What Is a 4-Point Inspection?

A 4-point inspection is a focused evaluation of four specific systems in your home — roofing, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC — that is required for certain homes (most often age-based) by your insurance company in the state of Florida to determine whether those systems are in acceptable condition for coverage. It is not a general home inspection. It is a targeted, insurance-driven assessment that documents the age, type, condition, and material of each system, supported by photographs, and submitted to your insurer as part of the underwriting process.

If you own a home in Florida and have been asked for a 4-point inspection, it is because your insurance company wants to understand the risk they are taking on before issuing or renewing your policy. The inspection exists entirely for their benefit — it tells them whether the four systems most likely to generate costly claims are in working order, or whether there are conditions present that they are not willing to insure. That is the full scope of what this inspection does. It answers the insurance company’s questions about four systems and nothing else. Approximately 73% of all housing units in Lee County are over 20 years old and would require a 4-point inspection when changing insurance companies or shopping around, that’s roughly 3 out of every 4 homes in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, North Fort Myers and surrounding areas. This average is about the same all for of Southwest Florida including Collier and Charlotte Counties.

Who Can Perform the Inspection

The inspection must be completed, signed, and dated by a verifiable Florida-licensed professional. Citizens and most private carriers accept the following: a licensed home inspector, a general, residential, or building contractor, a building code inspector, a registered architect, a professional engineer, or a building code official authorized by the State of Florida to verify building code compliance. A trade-specific licensed professional — such as an electrician or a plumber — may sign off only on the section of the form that falls within their trade.

What This Inspection Is Not

A 4-point inspection is not a home inspection. A full home inspection is a comprehensive evaluation of the entire property — structure, foundation, interior, exterior, windows, doors, insulation, ventilation, appliances, and much more. It is typically performed for the benefit of the buyer during a real estate transaction and is designed to give the buyer a complete picture of the property’s condition.

A 4-point inspection does none of that. It answers four specific questions for the insurance company and nothing else. It does not evaluate anything outside of those four systems, it does not assess the overall condition of the home, and it is not performed for the benefit of the homeowner — though the information it reveals can certainly be useful. If the inspection identifies a Federal Pacific panel in your garage or polybutylene supply lines in your walls, that is something you now know about regardless of what the insurance company does with it.

Unlike a wind mitigation inspection, which is not a pass-or-fail evaluation, a 4-point inspection is. Each category or item is marked either Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. If even one item is marked Unsatisfactory, insurance companies will require a passing report before they will insure you. Some issues are outright deal-breakers for most carriers — Federal Pacific panels, polybutylene piping, a roof with no remaining useful life. Others are conditions a carrier may accept with an endorsement, a higher premium, or a requirement that the issue be corrected within a specified timeframe, but this is not a common occurrence. Since Hurricane Ian, insurance companies have grown increasingly strict, and by limiting yourself to the smaller pool of companies willing to make exceptions, you may be missing out on a better rate elsewhere (I’m not an insurance agent, so that is just speculation on my part). Many homes — particularly newer construction or well-maintained homes that have had systems updated over the years — go through the process without any issues at all.

A Note About This Site This site is focused specifically on 4-point inspections as they apply to homes in Southwest Florida — primarily the Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples, Punta Gorda, and surrounding Lee and Collier County areas. This is the region we know best, and the examples, photos, and references throughout this site will reflect that.

Florida is a large and geographically diverse state, and while the 4-point inspection process and form are used statewide, some construction types, building code requirements, insurance carrier preferences, and regional considerations can vary depending on where you live. If you are outside of the Southwest Florida area, the general information here will still be useful, but there may be differences that apply to your specific region that are not covered on this site.