What Fails a Florida 4-Point Inspection?

A Florida 4-point inspection fails on four things: a roof near the end of its life, an unsafe or uninsurable electrical panel, polybutylene or galvanized plumbing, and an HVAC or water heater past its service life. It is not a pass or fail test in the way people imagine. The inspector reports the age, type and condition of your roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC, and the insurance underwriter decides. Serious hazards generally have to be repaired before a policy is issued.

If you are buying an older Florida home, this report decides whether you can insure it, which decides whether you can finance it. Get it early in your inspection period, not late.

What is a 4-point inspection and when is it required?

It is an insurance inspection, not a home inspection. A licensed inspector documents four systems: roof, electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling. The report goes to the insurance carrier, which uses it to decide whether to write the policy and at what price.

Citizens Property Insurance, the state-created insurer of last resort, requires a 4-point "for all property owner, dwelling ... applications for properties more than 20 years old." Private carriers set their own thresholds, and 30 years is a common one, which is why you will hear both numbers. The practical rule: if the house is over 20 years old, plan on one.

It is a much narrower document than a home inspection. A 4-point will not tell you about the windows, the foundation, the appliances, or the attic framing. You still want a full home inspection. They answer different questions.

What fails: roof

Roof is the most common reason a policy gets declined, and age does most of the work.

Remaining useful life. Most carriers want to see several years left. A shingle roof past roughly 15 years in Florida sun, or past 20, draws scrutiny or a decline depending on the carrier.
Active leaks or visible water staining. An automatic problem.
Prior repairs that look patched rather than replaced. Multiple layers, mismatched shingles, or tar smeared over flashing.
Soft decking, sagging planes, lifted or missing shingles.
No documentation of the roof's age. If you cannot produce the permit or the roofer's invoice, the inspector estimates, and estimates are conservative.

If you are a buyer, pull the roof permit from the county or city before you spend money on inspections. A documented five-year-old roof and an undocumented one that looks five years old are very different to an underwriter.

What fails: electrical

Electrical is where the specific brand names matter, and this is the section buyers understand least.

Problem panel brands. Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok, Zinsco and Sylvania-Zinsco panels are widely refused by carriers because of documented breaker failure-to-trip issues. Challenger panels draw scrutiny too. A decline here is common and the fix is a panel replacement.
Aluminum branch wiring. Single-strand aluminum branch circuit wiring, generally mid-1960s to late 1970s, is a frequent decline. Some carriers accept it if every connection has been remediated with an approved method and an electrician certifies the work. Multi-strand aluminum service entrance cable is normal and not the same issue.
Double taps, also called double lugs. Two conductors under a breaker terminal rated for one. Cheap to correct, routinely flagged.
Knob and tube wiring. Rare in Florida but an automatic problem where it exists.
Cloth-insulated wiring, open splices, missing junction box covers, scorching or rust inside the panel.
Insufficient service. 60-amp service, or anything under 100 amps, is flagged.
No GFCI protection in kitchens, baths, garages and exterior locations.

The Citizens inspection form explicitly calls for photos of the open electrical panel and of noted hazards such as aluminum branch wiring and double taps. The underwriter is going to see these, so there is no benefit in hoping the inspector skips the panel cover.

What fails: plumbing

Polybutylene supply lines. Gray, sometimes blue, flexible plastic pipe installed roughly 1978 to 1995. This is close to an automatic decline with most carriers because of its failure history. Full repipe is the fix, commonly $4,000 to $12,000 on a single-family home depending on size and access.
Galvanized steel supply piping. Corrodes from the inside, restricts flow, eventually leaks. Usually pre-1960s. Flagged or declined.
Cast iron drain lines. Common in older Tampa and St. Petersburg homes. Not always a decline on its own, but a known issue with a 50 to 60 year service life, and a real repair cost you should price before closing.
Active leaks, prior water damage, or corroded shutoffs.
Water heater age. Over about 10 to 15 years draws attention, and a unit past its life with no expansion tank or TPR discharge line gets flagged.

Polybutylene is the one that kills deals. If you are looking at a Florida house built between 1978 and 1995 and the plumbing has not been repiped, assume polybutylene until proven otherwise and get it verified during your inspection period.

What fails: HVAC and water heater

Age past service life. Air handlers and condensers over 15 years, sometimes over 12 with stricter carriers.
Non-functioning system at the time of inspection. An inspector cannot report a system as functional if it does not run.
Rust, corrosion, or visible condensate damage.
No documented service history on an older unit.
Water heater with no TPR valve discharge piped properly or no drain pan where one is required.

Who pays, and when it should happen

Question	How it normally works in Tampa Bay
Who orders it	The buyer, through their insurance agent, during the inspection period
Who pays	The buyer. It is an insurance cost, not a seller obligation
Typical cost	Often $100 to $200, and frequently bundled with wind mitigation for less than the two separately
When	Same visit as the home inspection, in the first few days of the inspection period
How long it stays valid	Carriers commonly accept reports up to a few years old, but many want one dated within 12 months

Fitting it into the inspection period is the part people fumble. Here is the sequence I use: order the home inspection, the 4-point and wind mitigation for the same visit on day one or two. Get the reports to the insurance agent immediately. Have a bindable quote in hand before the inspection period expires.

Why it has to be that fast: if the 4-point produces a decline, you need time to either negotiate the repair with the seller, get quotes, shop other carriers, or walk. Discovering a polybutylene decline on day 13 of a 15-day inspection period leaves you no options at all.

Wind mitigation, the report that pays you back

Order wind mitigation at the same time. The 4-point can cost you a policy. Wind mitigation can save you serious premium.

A wind mitigation inspection documents wind-resistant features so you can qualify for discounts. Citizens describes its purpose as letting homeowners qualify for premium discounts by proving approved wind-resistant features, and it also flags where improvements could earn additional discounts. Florida law requires insurers to provide discounts for documented windstorm mitigation features.

What it looks for: roof covering and its code compliance, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections such as clips or straps, roof geometry, a secondary water resistance barrier, and opening protection like impact windows or shutters.

The discounts are not trivial. On a home with hip roof geometry, documented roof-to-wall straps and full opening protection, the wind mitigation credits can reduce the windstorm portion of a Florida premium substantially. Spending an extra $75 on this report is the easiest money you will make in the transaction.

From my desk

I had buyers under contract on a 1984 single-family home in east Hillsborough. Nice house, well kept, priced fairly. Home inspection came back clean enough that they were ready to move on.

The 4-point found two things. The panel was a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok, and the supply plumbing was polybutylene. The sellers genuinely did not know about either one. They had lived there a long time and nothing had ever leaked or tripped.

Three carriers declined. The quotes we did get were priced as if the house were uninsurable, which effectively it was in its current condition.

We got real numbers: around $2,600 for the panel replacement and a repipe bid just over $8,000. Then we took it back to the sellers as a documented problem with documented costs, not as a complaint. They agreed to a credit that covered most of it, and the buyers closed and did both jobs in the first month.

Everyone came out fine, and the only reason is that we ran the 4-point on day two. On day twelve that deal dies. My take: order the 4-point and wind mitigation with your home inspection on an older house, every single time. It is the cheapest insurance against losing your deposit or your deal.

Frequently asked questions about Florida 4-point inspections

The four most common failures are a roof with little remaining life or active leaks, a problem electrical panel such as Federal Pacific Stab-Lok or Zinsco along with aluminum branch wiring and double taps, polybutylene or galvanized supply plumbing, and an HVAC system or water heater past its service life. Serious hazards generally must be repaired before a carrier issues a policy.

When is a 4-point inspection required in Florida?

It depends on the carrier and the age of the home. Citizens Property Insurance requires one for properties more than 20 years old. Many private carriers use a 30-year threshold. If the home is over 20 years old, plan on needing one.

Who pays for the 4-point inspection?

The buyer, normally arranged through their insurance agent during the inspection period. It is an insurance requirement rather than a seller obligation, and it typically costs $100 to $200, often less when bundled with wind mitigation.

Is polybutylene plumbing an automatic decline?

With most Florida carriers it is close to one. Polybutylene supply lines, gray or blue flexible plastic installed roughly 1978 to 1995, have a failure history that leads carriers to decline coverage. A full repipe, commonly $4,000 to $12,000, is the usual fix.

What is the difference between a 4-point and a wind mitigation inspection?

A 4-point reports the age and condition of the roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC, and determines whether a carrier will insure the home. Wind mitigation documents wind-resistant construction features so you can qualify for premium discounts. One protects your eligibility, the other lowers your price. Order both together.

Sources

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Inspections (4-point requirement, age threshold, four systems, wind mitigation purpose)
Citizens 4-Point Inspection Report Form (photo requirements including aluminum branch wiring and double taps)
Fla. Stat. 627.0629 (required windstorm mitigation discounts)

Last updated October 2026. By Barrett Henry, Broker Associate, REMAX Collective, leader of The NOW Team. 23+ years of real estate experience, REMAX Hall of Fame 2024, e-PRO, MRP, SRS. Carrier rules vary. Confirm requirements with your own insurance agent.

Buying an older Tampa Bay home?

Call or text me at (813) 733-7907. I will get the 4-point and wind mitigation ordered on day one so an insurance surprise never costs you the deal.

Barrett Henry, Broker Associate, REMAX Collective. Valrico, Brandon, Riverview and Tampa Bay.