---
title: "What a 4-point Inspection Checks, and What Fails One, in Florida"
description: "A 4-point inspection checks a Florida home's roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC so an older house can be insured. What it covers, costs, and what fails one."
published: "2026-07-08"
canonical: "https://blog.saltharborrealestate.com/blog/4-point-inspection"
author: "Everitt Gill"
---

A 4-point inspection is a focused report on a home's four major systems (roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC) that Florida insurers require before they will write or renew a homeowners policy on an older house, usually one 30 years or older. It is narrower than a full home inspection, covering only the four systems a carrier worries will cost it a claim. A licensed inspector spends about 30 to 60 minutes confirming each system is sound, fills out a standard form, and the insurer reads that form to decide whether to cover the house.

Most people meet this requirement the hard way. You go to bind a policy on an 1890s cottage a few blocks off Centre Street, the agent asks for a four-point, and suddenly you are scheduling an inspector you did not know you needed. On an island where a good share of the houses predate the inspection itself, it comes up almost every week.

## Why do Florida insurers require one?

Insurers ask for a four-point because an older home's roof, wiring, pipes, and air conditioning are the parts most likely to fail and trigger an expensive claim. Once a house passes 30 years (some carriers draw the line at 25 or 40), the insurer can no longer assume those systems are in good shape, so it wants proof before taking the risk. No passing report, no policy, and on a financed purchase, no policy means no closing.

The requirement shows up most on homes built before the mid-1990s, which around here is a long list. The [historic district](https://blog.saltharborrealestate.com/blog/amelia-island-historic-district) runs to houses framed in the 1880s and 1890s, many still carrying knob-and-tube remnants or a panel from a long-gone brand. The postwar neighborhoods and the first Yulee subdivisions are crossing the 30-year mark now too. If you are buying or refinancing one of these, the lender's insurance requirement and the carrier's four-point requirement tend to land on your desk the same day.

[Florida's homeowners market](https://blog.saltharborrealestate.com/blog/florida-homeowners-insurance-cost) has tightened over the past few years, and carriers have grown stricter about what they will accept on the form. A roof that would have slid through a decade ago can stop a policy cold today.

## What does a 4-point inspection check?

The inspector looks at four systems and records the age, condition, and any hazard in each, usually on a standard four-point form (Citizens publishes one; many carriers use their own version). The roof and the electrical panel draw the most scrutiny, because they cause the most claims. Here is what lands on the form:

| System | What the inspector records |
|---|---|
| Roof | Material, age, estimated remaining life, leaks or visible damage |
| Electrical | Panel brand and amperage, wiring type, any safety hazard |
| Plumbing | Supply pipe material, water heater age, visible leaks |
| HVAC | Type, age, and whether it runs and actually heats or cools |

On the roof, the inspector notes the covering (asphalt shingle, metal, or tile), its age, and how many years of life are left. Most carriers want at least three to five years remaining, and more on shingle. Salt air and the flat coastal sun age a roof faster near the water, so an inspector looks for curling, missing tabs, soft decking, and patch jobs that hint at an older leak.

Electrical is where old houses get tripped up. The form records the panel brand, the amperage, and the wiring. Certain panels are near-automatic red flags: Federal Pacific Stab-Lok, Zinsco, Challenger, and old Sylvania units have a history of failing to trip a breaker when they should. Fuse boxes, knob-and-tube, aluminum branch wiring, and double-tapped breakers all get written up. Coastal humidity does not help. It is common to see rust creeping across a bus bar in a garage panel that has breathed salt air for forty years.

Plumbing comes down to what the pipes are made of. Copper, CPVC, and PEX pass without comment. Polybutylene (the gray plastic supply line common in homes built from 1978 to 1995) and galvanized steel are the two materials that draw a decline, because both are known to fail: polybutylene gets brittle and splits at the fittings, and galvanized corrodes shut from the inside. The inspector also logs the water heater's age and looks for leaks under sinks and at the heater itself. In the oldest homes, original cast iron drain lines show up here too.

HVAC is the most forgiving of the four, but it still has to work. The inspector records whether the home has central air, how old the system is, and whether it actually cools on the day of the visit. A dead condenser or an air handler that has rusted out in a hot attic will get noted.

## How much does a 4-point inspection cost in Florida?

A 4-point inspection in Florida usually runs $50 to $150, with most landing around $100. The price moves with the inspector, the size of the house, and whether you bundle it with other reports. If you are already paying for a full home inspection at purchase, many inspectors add the four-point form for a small extra fee or fold it in. Turnaround is quick, often the same day or the next.

Who can perform it depends on the carrier. Most accept a licensed home inspector. Some want a general or specialty contractor, and a few will take an engineer. The report is short-lived compared with other insurance paperwork: carriers generally want one no older than a few months to a year, so a four-point you pulled three years ago will not help you on today's policy.

The [wind mitigation inspection](https://blog.saltharborrealestate.com/blog/wind-mitigation-inspection-cost) is a separate report with its own price and a five-year shelf life. If you want [the two compared side by side](https://blog.saltharborrealestate.com/blog/wind-mitigation-and-4-point-inspection), and the right order to schedule them when you are prepping an older home for sale, that is its own question with its own answer.

## What fails a four-point, and can you fix it?

A four-point fails when one of the four systems is at or past the end of its safe life, or uses a material carriers treat as a liability. The common deal-breakers:

- A roof with fewer than three to five years of life left, or active leaks
- An outdated or recalled electrical panel (Federal Pacific, Zinsco, Challenger), a fuse box, or knob-and-tube wiring
- Aluminum branch wiring or double-tapped breakers left uncorrected
- Polybutylene or galvanized supply plumbing
- Active leaks, corrosion, or water damage under the house or around the heater
- A water heater past its service life or leaking
- An HVAC system that no longer runs or cools

A failed item does not always mean you are uninsurable. Often the path is to fix the flagged system (swap the panel, repipe the house, put on a new roof) and have the inspector re-verify, or to bind a policy on the condition that the repair happens within a set window. The form is a snapshot, and a snapshot can be retaken once the work is done.

## How to get ahead of one before you list or buy

If you are selling an older home, order the four-point before you list, not after you are under contract. Knowing the roof has two years left changes how you price the house and how you answer a buyer's insurance questions, and it keeps a surprise from blowing up a closing in the final week. Buyers should treat the four-point as part of due diligence: a clean report means a smooth policy, and a rough one is a negotiating point rather than just bad news.

When we list a pre-1995 home in the historic district or out in Nassau County, our team at Salt Harbor usually walks the seller through the likely four-point flags early, because the panel and the pipes tend to be where a 1960s house quietly fails a modern carrier. Catching it in week one is a price conversation. Catching it in week six is a fire drill.

The inspection itself is the easy part. What it turns up is what matters, and on the island, where so much of the housing predates every one of these standards, the smart move is to [know what the inspector will find](https://blog.saltharborrealestate.com/blog/how-to-pass-a-4-point-home-inspection) before they climb into the attic.