Four elements of a home are most often covered in an insurance claim: electrical, HVAC, water heater, and roof. Rather than a full review of the whole property, a 4-point inspection covers only those, which makes it quicker and less costly than a standard inspection while still focusing on exactly what your insurer requires.
A 4-point inspection is an examination of a residential or commercial property's electrical, plumbing, roof and HVAC components. It is required by most lenders and insurance companies. Buyers order them because they need to know whether the property meets the criteria to qualify for financing or insurance coverage. Sellers should consider one before listing. If problems surface, you would rather find them than have a buyer's carrier find them for you.
A 4-point gives a general picture of the property's condition, but it will not tell you about appliances, specific plumbing fixtures, or the hundred other things a full inspection covers. A home inspection examines every aspect of the house inside and out: roof, gutters and downspouts, walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors, garages, foundations, crawl spaces, attic, chimneys, water heater, appliances, HVAC equipment, wiring, decks, fences and more. If you are buying, you want the full inspection. The 4-point exists to satisfy your carrier.
A 4-point inspection may be required by an insurance company before a homeowner's policy is written, and carriers ask for one on renewals as well. What they are weighing is liability: the condition of the roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC, and how likely any of the four is to turn into a claim. Knowing what the report will say before you apply for coverage is the difference between shopping carriers on your terms and being declined on theirs.
Inspectors look for an aged HVAC system, checking the ductwork, vents, coils and air filters. Older systems tend to leak more often, and insurers want to know about a potential leak before it becomes a claim.
Want to see the finished product? Look at a sample report.
It should never be used as one. A 4-point exists to answer your insurance carrier's questions about four systems. If you are buying the property, you want a full home inspection as well, and we can perform both in the same visit.
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