How your house is built shows up on your premium

The Concrete Masonry Checkoff, a construction industry group, marked the start of the 2026 hazards season by arguing for more resilient building materials in wildfire and hurricane country. The group exists to make the case for concrete, so read it with that in mind. The underlying point holds anyway: what a house is built from decides how much of a storm it absorbs.

In Florida that shows up on your bill. Carriers here price wind resistance directly, and a wind mitigation inspection is how they learn what your house already has. The inspector documents roof shape, how the roof deck is attached, whether there is a secondary water barrier, and whether your windows and doors are rated for impact. Each of those can earn a credit. The inspection usually costs a couple hundred dollars, and for many homes the credits cover that in the first year. Florida carriers generally treat a report as current for about five years, so if yours is older, or you have replaced the roof or added shutters since, your premium may not reflect work you already paid for.

An independent agent can check whether your wind mitigation credits are actually applied, tell you which upgrades tend to pay for themselves, and re-shop the policy across carriers.