By Jonathan Merwin, Founder and CEO, Licensed Insurance Advisor
Hampton’s condo market is not just a few complexes off Route 1. The town’s 2024 hazard mitigation plan describes a beach precinct that has been turning seasonal cottages into year-round units and condominiums, and older buildings converted to condo ownership to serve second-home buyers (Hampton Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2024). That growth puts many Hampton condo owners in older buildings, in mapped flood zones or in units they rent for part of the year, and each of those changes what an HO-6 has to do.
Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is an independent, family-owned agency based on Islington Street in Portsmouth, and Seacoast condo owners have been our clients since 2005. We compare 40+ carriers for the unit policy, then check the flood, auto and umbrella pieces against it. Phone (603) 431-4020 or write to insure@portsmouthatlanticins.com.
Key takeaways
- Hampton condo owners are far more likely than owners statewide to live in attached or multi-unit buildings.
- RSA 356-B:43 calls for a master property policy at full replacement value and a master liability policy, unless the instruments say otherwise.
- Flood is not part of that required list. Find out whether your building carries its own flood policy.
- A unit owner’s NFIP policy can cover flood assessments, with limits and exclusions.
- Buyers can ask the association for a written insurance statement before signing.
Hampton condos by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020–2024 estimates, which carry margins of error, and the town’s 2024 hazard plan.
| Hampton | New Hampshire | |
|---|---|---|
| Homes their owners live in that are attached or in multi-unit buildings | more than 1 in 4 | about 1 in 8 |
| Homes their owners live in, in buildings of 20 to 49 units | about 1 in 19 | about 1 in 80 |
| All housing units held for seasonal or occasional use | about 1 in 5 | about 1 in 10 |
| Median year housing was built | 1978 | 1979 |
| Median age of residents | 55 | 43 |
The hazard plan’s 2021 assessment put residential condos at between a fifth and a quarter of the assessed value of every structure in town, second only to single-family homes (Hampton HMP 2024). In other words, a large share of Hampton’s property value sits inside condo associations, and a large share of condo owners are older residents or second-home owners who are not on site all year.
Start with the declaration and the master policy
New Hampshire’s Condominium Act sets the baseline in RSA 356-B:43. Unless the instruments provide otherwise, the association must hold a casualty policy on the structures for fire and extended coverage at their full replacement value, and a liability policy that covers the association, its board, its managing agent, owners and occupants. If the association fails to buy the casualty coverage, unit owners share the replacement cost of repairing common areas equally (RSA 356-B:43). Owners must get written notice when a master policy is bought, changed or terminated, and insurance money from a covered loss goes to repair unless the owners vote to end the condominium.
Maintenance follows a similar default under RSA 356-B:41: the association keeps up the common areas, and each owner keeps up their own unit, unless the instruments assign it differently (RSA 356-B:41). The association needs notice before entering a unit except in an emergency.
Three items decide how much HO-6 you need:
- The unit boundary. Some Hampton declarations hand owners everything from the drywall in; others leave cabinets, fixtures and flooring on the master policy.
- The master deductible. Ask how the board passes a deductible to owners, especially for wind and water losses.
- The flood policy, if any. The master casualty policy does not cover flood. A building in a mapped zone may have a separate association flood policy, or none.
Flood and the condos west of Ashworth Avenue
Hampton has more repetitive flood loss buildings than any other community in New Hampshire, 131 of them, and FEMA data in the hazard plan counts 1,759 NFIP policies and 799 claims since 1975 (Hampton HMP 2024). The plan names the low-lying blocks west of Ashworth Avenue, much of it built on filled marshland, as a place where storm tides can bring three feet of water or more. During Winter Storm Grayson on January 4, 2018, a total water level of 13.24 feet flooded the back marsh, and up to two feet of water stood on Ashworth Avenue. Island Path and Brown Avenue flood on high tides with far less weather behind them.
For a condo owner, flood coverage comes in up to three layers:
- The association’s building flood policy. Under the NFIP this is the Residential Condominium Building Association Policy. It pays first on the building, and the board’s deductible on it falls to owners.
- Your own unit flood policy. An NFIP Dwelling Form on a condo unit covers your belongings and the parts of the unit the association policy does not reach, and it can pay your share of a flood assessment up to your Coverage A limit. It will not pay an assessment for the association’s deductible, and combined payments for one unit stop at the federal maximum (SFIP Dwelling Form). New NFIP policies are placed with Selective.
- Private flood. For higher limits or different terms we also quote Neptune, Flow Flood, Beyond Floods, CatCoverage, Aon Edge and TFIA.
A new NFIP policy usually begins 30 days after purchase, with exceptions tied to a mortgage closing (FloodSmart). Look up your building on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center or read our Hampton flood insurance page for the house-by-house picture.
Building the HO-6
- Unit coverage (Coverage A). Sized to the declaration: whatever the master policy leaves to you, plus improvements you or prior owners made.
- Personal property. Furniture, beach gear, clothing and electronics, ideally at replacement cost.
- Loss assessment. For your share of a covered loss or deductible the association passes on. Pick a limit that matches how your board handles deductibles.
- Loss of use. Living costs if a fire or a burst pipe makes the unit unlivable.
- Liability. For injuries in your unit and damage you cause to neighbors’ units.
- Water and sewer backup. Usually an endorsement, and separate from flood.
Seasonal and rented units
Many Hampton condos are empty from fall to spring or rented by the week in summer. A carrier treats those uses differently from a year-round home. Winter vacancy can limit water damage claims if the heat is off, and short-term guests can need a different policy and liability limit. Association rules on rentals matter too. Our Hampton short-term rental insurance page goes into weekly and seasonal rentals in more detail.
If you serve on a Hampton condo board
We also place master policies for New Hampshire associations with Safety, Concord Group, Vermont Mutual, Andover and Providence Mutual, plus flood for the building. See our guide to condominium insurance in New Hampshire and our page on small condo association insurance.
Related Hampton and Seacoast pages
Read our Hampton insurance agency page, Hampton homeowners insurance and Portsmouth condo insurance. For extra liability above your HO-6 and auto, see umbrella insurance in New Hampshire.
Get a Hampton condo quote
Send the unit details and whatever association paperwork you have. We compare 40+ carriers, show how each HO-6 fits the master policy and add flood where it belongs. We don’t charge any fees, and about 90% of our quotes go out within 24 hours. Request a quote. There’s no obligation to buy. Use the form below or call (603) 431-4020; the phones are answered Monday to Thursday 9 to 5 and Friday 8 to 4, Eastern.
Hampton and Seacoast clients have left us 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials, and the Better Business Bureau gives us an A+.
Frequently asked questions
What does New Hampshire law make my Hampton condo association insure?
Unless the condominium instruments set a different arrangement, RSA 356-B:43 calls for a master casualty policy on the structures at their full replacement value, against fire and extended perils, plus a master liability policy that protects the association, its board, its managing agent, owners and occupants (RSA 356-B:43). Flood is not on that required list, so ask the board whether the building carries its own flood policy.
I am buying a unit near the beach. What insurance paperwork should I ask for?
New Hampshire gives a buyer of a resale unit the right to ask the association, before the contract date, for a written statement of the coverage it provides for all owners and the extra coverage an owner would normally buy, along with the budget, reserves, pending lawsuits and the declaration and by-laws (RSA 356-B:58). The officer has 10 days to respond to a written request. Send us that insurance statement and we can set your HO-6 limits before closing.
If a storm floods the lobby and garage, can I be assessed for the repairs?
Yes, if the association’s coverage falls short. A federal flood policy written on your unit can pay your share of a flood assessment up to the building limit you chose, but only when the building itself carries an NFIP association policy, and it will not reimburse an assessment that comes from that association policy’s deductible (Standard Flood Insurance Policy, Dwelling Form). Most HO-6 loss assessment endorsements leave out flood, so check both policies.
Who repairs a leak that starts in my unit and damages the unit below?
The default rule in New Hampshire is that the association looks after common areas and each owner looks after their own unit, though the instruments can change that, and whoever causes damage while making repairs is responsible for fixing it (RSA 356-B:41). Your HO-6 liability and unit coverage, and your neighbor’s, usually sort out the rest. Read the declaration to see where the unit boundary falls.
I only use my Hampton condo in summer. Does that change the policy?
Often. Many HO-6 forms limit water damage coverage when a unit sits unoccupied with the heat off or the water left on, and a carrier needs to know if the unit is a seasonal home rather than a primary residence. Tell us how many months it is occupied and who checks on it in winter, and we will match the policy to that.
What do you need to quote my Hampton condo?
The unit address, the master policy certificate or the association’s insurance statement, the floor you are on, the year the building was built or converted, upgrades you have made, whether you rent it out, and any current HO-6 or flood declarations. Attach them to the form below or phone (603) 431-4020.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year, Hampton town: tenure by units in structure (B25032)
- New Hampshire: tenure by units in structure (B25032)
- Hampton: vacancy status, including seasonal units (B25004)
- Hampton: median year structure built (B25035)
- Hampton: median age (B01002)
- Town of Hampton, Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2024–2029
- NH RSA 356-B:43, condominium insurance
- NH RSA 356-B:41, upkeep of the condominium
- NH RSA 356-B:58, resale by purchaser
- 44 CFR Part 61, Appendix A(1): Standard Flood Insurance Policy, Dwelling Form (Cornell LII)
- FloodSmart: buying a flood policy
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center
This is general information for people who own condos in Hampton. It is not a quote or legal advice; your declaration, the master policy and your own policy wording decide coverage. Statutes, flood maps and census figures change, so call (603) 431-4020 to go over your unit.