Do impact windows and doors lower your insurance?

What counts

Which openings does the insurance credit look at?

Question 9 of the state form, opening protection, looks at every opening in the house. Gable vents are the only openings it leaves out.

• Glazed openings

  Windows and sliders

  Every window, sliding glass door and glass entry door must have impact protection with a product approval to reach the top levels.

• Non-glazed openings

  Solid entry doors

  A solid door without glass is graded on its own row. A rated door helps; an unrated one can pull the answer down.

• Non-glazed openings

  Garage doors

  The form counts garage doors. A garage door with glass needs impact protection; a solid one needs a wind-pressure rating.

• Glazed openings

  Skylights

  Skylights are openings too. The form tests them with a lighter missile, but they still have to be protected.

Step by step

How do you get the credit for impact windows and doors?

1. 01

   Check your current form

   Ask your agent for the wind-mitigation form on file and the Notice of Premium Discounts your insurer must send at every renewal. It shows your current answer for question 9.

2. 02

   Protect every opening

   Plan windows, sliders, entry doors and the garage door together. One unprotected opening can drop the whole house to the weakest answer.

3. 03

   Permit and final

   Impact windows and doors are permitted work. Keep the permit number and the passed final inspection: they are part of your proof.

4. 04

   Keep the approvals

   For each product, keep a Miami-Dade NOA or an HVHZ-rated Florida Product Approval number. The inspector needs it to mark the opening as verified.

5. 05

   Book the inspection

   A licensed home inspector with mitigation training, a building code inspector, a licensed general, building or residential contractor, an engineer or an architect can sign the form. The inspector sets the fee; My Safe Florida Home inspections are free if you qualify.

6. 06

   Send it to your insurer

   Give the signed form and photos to your agent. Your insurer applies its own credit to the windstorm premium. It may pay for its own check of the form.

Realistic expectations

How much will you save?

We don't publish a savings percentage or a dollar figure. Each insurer files its own credits with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

Check it yourself

Where does this come from?

Only Florida law, state agencies and nonprofit or federal research. Each link says what it backs up.

1. Florida Statutes §627.0629: insurers must file wind-mitigation discountsInsurers' rate filings must include actuarially reasonable discounts or credits for wind-loss features, including roof strength, roof covering, roof-to-wall strength, opening protection and window, door and skylight strength; insurers must describe their mitigation discounts on their website (since Oct 1, 2023); premium notices separate the hurricane premium from the rest; insurers may file plans based on nonprofit standards such as FORTIFIED.
2. Florida Statutes §627.711: notice of discounts and the uniform inspection formInsurers must notify you of discount ranges at issue and renewal; who may sign the form (licensed home inspectors with mitigation training, building code inspectors, general/building/residential contractors, engineers, architects); insurers must accept a form signed by them; the insurer may pay for an independent check of the form; false forms are a first-degree misdemeanor.
3. Form OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26), Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form (PDF)The nine questions (building code, region, roof slope, roof covering, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall, roof geometry, sealed roof deck/SWR, opening protection); answer options and thresholds; every attribute in questions 2–9 needs a photo or document; a FORTIFIED certificate may validate questions 4–6 and 8–9; openings in need of replacement disqualify mitigation credits.
4. Florida OIR: Wind Mitigation ResourcesForm OIR-B1-1802 was updated effective April 1, 2026 after the 2024 wind-loss study; the form is valid up to five years if nothing material changes; OIR's list of state mitigation programs.
5. Form OIR-B1-1655, Notice of Premium Discounts for Hurricane Loss Mitigation (PDF)Discounts apply only to the hurricane-wind part of the premium; discounts are not added together and stop at the insurer's maximum; securing the roof and protecting windows are named the two most cost-effective steps.
6. Florida DFS consumer guide: Premium Discounts for Hurricane Loss Mitigation (PDF)Discounts apply only to windstorm coverage; the inspector documents features with photographs; take the form to your insurer; the new form is required for inspections on or after April 1, 2026; a form is valid five years; hurricane garage doors or bracing kits can count.
7. Florida DFS: Mitigation Notices, Inspections and FormsInsurers must send the Notice of Premium Discounts at issue and every renewal.
8. Florida Statutes §215.5586: My Safe Florida Home ProgramEligibility (homestead, site-built, owner-occupied single-family; grant: insured value $700,000 or less, built before Jan 1, 2008, program inspection within 24 months, low- or moderate-income); $2 state for every $1 up to $10,000; low-income applicants need no match; eligible items (exterior doors, garage doors, windows, skylights, roof-to-wall, roof-deck, secondary water resistance and roof covering); the program may require all openings be done; permits and licensed contractors required; 18 months to finish.
9. My Safe Florida Home (Florida DFS)Free wind-mitigation inspections and grants up to $10,000 for approved upgrades: windows, exterior and garage doors, roof-deck and roof-to-wall improvements, secondary water barrier; apply through the program portal.
10. My Safe Florida Home: Is funding currently available?Current application status; applicants go through a prioritization questionnaire and are placed in inspection or grant groups.
11. Citizens Property Insurance: InspectionsFour-point inspection for homes over 20 years old; roofs over 25 years (shingle) or 50 years (tile, metal, concrete, slate) need proof of at least five years of remaining useful life, or proof of full roof replacement; wind-mitigation forms are reviewed by underwriters.
12. FEMA P-804 (2023) overview: Wind Retrofit Guide for Residential Buildings (PDF)FEMA's Basic, Intermediate and Advanced retrofit packages: sealing the roof deck and improving deck attachment and roof edges come first; protecting windows, doors and garage doors from windborne debris comes next; then a continuous load path.
13. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Hurricane hazardsHurricane-force winds (74 mph or more) can destroy buildings; debris such as roofing material and signs becomes flying missiles.
14. Florida Building Commission: Product Approval searchLook up a Florida Product Approval number for a window, door or roof product.
15. Miami-Dade County: Product Control (NOA) searchLook up a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA).
16. UF/IFAS EDIS: Install Window Shutters (Wind Damage Mitigation series)Background: a UF/IFAS fact sheet on protecting windows with shutters (archived 2005 Wind Damage Mitigation series).
17. Insurance Information Institute: 12 ways to lower your homeowners insurance costsInsurers may reward shutters, impact-resistant roofing and FORTIFIED, but savings vary by state, insurer and whether the work is verified.
18. Insurance Information Institute: Hurricane and windstorm deductiblesHow percentage hurricane deductibles work: a percent of the insured value, not of the loss.