Lawrence, MA Home Insurance

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO, Licensed Insurance Advisor, Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance

Home · Multi-Family · Condo · Landlord · Flood · Renters · Lawrence, Massachusetts

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

Lawrence at a glance

The Merrimack Valley Region Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 2024 describes Lawrence as one of the nation’s first planned communities, established in 1856. It covers 6.9 square miles and has the highest population density in the Merrimack Valley, with 30,291 housing units and an average household of 2.86 people. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 89,320 residents as of July 1, 2025.

The city draws its drinking water from the Merrimack River and treats wastewater through the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District. The plan says about 70% of Lawrence’s sewer lines are combined sewers (96 of 137 miles). Eversource provides gas and National Grid provides electricity. Since 2016, the plan lists several large residential projects in former mill buildings, including Pacific Mills Lofts on Canal Street and Fabrica Lofts and Loftfive 50 on Broadway.

For insurance, Lawrence is a city of multi-family houses, condos and apartments, with many owners living in one unit and renting the others. The right policy depends on the number of units, who lives there and how the building is used.

Where you live in Lawrence changes the policy

City public safety officials cite six chronic flooding locations:

• Spicket River at the Daisy Street Bridge. The river routinely backs up here, flooding Holly, Daisy, Spruce and Myrtle streets. With FEMA help, the city bought nine homes next to the bridge between 2006 and 2016 and built a park with expanded flood storage.
• Spicket River at the Hampshire Street Bridge. Backups flood Hampshire Street and Marion Avenue.
• Bloody Brook at Swan, Knox and Jackson streets. The brook routinely backs up at the Methuen line because of undersized culverts and upstream development.
• Sow Brook at Young, Rollins and LeRoy streets. A new trouble spot, after more stormwater was routed to the brook.
• Shawsheen River at the Merrimack Street culvert. In a 100-year flood, the river backs up into the neighborhood, affecting several homes and streets.
• Shawsheen River at the Route 114 bridge. In a 100-year flood, the river overtops its banks and closes Route 114.

The plan says Merrimack River flooding mainly hits a commercial and industrial district, while the Spicket floods a predominantly residential district. The Stevens Pond Outlet Dam is classified as high hazard, and the city has had an emergency action plan for it since January 2019.

Flood coverage in Lawrence

MVPC’s mapping puts 762 acres of Lawrence in the 100-year floodplain and 431 more in the 500-year floodplain, together 25% of the city. It counts 1,756 structures in the floodplain, valued at $1.46 billion in 2023, plus 109 critical facilities. There are 27 repetitive loss sites with 79 claims totaling $7,698,765, and six severe repetitive loss sites with 25 claims totaling $4,761,156.

The 2006 Mother’s Day Flood closed key streets for a week and caused more than $34 million in damage. On August 8, 2023, more than 6 inches of rain in 6 hours led the mayor to declare a state of emergency, with widespread damage to homes, businesses and vehicles. The plan says the city’s claims for that storm did not meet the state’s minimum damage threshold, so disaster aid is not something to count on.

FEMA’s Essex County Flood Insurance Study lists Lawrence’s first flood insurance rate map as August 2, 1982; the plan says the latest effective map was adopted in 2012 and new maps were expected. A homeowners policy will not pay for a river over its banks or surface water. Flood is its own policy. 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.

Sewer backup and heavy rain

With combined sewers carrying both stormwater and sewage, heavy rain can overwhelm the system. The plan says 164 million gallons of combined sewer overflow were discharged in Lawrence in 2023, a record-high precipitation year. Backup of sewage or water through a basement drain is usually excluded from homeowners policies unless you add a water backup endorsement. If you have a finished basement or a basement apartment, add it.

Heat and winter

The city rates extreme temperatures, severe winter storms and inland flooding as high risks. The plan says Lawrence feels extreme heat more than less-developed towns, and schools released students early due to heat in 2018 and 2023. Fallen trees, wind damage, ice dams and frozen pipes are generally homeowners claims, subject to your deductible and policy terms.

Multi-family homes and landlords

If you live in one unit of a two- or three-family house and rent the others, tell us how many units there are and who lives in each. Depending on the building and the carrier, you may need a dwelling or landlord policy. It covers the building, lost rent and your liability. Ask your tenants to carry renters insurance.

Condos and mill lofts

Your HO-6 condo policy covers what the association’s master policy does not: usually your interior, improvements, belongings, liability and loss assessments. In a converted mill building, ask for the master policy and its deductible before you close.

Renters and tenants in Lawrence

If you rent in Lawrence, 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence

• 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
• No flood policy on a home near the Spicket River, Bloody Brook or the Shawsheen
• No water backup endorsement on a basement apartment
• A multi-family rental insured on the wrong form

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 Lawrence

• 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 your street floods, move vehicles and valuables before a big storm, and never drive through moving water

Buying a home in Lawrence

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. Near the Spicket, the Shawsheen or a brook, ask for any elevation certificate and the seller’s flood policy. For a multi-family home, get copies of current leases. We line up proof of homeowners coverage, and flood coverage if you need it, so both are ready for your lender.

How a Lawrence 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 Lawrence from Portsmouth, NH

We do not have a Massachusetts office. We insure Lawrence homes from our Portsmouth, NH office, and work by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020. Nearby, see our Methuen and Haverhill pages, or our Massachusetts homeowners insurance guide.

Sources

• Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, Merrimack Valley Region Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 2024 (FEMA-approved February 3, 2025)
• FEMA, Flood Insurance Study, Essex County, Massachusetts, volume 4 (revised July 8, 2025)
• 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 Lawrence, MA?

Yes. We’re licensed in Massachusetts and insure Lawrence homes from our Portsmouth, NH office by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020.

Does Lawrence flood?

Yes. The regional hazard mitigation plan says 25% of the city lies in the 100- or 500-year floodplain and lists six chronic flooding spots along the Spicket, the Shawsheen and two brooks. City officials rate flood risk high. 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.