Seven questions on two pages. Knowing what each one is asking is the difference between a form that earns you a discount and one that records a missed opportunity.
OIR-B1-1802 is the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form, issued by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. It is the standard document every Florida insurer accepts as evidence of wind-resistant construction.
It exists because section 627.711 of the Florida Statutes requires property insurers to offer premium discounts for specified construction features. The form is how you prove you have them. No form, no discount, regardless of what the building actually is.
It is short — seven questions — and every inspector completes the same seven, which is what makes the outcome predictable once you know what the property has.
The permit application date, and whether the structure was built to the Florida Building Code. Homes permitted from around 2002 onward sit in a stronger category from the outset. In Miami-Dade and Broward, construction to the 1994 South Florida Building Code counts.
Each covering on the building, its permit date, and whether it meets current code — evidenced by product approval or a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance. A roof with no permit record is a problem here, because the inspector cannot evidence what you are telling them.
What holds the deck down, and this is where the options matter. Staples and widely spaced 6d nails score worst; 8d ring-shank nails at close spacing score best. Dimensional lumber and reinforced concrete decks have their own categories. Verified from inside the attic, not from the ground.
The single most valuable item on the form. The options run Toe Nails, then Clips, then Single Wraps, then Double Wraps, in ascending order of credit. On an older house, moving from toe nails to clips is frequently the largest discount available — and it is another attic item.
Hip, flat, or other. A hip roof — sloping on all four sides — earns a credit because it sheds wind rather than catching it. There is a threshold: the non-hip perimeter has to stay under a defined proportion of the total, so a roof that is mostly hip with a substantial gable section may not qualify.
A sealed underlayment beneath the covering, so a roof stripped of tiles still keeps water out of the building. Either it is there or it is not, and it is usually added during a re-roof.
Impact-rated glazing or shutters across the openings. This is scored on the weakest opening, not the average — so partial protection scores far below full, and one unprotected opening can cost the credit for the whole property. Garage doors count, and they are missed more often than anything else.
The statute limits this, and a form signed by anyone else will be rejected by the carrier. The authorised categories are a licensed home inspector, a certified building code inspector, a licensed general, building or residential contractor, a professional engineer, or a registered architect. Some carriers also accept an inspector they have specifically authorised.
Ask which category your inspector falls into before booking. It is a fair question, it takes ten seconds, and it is cheaper than finding out after the carrier rejects the report.
Questions 3 and 4 — deck attachment and roof-to-wall — carry the most weight and are the only two that require the inspector to get into the attic. An inspection that does not open the hatch cannot complete them properly and is worth substantially less than one that does.
That matters because of a quiet fact about Florida roofs: a great many were re-roofed after the 2004 season, after Wilma, after Irma, after Ian or after Milton, and modern re-roofing practice brings the deck attachment up with it. Clips and straps are often added during that work. None of it gets explained to the owner — it appears as a line on a roofer's invoice, if at all — so the upgrade sits in the attic unclaimed, sometimes for a decade, while the premium is calculated as though the house still has a stapled deck.
The attic was not entered. Two of the three highest-value items cannot be established any other way.
No permit record for the roof. If a previous owner re-roofed without pulling a permit, the county record still shows the old covering and the old date. Resolving it is possible but awkward, and it is much better found before a purchase than after.
One unprotected opening. Opening protection is scored on the weakest point. A single replaced window without an impact rating, or an unrated garage door, drops the whole property to a far lower category.
The form is out of date. It is generally accepted for five years, but it should be redone whenever anything on it changes — a new roof, new windows, new shutters, a replacement garage door. The credit applies from when your carrier has the current form, so delay costs money directly.
Generally five years. Redo it sooner if anything on the form changes — most commonly a re-roof, which usually improves the deck attachment category and sometimes adds secondary water resistance.
No. It has to be completed and signed by one of the authorised categories — licensed home inspector, certified building code inspector, licensed contractor, professional engineer or registered architect. A self-completed form will be rejected.
To your insurer or your agent. Nothing happens automatically; the discount applies from when the carrier has the form, so send it as soon as you have it rather than waiting for renewal.
Then there may be nothing to claim, and an honest inspector will tell you so. The form is still useful in that case because it tells you which upgrades would be worth making at the next re-roof.
Often the newer houses benefit most, because they were built to a stronger code and qualify for the better categories from the outset. A modern build with a hip roof and impact glazing can carry a substantial credit and very frequently is not claiming it.
One call for the inspection, the repair, or just a straight answer about what applies to your property.