Laconia, NH Home Insurance

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO

Home · Condo · Seasonal · Landlord · Flood · Umbrella · Laconia, New Hampshire

Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is an independent agency founded in 2005 and licensed in 10 states. We are New Hampshire’s highest-rated agency on Google, with 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials. We shop each Laconia home across 40+ carriers. Start with New Hampshire homeowners insurance, or read on.

Laconia at a glance

The city’s Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2025, prepared with the Lakes Region Planning Commission, places Laconia near the center of Belknap County, bordered by Meredith, Belmont, Gilford and Sanbornton. It covers about 21 square miles of land and 6 square miles of water. The plan counts 10,727 housing units, citing state housing data, and says 54% are single-family homes and about 95% of current development is residential. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 17,246 residents as of July 1, 2025.

The plan says Laconia saw one of the biggest increases in seasonal housing in the Lakes Region between 2010 and 2020. It says seasonal units rose from 75% to 82% of the city’s vacant housing units over that decade. For insurance, that changes the conversation. A lake house used a few months a year, a year-round home and a rental need different policies, and the right one depends on how you actually use the house.

Where you live in Laconia changes the policy

• On the lakes and bays. Waterfront homes on Winnipesaukee, Winnisquam, Opechee Bay and Paugus Bay need the right dwelling limit, coverage for docks and boathouses, and a liability limit that fits guests and boats. The plan notes that the lakes themselves are obstacles for emergency response.
• Busy Corner, Union Avenue and Jewett Brook. The plan lists regular flooding at Busy Corner, where Union Avenue, Church Street, Winter Street and Davis Place meet, and says Jewett Brook causes flooding along Union Avenue and Strafford Street.
• Downhill from older private roads. The plan says older private developments without enough drainage send runoff onto homes downhill. Its example is rain coming off private Colonial and Plantation roads onto homes on public Pendleton Road. It also says the city has few wetlands to hold water, so heavy rain runs hard downhill toward the lakes.
• Lakeport. The state owns and maintains the Avery and Lakeport dams on the Winnipesaukee River, which drain Lake Winnipesaukee. The plan notes the 1903 Great Lakeport Fire, which destroyed more than 100 homes.
• Condos, multi-family and rentals. With single-family homes making up 54% of housing units, many Laconia owners need an HO-6, landlord or seasonal-rental policy rather than a standard homeowners form.

Flood coverage in Laconia

Laconia entered the NFIP on January 16, 1974 (emergency entry), with regular entry on August 15, 1980. The plan says its flood maps also date to August 15, 1980, that FEMA digital maps are not yet available, and that new maps have been in development for several years. As of July 2024, there were 73 flood policies in force: 18 on single-family homes, 46 on other residential properties and 9 non-residential. The plan reports 34 losses, 26 of them paid, totaling $287,615. It also reports 13 repetitive losses on 4 residential properties.

A homeowners policy will not pay for rising lake water, a brook over its banks or surface runoff. Flood is its own policy. Lenders require flood insurance for federally backed mortgages in a special flood hazard area, but many of Laconia’s flood problems the plan describes are drainage and runoff, not mapped zones. Because the city is still on 1980 maps, when new maps arrive, ask us how a zone change could affect you. Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.

• 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.

See our flood insurance overview. Water backup (sewer, drain or sump pump failure) is an add-on to homeowners; flood is separate. If your basement is finished, ask about both. See basement flooding coverage and our flood insurance overview.

Wind, storms and winter

The plan says all areas of the city are susceptible to downed trees and limbs from high winds. Straight-line winds come off the open water of Paugus Bay, Opechee Bay and Lake Winnisquam, and off open fields such as those along Parade Road. It says trees are private property, so the city can’t maintain the side of the street the power company doesn’t trim. Its recent flood list includes flash floods in June 2017 and July 2021, a December 2022 flood from 3 to 7 inches of rain, and washouts in July 2023. Ask us how your policy handles fallen trees, ice dams and long outages.

Winter, trees and wind in Laconia

New Hampshire winters bring ice dams, frozen pipes and heavy snow loads, and storms bring down trees and limbs. These are generally homeowners claims, subject to your deductible and policy terms. A properly sized wind and all-perils deductible, and a roof in good shape, do more for most homeowners than any single add-on. Water damage from a burst pipe is usually covered when the home is heated and occupied; long vacancies can change that, so tell us if the house will sit empty.

Larger and lakefront homes

Under about $2 million, most of our 40+ carriers are in play. In New Hampshire, Andover generally writes up to about $1.5 million, or closer to $1 million for homes far from a hydrant or fire station. Around $2 million to $3 million, Hanover is often a fit, and Cincinnati and Chubb both write homes at any dwelling limit, so we quote both. Each carrier underwrites the specific house, so these are starting points, not promises.

See high-value home insurance in New Hampshire and seasonal home insurance.

Condos, rentals and seasonal homes

Your HO-6 condo policy covers what the association’s master policy does not: usually your interior, improvements, belongings, liability and loss assessments. See condo insurance in New Hampshire. If you rent out a lake house by the week or the season, tell us. Many homeowners policies restrict short-term rentals, and you may need a dwelling or landlord policy. A home that sits empty part of the year can face vacancy limits too. We don’t charge fees on any of those.

Renters and tenants in Laconia

If you rent in Laconia, your landlord’s policy covers the building, not your belongings or your liability. A renters policy covers both, plus extra living costs after a covered loss. We shop renters coverage across our carriers, and Progressive Home is one of them; we use Progressive Home for renters policies only. Landlords who own two- to four-family buildings can see landlord insurance.

Auto, umbrella and the rest of the household

Most Laconia households also need auto insurance, and many add a personal umbrella. We quote them with the home so the liability limits line up, and we put rentals, second homes, boats and valuables under the same review. One agent, one renewal conversation.

Common coverage gaps we see in Laconia

• 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 lake house rented out by the week on a policy that doesn’t allow it
• No flood policy on a home near Jewett Brook, Busy Corner or the shore

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 Laconia

• 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
• Before you close up a seasonal home, shut off and drain the water, keep heat on, and have someone check the house regularly

Buying a home in Laconia

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. On the water, ask about the dock, boathouse and shoreline structures, and for any elevation certificate. If you plan to rent the house, tell us before you close. We line up the homeowners binder, and a flood binder if you need one, so both are ready for your lender.

How a Laconia 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 Laconia from Portsmouth

Our office is at 601 Islington St, Unit 206, Portsmouth, NH 03801, and we work with Laconia clients by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020. Elsewhere in the Lakes Region, see our Wolfeboro page, our Meredith and Moultonborough pages, or our guide to New Hampshire.

Sources

• City of Laconia, Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2025 (Lakes Region Planning Commission)
• U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 subcounty population estimates
• 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

Do you insure homes in Laconia, NH?

Yes. We insure Laconia homes from our Portsmouth office at 601 Islington St, and by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020.

Does Laconia flood?

In some areas, mostly from heavy rain and runoff. The city’s 2025 hazard mitigation plan lists regular flooding at Busy Corner (Union Avenue, Church Street, Winter Street and Davis Place) and along Union Avenue and Strafford Street from Jewett Brook. Laconia’s flood maps date to 1980. Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.

Does homeowners insurance cover a flooded basement?

Not from flood. Water backup from sewers, drains or a sump pump is an add-on, and rising or surface water needs a flood policy.

Who writes your NFIP flood policies?

We write NFIP policies through Selective, and we compare private flood from Flow Flood, Neptune Flood, Beyond Floods, The Flood Insurance Agency, CatCoverage and Aon Edge.

Do you charge fees?

No. We don’t charge fees on any policy we write, including homeowners, condo, renters, landlord, dwelling and auto.