Condo Insurance in Portsmouth, NH

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO

Condo (HO-6) · Flood · Umbrella · Portsmouth, New Hampshire

A condo in Portsmouth is still your home, and we insure it that way. Whether your unit is downtown, in the South End or in a newer building, your coverage is split between the association’s master policy and your own HO-6 policy. Getting that split right is most of the job.

Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is an independent agency, founded in 2005, with our office at 601 Islington St, Unit 206, in Portsmouth. We compare 40+ carriers and charge no fees of any kind. We are New Hampshire’s highest-rated agency on Google, with 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials. Call (603) 431-4020, or start with our Portsmouth insurance agency page for everything else we do in the city.

Portsmouth’s condo market at a glance

Condos are a big share of Portsmouth housing. Assessor data in a May 2022 Planning Board presentation counted 2,462 condos, behind only single-family homes at 4,345. The City Council’s 2016 housing policy describes the Urban Core, the historic Downtown and the North and West Ends, as the part of the city that accommodates apartments, condominiums and affordable housing in existing and new mixed-use buildings.

The city’s 2022 housing market study adds a detail that matters for insurance. It found that 73% of owner-occupied units in the city were built before 1980. Carriers ask about the building’s age and updates either way.

Start with the master policy

New Hampshire’s Condominium Act, RSA 356-B:43, says the condominium instruments, including those for small condominiums, must require the association to carry a master casualty policy covering the structures at full replacement value, plus a master liability policy in the amount the instruments specify. The association must also give each owner written notice of the policy and of later changes.

The law sets the floor; your association’s documents set the details. Before we quote, we ask for the master policy declarations page, or the insurance section of the bylaws, to answer three questions:

• Where does the master policy stop? Some cover the bare walls only. Others cover the original interior finishes, sometimes called all-in or single-entity coverage. Your HO-6 covers what the master does not.
• How big is the master deductible? After a covered loss to the building, the association can pass part of its deductible to owners. Loss assessment coverage on your HO-6 helps pay that bill.
• Does the association carry flood? Many do not. Even when they do, it does not cover your belongings or your improvements.

What an HO-6 policy covers

• Dwelling (Coverage A) for interior walls, floors, cabinets, fixtures and upgrades the master policy does not cover
• Personal property for your furniture, electronics, clothing and other belongings
• Loss of use if a covered loss forces you out while repairs are made
• Personal liability if someone is hurt in your unit, or water from your unit damages a neighbor’s
• Loss assessment for your share of a covered association assessment, including a passed-down master deductible

Portsmouth condo details that matter

Units in the Historic District

Portsmouth’s Historic District Commission has reviewed exterior changes in the district since 1965. According to the city’s Historic District design guidelines, the district holds about 1,200 buildings and structures across five areas: the South End, downtown, the North End (Christian Shore), the West End along the Islington Street corridor (added in 2010) and the Haymarket Square and Middle Street area. Most exterior changes need a Certificate of Approval from the HDC before work starts, and the city’s zoning ordinance says no building permit can be issued without required HDC approvals.

After a fire or major water loss, that review can slow the rebuild, and matching original materials can cost more. The exterior is usually the association’s job, but the delay runs through your loss of use coverage, and a large repair can come back to you as an assessment. We size those limits with that in mind and ask whether the master policy carries ordinance or law coverage.

Small associations and two-unit condos

If your association is small, say two or three units in one building, know that small boards sometimes carry thin master policies or high deductibles, and in a two-unit condo the line between your policy and your neighbor’s matters a great deal. Our New Hampshire condex insurance guide covers two-unit buildings in detail, and board members can see small condo association insurance.

Water between units

In stacked units, a burst pipe or an overflowing washer upstairs damages the unit below. Ask about water backup coverage too: sewer and drain backup is usually excluded unless you add it, and it matters most in garden-level and ground-floor units.

Flood coverage for Portsmouth condos

The city’s 2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan Update (a July 2024 draft) says flooding is the most common hazard in Portsmouth, and its planning committee named six areas at risk of recurring flooding or with a high potential for future flooding: North Mill Pond, South Mill Pond, the South End, Peirce Island, Little Harbour and Sagamore Creek. The plan describes January 13, 2024, when a 9.6-foot high tide, a two-foot storm surge, rain and snowmelt flooded roads and properties downtown and in low-lying neighborhoods, and Strawbery Banke saw what the plan calls unprecedented flooding.

The current flood maps for Portsmouth are dated January 29, 2021. The city’s zoning ordinance also regulates an extended flood hazard area: land next to a mapped special flood hazard area that sits less than two feet above the base flood elevation. If your building is near a mapped zone but outside it, that is exactly the kind of address where flood is easy to skip and expensive to go without. Check the address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. The same plan reports 132 NFIP policies in force across the whole city as of June 2024, including 15 on multi-family residential buildings.

Your HO-6 excludes flood, and an association flood policy, if there is one, covers the building, not your belongings or your improvements. A unit owner can buy a separate flood policy.

• NFIP through Selective. We write new National Flood Insurance Program policies through Selective, a Write Your Own carrier. A unit owner can buy an NFIP policy for the unit even when the association does not carry flood. New NFIP policies generally carry a 30-day waiting period (see FloodSmart), so buy before a storm is in the forecast, not during it.
• Private flood. When the NFIP limits fall short, or you want coverage the NFIP leaves out, we compare Flow Flood, Neptune Flood, Beyond Floods, The Flood Insurance Agency, CatCoverage and Aon Edge. Each one decides address by address.
• Elevation certificates. If you or the association have one, send it. Flood carriers rate the building on its elevation, its foundation and what sits below the first floor.

Renting out your Portsmouth condo

If you move out and rent the unit, tell us. Most carriers need a rental endorsement or a unit-owner landlord form, and your tenant should carry renters insurance. The city’s Housing Code also requires a Certificate of Occupancy from the Housing Code Inspector before a residential unit is rented out. Check with the city before you sign a lease.

Short-term rentals are a separate question. Portsmouth’s zoning ordinance defines a dwelling unit to exclude transient occupancies such as hotels, motels and rooming or boarding houses. In Working Stiff Partners v. City of Portsmouth (2019), the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the city’s position that daily rentals of a house through sites like Airbnb were not a permitted principal use in the General Residence A district. Your condo documents may restrict rentals too. Check both, and tell us before you list the unit; most HO-6 policies are not written for short-term rentals.

Renting out a whole building instead? See landlord insurance.

Auto and umbrella

Many condo owners bundle with car insurance in Portsmouth and add a personal umbrella, which sits above both the condo and auto liability limits.

Common HO-6 gaps we see in Portsmouth

• Coverage A sized to builder finishes when the unit has been upgraded
• Loss assessment left at a default limit far below the master deductible
• No water backup coverage in a garden-level or ground-floor unit
• No flood policy on a unit near the Mill Ponds, the South End or other low ground
• Personal property limits that have not kept up with what the owner actually has
• A unit rented out, long-term or short-term, with no rental endorsement

How a Portsmouth condo quote works

• Send the documents. The master policy declarations page or the insurance section of the bylaws, plus your current HO-6 declarations page if you have one.
• Tell us about the unit. Address, unit number, floor, square footage, the year the building was built or converted, and any upgrades to the kitchen, baths or flooring.
• We size the coverage. Coverage A for what the master leaves out, personal property, liability, and loss assessment matched to the master deductible.
• We compare carriers that fit the unit and the building, and lay the options out side by side, with the differences in coverage, not just price.

From our Portsmouth office

We are at 601 Islington St, Unit 206, Portsmouth, NH 03801, and we also work by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020. For more reading, see our New Hampshire condo insurance (HO-6) guide, condo insurance vs. homeowners insurance and, if you own a house in town, homeowners insurance in Portsmouth.

Sources

• City of Portsmouth, Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2024 (draft, July 2024)
• City of Portsmouth Zoning Ordinance (amended through September 28, 2026)
• City of Portsmouth, Historic District design guidelines: introduction (2016)
• City of Portsmouth Planning Board, Existing Conditions Report (May 5, 2022)
• City of Portsmouth housing market study (RKG Associates, 2022)
• City of Portsmouth, City Council Housing Policy (adopted December 19, 2016)
• New Hampshire RSA 356-B:43, Condominium Act: Insurance
• City of Portsmouth Housing Code, Chapter 14
• Working Stiff Partners, LLC v. City of Portsmouth (N.H. 2019)
• FEMA Flood Map Service Center
• FloodSmart, buying a flood policy

Get a quote

Tell us about the property and we will compare carriers and follow up with options. Prefer to talk? Call (603) 431-4020.

Frequently asked questions

What does condo insurance cover in Portsmouth, NH?

An HO-6 policy covers what the association master policy does not: often interior finishes and upgrades, plus your belongings, loss of use, personal liability and loss assessment.

Is flood covered on a Portsmouth condo policy?

No. Condo policies exclude flood. A unit owner can buy an NFIP policy, which we write through Selective, or a private flood policy. Units near the North and South Mill Ponds, the South End and other low ground should look at it closely.

My condo is in the Historic District. Does that change my insurance?

It can. Exterior changes in the district generally need Historic District Commission approval, which can make repairs slower and more expensive. We look at loss of use and loss assessment limits with that in mind.

Can I rent my Portsmouth condo on Airbnb?

Check the city’s zoning rules and your condo documents first, and tell us before you list it. Most HO-6 policies are not written for short-term rentals.

Do you charge fees?

No. We do not charge any fees on any policy we write, including condo insurance.