Nashua, NH Home Insurance

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO

Home · Condo · Auto · Flood · Umbrella · New Hampshire

Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is an independent agency in Portsmouth, and we insure homes across southern New Hampshire, including Nashua, by phone, email and online. We shop your home across 40+ carriers and tell you which ones want to write it. We are New Hampshire’s highest-rated agency on Google, with 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials. Start with our New Hampshire homeowners insurance overview, or keep reading.

What the city’s hazard plan says

Nashua’s Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2024 reports that residents who answered its community survey named inland flooding, high wind events and severe winter weather as their top three natural hazard concerns. It says coastal flooding does not occur in Nashua; the flood risk is riverine and local. Both the Merrimack River and Nashua River watershed flood maps were in the process of being revised, and the plan expects most of the city’s FIRMs to be updated. If you are near a river or brook, check your address again when new maps take effect.

Streets the plan lists for potential flooding

The plan lists roadways with the potential to flood, including:

• The Nashua River crossings at Main Street and West Hollis Street, both within the floodway.
• Canal Street from the Merrimack River to Salvail Court, and Bridge Street and East Hollis Street (from Denton Street to Crown Street) in the area with reduced risk due to the levee.
• Brook crossings: Concord Street at Pennichuck Brook, Allds Street at Salmon Brook, and Manchester Street at Harris Pond.
• South Nashua: Spit Brook Road at the F.E. Everett Turnpike, and Daniel Webster Highway at Royal Crest Drive.
• Other areas within the 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, including stretches of Main Dunstable Road and Broad Street.

The plan also notes that slopes along the Merrimack and Nashua rivers are prone to erosion, and that flooding can cause sewer backups.

The Merrimack River levee

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Nashua Local Protection Project at the confluence of the Nashua and Merrimack rivers protects about 70 acres of industrial and residential property in the lower section of the city. The Corps says the lower city flooded to depths of 10 to 17 feet in March 1936 and 5 to 8 feet in September 1938, and that the earthfill dike, about 3,025 feet long, was completed in 1949. The city plan says it maintains the levee and has an evacuation plan for areas behind it. For insurance, “reduced risk” is not “no risk”: a flood policy behind a levee is usually inexpensive compared with the cost of a loss.

Flood coverage in Nashua

The plan reports that, as of January 2017, the city had 155 NFIP policies in force, with 31 paid losses totaling $315,674 from 1979 to January 2017. It says 81 structures fully or partially within the 1% annual chance floodplain did not have NFIP coverage, and it names streets with limited coverage such as Marina Drive, Riverside Circle, Waterview Trail, Shore Drive and Brinton Drive. The plan also notes that Nashua participates in FEMA’s Community Rating System, at Class 8, as of May 2024.

• 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.

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.

Winter, trees and wind in Nashua

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 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.

For larger homes, see high-value home insurance in New Hampshire.

Condos

If you own a condo, your HO-6 covers what the association master policy leaves out, often interior finishes, improvements, belongings, liability and loss assessment. Bring the master policy declarations page and we will size it. See our New Hampshire condo insurance guide.

Renters and tenants in Nashua

If you rent in Nashua, 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.

If you own a rental in Nashua, see landlord insurance. We do not charge fees on landlord or dwelling policies either.

Auto, umbrella and the rest of the household

Most Nashua 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 Nashua

• 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 Nashua River, Salmon Brook or Pennichuck Brook
• No flood policy behind the levee because the area is shown as reduced risk

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 Nashua

• 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
• Install a backwater valve if your basement has had a sewer backup

Buying a home in Nashua

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 a river or brook, ask the seller about any water in the basement and request any elevation certificate. We line up the homeowners binder, and a flood binder if you need one, so both are ready for your lender.

How a Nashua 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 Nashua from Portsmouth

We do not have a Nashua office. We insure Nashua homes from Portsmouth by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020. Nearby, see our Hollis, Windham, Bedford and Manchester pages.

Sources

• City of Nashua, Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2024
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashua Local Protection Project
• 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 Nashua, NH?

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

Does Nashua flood?

Nashua has no coastal flooding, but the city’s 2024 hazard plan lists streets that can flood near the Nashua and Merrimack rivers and brooks such as Salmon Brook and Pennichuck Brook. Part of the city sits behind a federal levee. 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 do not charge any fees, including on home, condo, renters, auto, flood, umbrella, landlord and dwelling policies.