Many insurance companies would require a 4-point inspection and a wind mitigation inspection in order to issue home insurance.
4-Point
A 4-point inspection is an examination of the current condition of a house or condominium, reviewing four major systems: Roofing, Electrical, Plumbing and HVAC.
The 4-point inspection aids the buyer in getting a property insurance policy quote, which you’ll need before you can close on your new home or attempting to renew your policy. It’s most often required for properties 30+ years in age but some insurance companies require it on newer properties as well so check with your insurance company prior to the home inspection to know for sure if you’ll need this or not. When you switch from one insurance company to another, you can re-use a 4-point inspection when it is less than 3 years old.
When having a 4-point inspection completed on your new home, the licensed inspector will examine the following systems:
- HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning): Does your home have air conditioning and central heating? If so, what condition are the units in and are there obvious signs of leakage?
- Electrical: Do you know the type of wiring running throughout your house? Homes with aluminum or knob-and-tube wiring present increased fire hazard risks and are commonly uninsurable.
- Plumbing: Are the pipes in your home made of polybutylene, which is known to cause leakage problems? Inspectors will examine pipes to gauge their likelihood of bursting, which could lead to water damage.
- Roofing: Is there apparent shingle damage or cracked tiling on your roof? Inspectors will be looking to determine the condition, materials used, and life expectancy of the roofing system.
Wind Mitigation
Wind mitigation is the process of adding features to your home that help withstand or increase resistance to high winds caused by a major storm or hurricane. Homeowners can receive substantial credits for enhancing their homes with windstorm mitigation features that withstand or are more resistant to high winds.
A homeowner who needs windstorm insurance can often submit the results of this report to their insurer and obtain discounts on their windstorm insurance.
Wind mitigation inspections look for construction features that have been shown to reduce losses in hurricanes. The factors found during the inspection that help determine a home’s stability are the age of the home, to determine what building codes were in place at the time of construction, the age of roof covering with documentation to prove if the roof was installed to any certain building codes, the method of attachment of roof to truss/rafters, the roof to wall attachment style such as toenails, clips, or straps, the shape of the roof which is hip, gable, flat, etc. , the presence of a secondary water resistance barrier, and the opening protection rating of the home. This rating is determined by the rating stickers installed by manufacturers on windows and doors and by any form of hurricane shutters made for the home. The opening protection rating is an all or nothing factor, so having some rated windows and/or partial shutter will not qualify your home. Additionally, any hurricane shutters will only be visually inspected to ensure there is enough for all openings of the home, thus the shutters will not be installed and/or tested.
- Construction Year: the year your home was built, which tells the home inspector how strict the building codes were
- Roof Covering: the type of roof covering (shingle, tile, etc.) and age of the roof
- Roof Deck: the material your roof deck (i.e. the material your shingles are nailed to) is made of, the type of nails securing the shingles, and how far apart the nails are
- Roof To Wall Attachment: the method used to attach the roof to your walls
- Roof Geometry: the shape and slope of your roof
- Secondary Water Resistance: the type of material between the shingles and roof decking a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen roofing underlayment applied directly to the sheathing to increase water resistance above and beyond the typical felt or synthetic underlayment.
- Opening Protection: whether you have additional protections on openings such as a sunroof, garage door, windows, etc.
