The four-point inspection and Florida home insurance in 2026

Last updated: July 2026

A four-point inspection in Florida is a limited report on four systems of a home: the roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. Insurers use it to decide whether they will bind or renew coverage on an older house, and most private carriers ask for one once a home reaches roughly 25 to 30 years of age. Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer of last resort, requires a four-point inspection on multiperil applications for homes more than 20 years old [1]. The report is not a pass-or-fail home inspection and it is not the same as a wind mitigation inspection. It looks only at the age, condition, and remaining useful life of those four systems, and its main job is to tell an underwriter whether the house is an acceptable risk. For a Miami buyer purchasing a home built in the 1990s or earlier, the four-point inspection often sits on the critical path to closing, because a lender will not fund without a bound insurance policy, and a carrier will not bind without a clean report.

What a four-point inspection covers

The four points are the four systems an insurer worries about most because failures there drive expensive claims. An inspector, usually a licensed home inspector or contractor, documents each one:

Roof. Age, covering type, visible condition, and estimated remaining life. This is the system that most often decides the outcome.
Electrical. Panel type, wiring, and any hazards such as older aluminum branch wiring or known-defective panel brands.
Plumbing. Supply and drain materials, water heater age, and signs of active leaks. Polybutylene supply lines are a common flag.
HVAC. Type, age, and working condition of heating and cooling equipment.

The report is a snapshot, not a warranty. It typically must be dated within 12 months of a new-business application for a carrier to accept it [1].

Four-point versus wind mitigation versus a full home inspection

Buyers often confuse these three reports because a home can need all of them in the same transaction. They answer different questions.

The full home inspection

A full home inspection is for the buyer. It walks the entire house, from the foundation to the attic, and produces a long list of defects that can inform repair requests or a decision to walk away. It has no standard insurance form and carriers generally do not read it. Think of it as the buyer's diligence tool.

The wind mitigation inspection

A wind mitigation inspection is for premium, not eligibility. It documents hurricane-resistant construction features, and its focus is largely the roof: covering, deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections, and opening protection. Under Florida law, insurers must give premium credits for qualifying features, so this report can lower the wind portion of a premium. It is optional but usually worth the cost. Our separate note on wind mitigation credits covers that mechanic in depth.

The four-point inspection

The four-point inspection is the eligibility gate. It exists so a carrier can decide whether to write the policy at all. A full home inspection tells the buyer what to fix. A wind mitigation report tells the carrier what to discount. A four-point report tells the carrier whether to say yes. On an older Miami home, a buyer may end up ordering all three, and it helps to plan for that early. If you are mapping out diligence timelines, a buyer consultation is where those inspection sequencing questions get sorted before they threaten a closing date.

Roof age is the pivot point

Of the four systems, the roof is where most deals turn. Carriers set roof-age thresholds that trigger extra documentation or outright decline. On the Citizens guidelines, a soft roof such as asphalt shingle that is older than 25 years, or a hard roof such as tile, slate, or metal older than 50 years, must show at least five years of remaining useful life, and a roof with less than five years left generally requires proof of full replacement before a policy is written [1]. Private carriers set their own thresholds, and many are stricter, which is why a home with a 20-plus-year-old shingle roof can be difficult to insure in the private market even when everything else checks out.

State law puts a floor under the homeowner. Florida Statute 627.7011 bars an insurer from refusing to issue or renew a homeowner's policy solely because of the age of a roof that is less than 15 years old. For a roof that is 15 years or older, the insurer must let the homeowner pay for an inspection by an authorized inspector first, and it may not decline solely on roof age if that inspection shows the roof has five or more years of useful life remaining [2]. The practical takeaway: roof age alone is not an automatic disqualifier, but a roof past the 15-year mark invites scrutiny, and the burden shifts to documenting remaining life.

What this means at a Miami closing

For a buyer, the four-point inspection affects both whether the deal closes and what it costs to carry the home. Two habits keep it from becoming a problem.

First, order inspections early. The report drives the insurance quote, the quote drives the lender's file, and any of those steps can stall a closing. Building the inspection window into the contract timeline, rather than treating it as a formality near the end, keeps the roof from becoming a last-minute renegotiation.

Second, price the roof into the offer. If a home has an aging roof, the eventual cost is not only replacement but the difference in premium, and possibly the difference between a private policy and a Citizens policy. That belongs in the underwriting math on the purchase, the same way you would weight it when reviewing a comparable-based valuation. On the sell side, a documented recent roof and a clean four-point report remove a common objection before it starts, which is one reason a pre-listing listing valuation conversation often includes a look at insurability.

The 2026 market backdrop: Citizens depopulation

The reason four-point and roof documentation carry more weight in 2026 is the state of the market itself. After several hard years, Florida's property insurance market has been stabilizing. Legislative reforms, including the 2022 special-session law commonly cited as SB 2-A, curtailed litigation drivers and reshaped how claims are handled, and new carriers have entered the state.

The clearest signal is Citizens depopulation. Citizens grew into the largest property insurer in Florida when private carriers pulled back. Through 2025, the state-run insurer's depopulation program moved large blocks of policies to private companies, and by the end of 2025 Citizens held fewer than 400,000 policies, down from a peak far above that a year earlier [3]. As policies move to the private market, the receiving carriers apply their own underwriting, and that is where a home's four-point report and roof age matter. A house that was insurable at Citizens may face a stricter private standard on takeout, and a buyer of an older home should assume the private-market bar, not the state-backed one.

None of this is a reason to avoid older Miami homes, many of which are well built and sit on the best lots. It is a reason to treat insurability as part of underwriting the purchase rather than a paperwork step at the end.

Frequently asked questions

At what age does a Florida home need a four-point inspection?

There is no single statewide age. Most private carriers ask for one at roughly 25 to 30 years, while Citizens requires it on multiperil applications for homes more than 20 years old [1]. Your specific carrier's guideline controls.

Is a four-point inspection the same as a home inspection?

No. A home inspection is a full diligence report for the buyer covering the whole house. A four-point inspection is a limited insurance report on four systems, written for the underwriter to decide eligibility.

Can an insurer drop my policy just because my roof is old?

Not solely for age if the roof is less than 15 years old. If the roof is 15 years or older, the insurer must allow an inspection first and may not decline on age alone when an authorized inspector certifies five or more years of remaining useful life [2].

Does a four-point inspection lower my premium?

Not directly. It determines eligibility. The report that can lower premium is the wind mitigation inspection, which documents hurricane-resistant features that earn credits.

How long is a four-point report valid?

Carriers generally want a report dated within the prior 12 months for a new-business application [1]. Requirements vary, so confirm with the specific insurer. General questions like these are collected on our FAQ.

Gabriel

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Gabriel A. Moyers, PA. eXp Realty. Florida License #3407280. Equal Housing Opportunity. This article is general information as of July 2026 and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Verify current figures against authoritative sources before acting.