Wind mitigation is a way of minimizing the likelihood of your home damage caused by wind during windstorms. Homeowners and builders include some special features to help homes withstand serious winds. It is the process of making your home more resistant to damage caused by wind. This can save you money on your home insurance.
What Homeowners Need to Know about Wind Mitigation
Wind damage is one of the most prevalent, difficult and most expensive problems an owner of a home can encounter. High or serious winds can dismantle and bring down power lines, tear shingles off your roof, and send debris through your windows. And you don’t have to live in wind damage recurring areas or Tornado Alley or along the Gulf Coast to be affected. Heavy thunderstorms can cause wind gusts of almost 60 mph, which are classified as damaging winds.
Your home insurance may most likely covers windstorms. You may still want to reduce the damage wind may cause your house. This process is called wind mitigation, which may guide or help you:
Make fewer claims on your home insurance
Insurance companies consider your claims history before they make decision if they will cover you. This also determine how much they will charge. It can help you protect your house. This may reduce the number of claims you need to file and make you more attractive to insurers.
Earn discounts on your home insurance
Many insurers reduce your premium just for carrying out a wind mitigation inspection and submitting the report. Many coastal states, including Florida and Louisiana, influence insurance companies to offer discounts for a certified wind mitigation inspection.
It is noteworthy that any homeowner can benefit from a wind mitigation inspection. However those in hurricane- or tornado-prone areas may see the greatest impact on their premium.
This is so because the potential for extensive damage in Tornado Alley and Hurricane Alley has a big influence on insurance prices. Often, insurers charge premiums to homeowners in these areas a hurricane deductible on top of the standard deductible. It covers wind damage after hurricanes and windstorms, but the deductible is a percentage of your home’s value.
What Is a Wind Mitigation Inspection?
A wind mitigation inspection, or windstorm inspection, is a visual analysis and examination to determine the solid of a home and how much wind can affect a home during a windstorm. A licensed general contractor, architect, engineer, building inspector, or home inspector will examine your home at various construction features to determine its ability to withstand strong winds.
Homes where hurricanes are common can take advantage from an inspection since high winds often follow storms. The inspection can identify structural defectives and proffer features to add to your home to minimize losses in hurricanes.
It should be noted that some insurance companies do ask for wind mitigation inspections, your policy might not if it doesn’t cover damage from too much strong winds. Inquire from your insurance agent, and read your policy carefully to know if you need different insurance for windstorm to cover against hurricanes and tornadoes.
Can Wind Mitigation Save You Money on Home Insurance?
Wind mitigation inspections aren’t a necessity for most homeowners insurance. However, if you inspect your home it could lower the premiums you pay for coverage.
It is determined by where you live. Beachfront property owners typically pay higher rates and have the smallest options to protect against wind damage. Notwithstanding where your home is located, wind mitigation can reduce the cost of your home insurance.
For Example, Florida requires insurers to offer discounts to Florida homeowners who protect their homes with wind mitigation features, such as:
- Securing a roof deck attachment to the rafters using hurricane clips
- Covering windows and using hurricane shutters to protect against flying debris
- Installing a hurricane-resistant garage door
- Using hurricane-resistant garage door bracing kits
If you’re surveying on which home to buy, keep in mind that a home’s roof geometry can result in insurance discounts, too. A hip roof, one with a pyramid shape, is the most wind-resistant and might meet up for a wind mitigation discount.
What Does a Wind Mitigation Report Include?
This reports can differ by state and provider. All forms include similar information to gauge structural integrity in the case of strong winds. Florida’s Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form is a good example. In Florida, the form includes information regarding when the home was built to determine if the home qualifies Florida Building Code requirements that were put in place in 2001.
Most forms in addition examine the type of roof covering, the roof deck attachment, the roof shape, and the presence of secondary water resistance to act as a water barrier in the event that the roof is blown off during a windstorm.
4-Point Inspection vs. Wind Mitigation
Like wind mitigation inspections, 4-point home inspections are an evaluation of your home. Insurance companies often ask for a 4-point inspection to analyze and examine the roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC condition before issuing an insurance policy.
Insurers in addition can ask for wind mitigation reports. While a 4-point inspection assesses the well-being of a home’s major systems, a wind mitigation inspection determines and analyzes the structural integrity as it relates to withstanding damages caused by wind.
Inspection requirements may differ from state to state, and not all homes ask for a 4-point inspection or a wind mitigation inspection. Homes over 10 years old are more likely to require a 4-point inspection. Wind mitigation reports are standard in Gulf Coast states where hurricanes are more common.
Conclusion
Your home is one of the largest investment you’ll make. This policy can help you protect it from possible damage. The inspection can help identify the areas that are prone to damage from high winds and precautions taken over those areas and improvement made on them. The report may entail opting for hurricane-resistant glass when installing new windows or having the roofing shingles replaced.