What Fails a 4-Point Inspection in Florida?

Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok panels are the single most common electrical decline we find, especially in Jacksonville's mid-century neighbourhoods and older Clay and Putnam County housing. Independent testing has repeatedly shown high rates of breakers failing to trip under overload. The panels were never formally recalled in the United States, which surprises people, but the insurance market has effectively made its own decision — the large majority of carriers will not write a home with one.

Zinsco and Sylvania-Zinsco panels have a related problem: the breaker-to-bus connection degrades and the breaker can remain energised while appearing to be off. Challenger panels have a history of loose bus bar connections and heat damage. All three are routinely declined. If you have one, expect to replace it. A standard 200-amp service replacement generally runs in the low thousands, and it is a permitted job in every county we work in.

Beyond panel brand, we flag aluminium branch circuit wiring, which appeared widely in mid-1960s to mid-1970s construction and expands and contracts at connections in a way that causes overheating. It is not automatically uninsurable, but carriers usually want documentation that connections have been properly remediated. We also write up double-tapped breakers, missing or non-functional GFCI protection at kitchens, baths, exteriors and garages, open junction boxes, and any evidence of scorching. Several of those are cheap fixes that materially change how the report reads.

Polybutylene supply piping is the plumbing finding that most reliably ends a policy conversation. It is a grey, sometimes silver or black, flexible plastic pipe installed in homes roughly between 1978 and 1995, and it was used in enormous volume across Florida. It degrades from the inside out and fails without visible warning. A nationwide class action settlement funded re-plumbing for hundreds of thousands of homes, but that claim window closed years ago, so remaining installations are the owner's problem.

Look at the pipe stubbing out at the water heater and under sinks, and check the main entry point. Grey plastic pipe with crimped metal or plastic bands is the classic signature. Copper stub-outs at fixtures do not prove the house is clear — plenty of homes had visible sections swapped while the runs inside the walls stayed polybutylene. Most carriers decline it outright.

The other plumbing findings we write up frequently: cast iron drain lines in pre-1975 homes, which in Florida conditions are often at or past service life; active leaks or staining at supply connections; corrosion at the water heater fittings; and water heaters past roughly 12 to 15 years. Carriers vary on water heater age, but an old tank in a conditioned space with no pan and no drain is a claim waiting to happen and reads that way on the form.

Roof condition drives more 4-point outcomes in this market than anything else, and Florida law has shaped how that works. Under the current statutory framework an insurer generally cannot refuse to write or renew solely because a roof is under 15 years old. Once a roof passes 15 years, you have the right to submit an inspection showing at least five years of remaining useful life, and if the report supports that, coverage should continue.

That makes the roof section of the 4-point consequential. We document the covering type, the age from permit records where available, and the actual condition: granule loss, cupping or curling at shingle edges, exposed or corroded fasteners, cracked or displaced tile, failed sealant at penetrations, condition of flashing at walls and chimneys, and any evidence of prior repairs done without permits. Inside, we look for staining at the deck and for daylight at penetrations.

The findings that end it are active leaks, widespread covering failure, structural sag, and tarped or unrepaired storm damage. In coastal Volusia and Flagler stock we also see a lot of fastener corrosion on metal roofs that looks minor from the ground and is not. If you know your roof is marginal, get a roof inspection before you order the 4-point. It costs less to know first.

Air conditioning works harder in Northeast Florida than almost anywhere, and it shows up in the numbers. Carriers pay close attention to system age, and systems past roughly 15 years start attracting questions. Age alone is not usually a decline, but age plus poor condition frequently is.

The conditions we document: whether the system cools adequately at the register, the state of the condensate line and secondary drain pan, rust or biological growth in the air handler cabinet, disconnected or crushed flexible duct, deteriorated duct insulation, and whether there is a functioning safety float switch. Condensate is the item homeowners find surprising and insurers care about, because a blocked drain line in a closet air handler produces exactly the slow interior water damage that generates expensive claims.

On coastal properties from Atlantic Beach down through New Smyrna Beach, we add condenser condition to that list. Salt air eats coils and cabinet fasteners, and a ten-year-old condenser two blocks from the ocean often looks considerably older than the same unit in Middleburg.

Do the cheap items first. GFCI receptacles, a missing water heater drain pan, a clogged condensate line, a loose panel cover, a missing breaker filler plate — each of those is minor money and each removes a line item from the report. We would rather write a clean report than a long one.

Gather documentation before we arrive. Permits for the roof, the panel and the re-plumb; the roofing contract with an install date; HVAC service records. Documented age beats estimated age every time, and estimated age defaults conservative.

Then be realistic about the big four. If you have an FPE panel, polybutylene, a 22-year-old roof or a failing air handler, the report will say so, and no amount of preparation changes it. What you can control is timing — finding out in June gives you options that finding out during a renewal deadline in October does not. If you are buying in Jacksonville, Palatka or Green Cove Springs, order the 4-point during the inspection period rather than after closing.