips, then single wraps and double wraps, the hurricane straps that hold the roof to the walls. This line routinely produces the form's largest single swing after opening protection.
A hip roof — slopes on all sides, no flat gable ends — sheds wind dramatically better and earns a major credit. The technical test: the form asks whether non-hip features (gables, flat sections) total 10% or less of the roof perimeter. Homeowners with mostly-hip roofs and one decorative gable should pay close attention here — small architectural features can cost real money on this line.
SWR is the sealed layer beneath the covering — a self-adhering membrane or sealed deck that keeps water out even if shingles strip away. It's the credit most often missed simply because it can't be verified without documentation from the roof job; if you're re-roofing anyway, adding SWR and keeping the paperwork is among the cheapest credits you'll ever buy.
The form's final section scores protection on every exterior opening — windows, doors, garage doors, skylights — and it's consistently among the largest credits on the document. The classes that matter: Class A (large-missile impact rated) products — tested against the famous 9-pound 2x4 at ~34 mph — earn the top tier. And the rule that catches everyone: the credit is all-or-nothing. One unprotected opening — a forgotten side-garage window, an unrated skylight — and the entire category drops. Before your inspection, walk the house and count every opening; the discount guide covers the qualifying products, and the 2026 cost guide covers what closing the gaps runs.
Gather permits for roof, window and door work; find product approval documents (NOA/FL numbers) for impact products; clear attic access; photograph nothing yourself — the inspector must — but know where everything is. If the form comes back weaker than expected, remember the My Safe Florida Home grants exist precisely to fund the fixes, $2-for-$1 up to $10,000 — and the strongest single upgrade on the whole form, dollar for dollar, is completing your opening protection.
My Safe Florida Home grant windows open and run out. Insurance rules change every season. The Shield Briefing emails you the day it happens — free, plain English, from this site's team.
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