By Jonathan Merwin, Founder and CEO, Licensed Insurance Advisor. Updated October 29, 2026.
Who insures high-value homes in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region? Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance. We’re a family-owned independent agency, and we compare 40+ carriers for larger homes on Winnipesaukee, Winnisquam, Squam, Newfound and the smaller lakes around them, plus Lake Sunapee to the west. Depending on the rebuild figure, a lake house may fit Andover, Hanover, Openly or National General, and Cincinnati and Chubb take the biggest estates. This page is the starting point: pick your lake or town below for the details, or call (603) 431-4020.
Key facts
- Every area below has its own page with local detail on homes, shoreline rules and carriers.
- Ice, empty winters, docks and boathouses, wind on open water and guest liability come up in nearly every Lakes Region quote.
- Flood is always a separate policy: NFIP through Selective, plus six private flood carriers to compare.
- We serve the Lakes Region by phone, email and video from our Portsmouth office.
Find your lake or town
The Lakes Region is not one market. A bridged-island house in Gilford, a camp reached only by boat off Moultonborough and a Victorian a few blocks from Wolfeboro’s docks raise very different questions for an underwriter. Start with the area that matches your home.
Lake Winnipesaukee shorefront
The big lake touches several towns and hundreds of islands. If your house faces open water, expect questions about ice-out, wave exposure, island access and the age of every structure at the shoreline. Read more on our Lake Winnipesaukee waterfront home insurance page.
Wolfeboro
On the eastern shore, owners often hold both a lake estate and an older in-town house with historic detail, and the two need different rebuild math. Seasonal staff and caretakers are common, so we ask who has keys and who checks the house. See Wolfeboro high-value home insurance and, for the town’s second big lake, Lake Wentworth waterfront home insurance. Just up the shore, see Tuftonboro high-value home insurance. Farther northeast, see Ossipee Lake waterfront home insurance for homes in Ossipee and Freedom, and Tamworth and Madison high-value home insurance just to the north.
Alton and Alton Bay
At the southern tip, the narrow bay funnels wind and ice, and many larger homes sit on the hills above the water or on islands. Driveway grade and winter access come up early. See Alton high-value home insurance.
Gilford
Gilford mixes mainland frontage, bridged islands and hillside houses near Gunstock. Whether a fire truck can drive to the house or has to reach it another way changes how a carrier looks at it. See Gilford high-value home insurance.
Laconia and Lake Winnisquam
Laconia sits between Paugus Bay, Opechee Bay and Winnisquam, so one city covers three different shorelines. Older camps that grew into year-round houses are common, and their coverage often lags the house. See our Laconia and Winnisquam page. For the Sanbornton, Belmont and Tilton shores, see Lake Winnisquam home insurance.
Meredith
On the northwest corner of Winnipesaukee, Meredith also has Waukewan and Wicwas. Many seasonal places here have become full-time homes, which changes how a policy should be written. See Meredith high-value home insurance. Next door, New Hampton high-value home insurance covers Pemigewasset Lake and the west shore of Waukewan.
Moultonborough
With more shoreline than any other New Hampshire town, Moultonborough has large estates on the Neck and islands that depend on one road or a boat. Fire response and water supply get close attention. Visit our Moultonborough insurance agency page. For larger homes, see Moultonborough high-value home insurance.
Squam Lake
Squam is quieter and more wooded, shared by Holderness, Sandwich, Center Harbor and Moultonborough. Island camps and long private drives through trees make winter checks and fire access key questions. See Squam Lake waterfront home insurance. For homes in Center Harbor itself, see Center Harbor high-value home insurance.
Newfound Lake
Bristol, Hebron, Bridgewater and Alexandria share Newfound, a clear, deep lake whose level can climb quickly after heavy rain or snowmelt. Lower levels near the water deserve a flood look. See Newfound Lake home insurance. We also have town guides for Sandwich on the north side of Squam, Bristol at the south end of Newfound and Wakefield near the Maine line.
Lake Sunapee and New London
West of the Lakes Region proper, Sunapee draws a similar owner: a lakefront place, an older house near the village or a mountain-view getaway, often on a well and visited less in deep winter. See our New London and Sunapee page. For homes on the shore itself, see Lake Sunapee waterfront home insurance.
Six questions every Lakes Region underwriter asks
Who watches it in winter?
Heat, sensors, shutoffs and a set schedule of visits.
What is on the shore?
Docks, lifts, boathouses, breakwaters and walls, each with a value.
How exposed is it?
Open water, tall trees and a long fetch for the wind.
How fast can help arrive?
Road, distance to the station and a reachable water source.
Is it ever rented?
Weeks, platform and who manages the guests.
What if it had to be rebuilt?
Shoreland rules, setbacks and the real cost of finishes.
Empty houses and frozen pipes
The most expensive Lakes Region claims we see often start quietly: a furnace that fails in January in a house nobody visits until April. Water from a split supply line can run for weeks, and the damage spreads through walls, floors and the finished lower level long before anyone sees it. Carriers know this, so a seasonal or second home brings questions about vacancy, heat and monitoring that a primary home in town never gets. Put the closing-up routine in writing: the visit schedule, the person doing the visits and the alerts that reach your phone. Some carriers prefer to write a lake home together with your primary residence, which we can often arrange anywhere in our 10 licensed states. Our New Hampshire second home insurance guide covers vacancy wording in more depth.
Ice, drawdowns and the shoreline
Several Lakes Region lakes are lowered in the fall so ice forms below the level of docks and walls, and some are drawn down only in certain years. When the water stays high, ice can grip pilings and crib docks and push them out of line; when it drops, structures and boats left in place sit exposed. Spring ice-out adds its own push as wind drives broken sheets against the shore. These losses land in the part of a policy few people read. We look at how each form treats ice, wave and water damage to shoreline structures, whether those structures share one small limit, and what it would really cost to rebuild a boathouse to current rules.
Wind, trees and the road in
Wind builds across miles of open water, and a lakefront lot often has tall pines between the house and the shore. A summer storm or a wet winter snow can bring down limbs on roofs, decks and boathouses, and the same storm can close the private road for days. Underwriters weigh the drive time for the nearest engine company, whether a truck can get up the road in every season, and whether there is a hydrant, dry hydrant or the lake itself to draw from. A plowed, well-kept drive, a monitored fire and smoke alarm and a standby generator all help. For island homes, we explain access in writing so the underwriter does not have to guess.
Rebuilding near the water
New Hampshire’s protected shoreland rules limit how and where homes close to the water can be built, expanded or replaced, and towns often add their own setbacks. A house that was grandfathered close to the lake may not be rebuilt in exactly the same spot or footprint, and meeting current code can add real cost. So on Lakes Region homes we pay special attention to ordinance or law limits and extended replacement cost, and why we rebuild the dwelling figure from current square footage and finishes instead of rolling last year’s number forward. Our replacement cost estimator gives a rough first number, which we then refine.
Rentals, guests, boats and umbrella limits
A lake house fills up in summer. Family, friends, renters and their kids are on the dock, in the water and on the boat, and liability can climb past a homeowners limit quickly. If you rent the house for some weeks, tell us how often and through which platform, because many homeowners forms limit or exclude regular rental and the right form depends on how you use it. A boat needs its own policy; see Lake Winnipesaukee boat insurance. Quoting a personal umbrella policy alongside the house lets the liability limits stack cleanly. If a classic car lives in the lake house garage, Hagerty can insure it as a collector car.
Carriers we compare for Lakes Region homes
On a typical Lakes Region shortlist: Andover for New Hampshire houses below $1.5 million, Hanover to a $2 million ceiling, Openly as high as $5 million in this state, and National General across much of that range. Cincinnati and Chubb write homes at any dwelling limit; for a closer look at one of them, read our Chubb review. Flood needs its own policy. NFIP coverage goes through Selective, and private options include Neptune, Flow Flood, Aon Edge, Beyond Floods, CatCoverage and The Flood Insurance Agency (TFIA). Look your lot up on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center before we talk, and read our flood insurance page. We explain how we choose carriers as well.
How we quote a Lakes Region home
- Tell us the lake, town and address, and whether the home is primary, seasonal or rented.
- Send photos of the house and shoreline, plus your current declarations page if you have one.
- We rebuild the dwelling figure and list each dock, boathouse and outbuilding.
- We shop the carriers that fit and show the coverage differences side by side.
- We line up flood, boat and umbrella so the limits match the house.
Get a quote for your Lakes Region home
Tell us which lake the home is on, how it is used through the year, who checks it in winter and what sits on the shore. About 90% of our quotes go out within 24 hours, and we don’t charge any fees.
Lakes Region high-value home insurance FAQs
Which insurance companies take larger Lakes Region homes?
It depends on what the house would cost to rebuild. Under a $1.5 million rebuild figure, Andover is often on the list. Hanover’s ceiling here is $2 million, Openly can write as high as $5 million in this state, and National General is another choice for bigger houses. Cincinnati and Chubb write homes at any dwelling limit, so the largest lake estates usually go to one of them.
Is a lake house in New Hampshire harder to insure than a house in town?
Usually it takes more questions, not more luck. Underwriters want to know the distance to the lake and to the closest fire station, whether the road is private and plowed, what heats the house and who keeps an eye on it in winter, and what sits on the shore. When those answers are clear and written down, a lake house is often as easy to place as any other larger home.
Are docks and boathouses covered by a homeowners policy?
Partly, at best, unless you check. Many homeowners forms treat docks, boathouses, lifts and retaining walls as other structures with a limited amount of coverage, and some limit or exclude damage from ice, waves or water. We list each shoreline structure, give the bigger ones their own value, and show you how each carrier words ice and water damage before you choose.
My Lakes Region home sits empty all winter. What do carriers want to see?
A plan for the empty months. That usually means the heat stays on or the plumbing is drained, low-temperature and leak sensors report to your phone, an automatic water shutoff is installed where it makes sense, and someone walks through the house on a set schedule. Tell us honestly how many months it sits empty; vacancy wording matters more than most owners expect.
Do I need flood insurance if my house is on a lake and not the ocean?
Lakes flood too, and a homeowners policy does not pay for rising water. Lots that sit low, walkout lower levels and shorefront garages are the usual worries. Look the lot up on FEMA’s maps first. Our NFIP flood policies are written through Selective, and we line those up against private flood from Neptune, Flow Flood, Aon Edge, Beyond Floods, CatCoverage and The Flood Insurance Agency (TFIA).
How do you work with Lakes Region homeowners from Portsmouth?
We handle Lakes Region homes by phone, email and video from our office at 601 Islington St, Unit 206, Portsmouth, NH 03801. You can send photos, a floor plan or a prior policy. On bigger homes, expect the insurer to arrange an on-site inspection. Call (603) 431-4020 to start.
About Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance
Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is a family-owned independent agency founded in Portsmouth in 2005 and licensed in 10 states. We compare 40+ carriers, hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and are New Hampshire’s highest-rated agency on Google, with 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials (see our client feedback). Our team brings 200+ years of combined experience. We don’t charge any fees.
Statewide, see our New Hampshire high-value home insurance guide. We serve Lakes Region homeowners by phone, email and video from our Portsmouth office.
About the author
Jonathan Merwin is the Founder and CEO of Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance and a licensed insurance agent. He started the agency in Portsmouth in 2005 and works with New Hampshire owners of larger and older homes on coverage for lake, waterfront and seasonal properties. Read his full bio or see how we choose carriers.