After reading various comments regarding four point inspections (Florida inspectors) it got me curious. So I did a search within my state (California) I noticed that other inspectors here seem to use this type of reporting, not all just a few. I understand that this type of report is used for insurance purposes. Is this type of reporting needed here in California? Do insurance companies actually request it here in California, or any other state beside Florida?
Thank in advance
Yes.
Thank you Nick
Does it require any special type of licensing or special training to perform this type of inspection?
Reviving an old thread. I received two calls a couple weeks ago and one today inquiring about a 4-Point inspection requested by insurance companies. One of these calls was an insurance broker. I asked him if the insurance companies sent him any type of 4-point inspection checklist form or advised him on what format they require or will accept for this report. He didn’t know anything about what they required, neither did the two homeowners. They stated that they were given zero guidance on what requirements, ie. format, forms, software, etc. that the insurance company needed. I have called multiple insurance companies but I can’t find the information I need.
I’ve read many threads about Florida 4-point inspections and see that Florida inspectors use forms such as Citizens and Tower Hill. What I’m not able to find out is if insurance companies will accept these same forms here in Cali.
Can someone from California advise me on what format/software/form you use for your 4-Point inspections here?
@gromicko It sounds like you’ve been familiar with 4-points here in California for a while now. Do you have some intel that can point me in the right direction? I’ve already checked in with Ben @ EliteMGA and he sent me the Florida 4-point agreement and advised me that I just need to change the state reference to California. My agreement is in place…I’m so close 
It’s the trend with home owner’s insurance companies, everywhere. Especially after a really bad year for insurance companies. More and more, insurance companies want data and there are only two ways to get it:
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One way is to buy our industry’s software vendors. An insurance company bought Palm Tech, ISN, and HIP. Another bought Home Gauge. And a third just bought Carson Dunlop.
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Pay to gather it themselves using inspectors.
Now every insurance company doing #2 may not always call it a “4-point inspection” but that is, in essence, what they are calling for.
More and more, you are going to see insurance companies require more and more inspections, even on homes where that they already insure, before they re-issue a policy.
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They’re making homeowners order and pay for a 4-point inspection here in California. I just need to know what form they will accept.
I’ll wait for a Cali inspector to chime in…hopefully…
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Ask the carrier.
After doing 4 points in Florida for 18 months, I am waiting for my first request since coming back home for one.
Have a feeling I will be schooling the insurance company when it does.
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All depends on who the “They’re” is. As far as I know, everyone accepts InterNACHI’s Universal 4-point form. But there might be a possibility that some insurance company created their own.
The form is on this page, scroll down: Four-Point Insurance Inspections - InterNACHI®
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That’s been the problem so far. There is no one format all companies accept.
Unlike Flordia where there is an accepted min standard all insurance companies will accept, out here there seem to be no standards (yet). Each individual insurance company has its own unique requirements.
It seems like every report has to be customized to the request.
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Thanks Ian, that’s what its starting to feel like from some initial recon.
A lot of the insurance brokers don’t even know what they want. Try this. Put:
“2024 Updated Version”
on the top of your report.
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I didn’t know this existed. I have gotten a few of these in MN now and everyone involved is clueless to what actually needs to be done and the level of inspection that should take place.
I’m going to make a template based off this form and use it next time. See what happens. Thanks!
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So did you just wing it and the insurance company(s) accepted your off-the-cuff “4-point” inspection report? I’m just worried about winging it, doing the inspection, and having it kicked back and either refunding a fee or figuring it out until its right.
I will be doing this as well. There is a 4-point template in Spectora already for reference. I’ll probably be modifying it or creating a fresh one based off of this universal form. I’ve also reviewed some florida forms to see what images are required to be included and take more than necessary 
Es numero uno!
Well, the first one I did, I just did like a normal inspection. That was a bad idea because the insurance company denied coverage based on too many items in the report, but almost all of them were pretty minor. And there were only a dozen or so items total.
The two I have done since I just focused on big items and that seemed to go better, but yes, I was kinda winging it on what I though the insurance company might be interested in. Having a form and an agreement would be much better.
To answer your question, yes, the insurance company has “accepted” all three reports that I have done.
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Good to know, thanks for the feedback!
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Did you ever gain any traction on these types of inspections in California? If so, how did you market it? Thanks in advance!
Not yet, Only been on my radar for 3 weeks…still working on getting agreements, pricing, and templates dialed in, hence the post.
I’m using Google Local Services marketing “Full Home Inspections” but I just started getting calls for 4-point inspections in the last 3 weeks. I haven’t performed any yet.
I’ll make updates to this thread with success stories once they happen.
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How are inspectors finding the information to some of this fields on the Florida 4-Point Inspection Form??
Mainly the “date” drop downs…
“HVAC date of last inspection” - What if there are no service records and homeowner does know?
“Date of last roofing permit” - How do we get this info? Since when are we pulling permits?
“Date of last roofing update” - If none, can we just go with the year built and fill in a random month and day?
What are you guys doing?
1: HVAC companies often have a written log of service somewhere on the air handler.
If there is an air filter with a date on it, use that date. Also, Ask the home owner.
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I use buildfax (Verisk) to pull permits if the home owner has no paperwork. It works about 85% of the time. It costs $5, just build it into the price of the inspection.
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Same as above. If you can find no paperwork but know when the house was built, put 1/1/{year built}.
Do the best you can, don’t just make it up. If there is no information for compliance, there’s no information and the insurance company underwriters can either write it or not write it. It’s not in your control.
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