Ipswich, MA Home Insurance: First Period Homes, Great Marsh and Coastal Properties

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO

Home · Flood · Umbrella · Massachusetts

Insuring a house in Ipswich often starts with its age. The town has one of the best-known collections of early houses in New England, alongside capes and colonials inland and shoreline homes on Great Neck and Little Neck. Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is an independent agency licensed in Massachusetts. We insure Ipswich homes from our Portsmouth, NH office by phone, email and online, and we shop each house across 40+ carriers. We are the most-reviewed independent insurance agency in New Hampshire, with 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials across our two offices. Start with Massachusetts homeowners insurance, or read on.

Ipswich at a glance

The town’s 2019 Community Resilience Building report describes Ipswich as about 33 square miles with roughly 13,175 residents. About 41% of the town is forested, development makes up about 15%, and farms and fields about 10%. The Great Marsh, which the report calls the largest contiguous salt marsh in New England, includes the barrier beaches of Crane Beach and Plum Island and covers 21% of the town. Downtown, home to most of the town’s infrastructure, sits on the western bank of the Ipswich River, which winds through town to Plum Island Sound.

Where you live in Ipswich changes the policy

• Downtown and the Ipswich River. The report says most flooding in Ipswich has historically occurred upstream of the Ipswich Mill Dam downtown, and that the Mother’s Day Flood of 2006 and the March 2010 flood both set record peak flows and damaged homes, businesses and bridges. Many of the town’s oldest houses are in and around downtown.
• Great Neck and Little Neck. The report says the headlands of Great Neck and Little Neck are exposed to storms and significantly vulnerable to erosion, with bank armoring on Great Neck after the 1991 “No Name Storm” and on Little Neck after erosion in 2013. When tidal surges overtop Pavilion Beach, flooding can isolate Little Neck from the mainland across Little Neck Road. It also notes that Little Neck was historically mostly summer homes, many now converted to year-round use. Carriers ask about elevation, foundation, roof age and distance to the water.
• Homes near the Great Marsh and tidal creeks. The report explains that during storms and abnormally high tides, water moves up the river, streams and tidal channels, and that culverts and bridges act as choke points that spill tidal creeks into surrounding areas. It cites an estimate that about 27% of the town is vulnerable to coastal inundation, depending on the storm.
• Inland neighborhoods and farms. Away from the river and marsh, the questions are usually roof age, older-home systems, barns and outbuildings, and rebuild cost.

First Period and historic homes

The Ipswich Historical Commission defines First Period houses as those with major structures built before 1725 and says the town’s early homes number about 60 in all, most modified in later periods. Its guide highlights features such as steeply pitched roofs, large central chimneys, narrow clapboards and small windows, and lists houses including the Whipple House (c. 1655). The Commission also administers the town’s Demolition Delay Bylaw.

A house like this costs more to rebuild than its square footage suggests: hand-hewn framing, wide-board floors, plaster, period trim and a massive central chimney. We build the replacement estimate around restoration-quality work, add ordinance or law coverage for code upgrades after a loss, and look at carriers that are comfortable with older construction. Carriers will ask about wiring, heating, the chimney and the roof. If the house has a preservation restriction, tell us. More in our historic home insurance guide.

Flood coverage in Ipswich

A homeowners policy will not pay for rising water, whether it is a storm tide in the Great Marsh, surge over Pavilion Beach or the Ipswich River after days of heavy rain. Flood is its own policy. Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Lenders require flood insurance for federally backed mortgages in a special flood hazard area, but homes just outside the line can still take on water, as the 2006 and 2010 river floods showed.

• NFIP through Selective. We write National Flood Insurance Program policies through Selective, a Write Your Own carrier. The NFIP covers up to $250,000 for the building and $100,000 for contents. New policies generally have a 30-day waiting period (see FloodSmart), so buy before storm season, not during it.
• Private flood. When a home costs more than the NFIP building limit to rebuild, 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 have one, send it. If the house has been raised or has flood vents, it can make a real difference in how flood carriers rate it.

More on how flood policies work is in our flood insurance overview.

Hurricane and named storm deductibles: know the dollar figure

Shoreline policies in Massachusetts commonly carry a separate hurricane or named storm deductible. The Massachusetts Division of Insurance puts the usual range at 1% to 5% of insured value. Because it is a percentage, the more your house is insured for, the larger the check after a storm. We convert each option to dollars so you can weigh a lower premium against a bigger deductible, or the reverse. If no standard carrier will write a house, the Massachusetts FAIR Plan is a last resort, and we will put it side by side with any private option.

Larger homes

Under about $2 million, most of our 40+ carriers are in play. Andover writes up to about $2.25 million in Massachusetts, sometimes higher with underwriting approval. Around $2 million to $3 million, Hanover is among the carriers we compare. Over about $3 million, Cincinnati is our go-to, and Chubb, which focuses on high-value homes, joins it at $5 million and up. Whatever the size, we build the dwelling limit around the cost to rebuild, not the market value, and we look at extended or guaranteed replacement cost where a carrier offers it.

See coastal Massachusetts high-value home insurance.

Second homes, rentals and condos

If Ipswich is your summer place, see Massachusetts second home insurance. If you rent a house by the week, tell us, because carriers treat short-term rentals differently from a home you live in. If a former summer cottage on Little Neck is now your year-round home, make sure the policy reflects that. For condos, see Massachusetts condo insurance.

Liability, boats and the beach

Hosting summer guests, keeping a boat on the river or the Sound and having a pool all raise liability exposure. A personal umbrella adds a layer above home, auto and watercraft.

Common coverage gaps we see in Ipswich

• A dwelling limit based on the purchase price or assessed value instead of the cost to rebuild
• No water backup coverage on a house with a finished basement
• Personal property limits that have not kept up with what the household actually owns
• Liability limits on the home and auto that do not line up with an umbrella, or no umbrella at all
• No ordinance or law coverage on an older home that would need code upgrades after a loss
• A First Period or historic house insured as if it were modern construction
• A Little Neck or Great Neck home still insured as a seasonal property after becoming year-round

Most of these are straightforward to fix once someone reads the declarations pages side by side, and that is the first thing we do in a review.

Before storm season in Ipswich

• Know your hurricane or named storm deductible in dollars, not just as a percentage
• Photograph or video each room so a contents claim is easier to document
• Keep your declarations pages, flood policy and any elevation certificate somewhere you can reach from your phone
• If you are thinking about flood coverage, buy it well ahead of a storm because of the waiting period
• If you are on Little Neck, plan for the possibility that Little Neck Road floods and access is cut off

Buying a home in Ipswich

Start the insurance conversation before you are under contract, not the week of closing. Send us the listing and the inspection report when you have it. The report answers most of what carriers ask: roof age, electrical panel, heating, plumbing and any water in the basement. For a historic house, ask the seller about past restoration work and any preservation restriction. We line up the homeowners binder, and a flood binder if you need one, so both are ready for your lender.

How a Ipswich home quote works

• Tell us about the house: address, year built, square footage, roof age and updates to wiring, plumbing and heating.
• Send your current declarations page so we can compare like for like and point out limits that look short.
• We shop the carriers that fit and lay the options out side by side, with the differences in coverage, deductibles and storm terms, not just price.
• You choose, and we handle the switch, including your mortgage company and the effective date, so there is no gap.

Serving Ipswich from Portsmouth, NH

We do not have a Massachusetts office. We insure Ipswich homes from Portsmouth, NH, and work by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020. Nearby, see our Newburyport, Gloucester, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Rockport pages. Also nearby: our Essex, Topsfield and Hamilton pages.

Sources

• Town of Ipswich, Community Resilience Building Workshop Summary of Findings (Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness), May 2019
• Ipswich Historical Commission, First Period Homes of Ipswich
• Massachusetts Division of Insurance, hurricane preparedness
• Massachusetts FAIR Plan
• 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

Can you insure a First Period house in Ipswich?

Often, yes. We build the rebuild estimate around restoration-quality work, add ordinance or law coverage, and look at carriers comfortable with older construction.

Is my Ipswich home in a flood zone?

Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Homes near the Ipswich River downtown, the Great Marsh and tidal creeks, Great Neck and Little Neck deserve a close look.

Does homeowners insurance cover a nor’easter in Ipswich?

Wind damage is generally covered, subject to any named storm or hurricane deductible. Flooding from storm surge, tide or the river needs a separate flood policy.

You’re in Portsmouth, NH. Can you insure a home in Ipswich?

Yes. We are licensed in Massachusetts and insure Ipswich homes from our Portsmouth, NH office by phone, email and online.

Do you charge fees?

No. We do not charge any fees on any policy we write, including home, flood, auto and umbrella.