By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO, Licensed Insurance Advisor
Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance
Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is a family-owned independent agency, founded in 2005 and licensed in Rhode Island. We help Rhode Island households insure coastal homes, second homes, condos and cars, comparing coverage from carriers among the 40+ we work with. We don’t charge additional fees.
We work for you, not one insurance company. Our office is at 601 Islington St, Unit 206, Portsmouth, NH, and Rhode Island clients work with us by phone, email and online. Families across New England have given us 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials, and we’re New Hampshire’s highest-rated agency on Google.
Key takeaways
- Licensed in Rhode Island, with no Rhode Island office; most clients work with us remotely from our Portsmouth, NH office.
- Coastal and barrier-beach homes need a close look at wind and hurricane deductibles, and flood is never part of a standard homeowners policy.
- Rhode Island carriers we write include Providence Mutual, Vermont Mutual, Foremost, Progressive, Bristol West, Cincinnati and Chubb.
Why use an independent agency in Rhode Island?
A captive agent can show you one company’s price. We put several carriers’ offers next to each other for the same house and the same cars, explain the differences in plain language, and let you choose. If a roof ages out, a hurricane deductible appears at renewal, or a carrier’s appetite for a barrier-beach address changes, we can re-shop the policy without you starting over somewhere else.
Coastal homes, wind and hurricane deductibles
Much of the Rhode Island work we see sits on or near the water: shingle-style houses in Newport, bluff and harbor homes on Aquidneck Island, and barrier-beach properties in Watch Hill, Misquamicut and along the South County shore. Wind and named-storm exposure is the first underwriting question. Some carriers use a separate wind or hurricane deductible for coastal and barrier-beach homes, often stated as a percentage of the dwelling limit and triggered by a named storm. We review that deductible with you before you choose a policy, alongside roof age, construction and distance to the water.
Flood and storm surge are excluded from a standard homeowners policy. For houses on the barrier beach or in a mapped flood zone, we quote NFIP flood through Selective and compare private flood when a home needs different limits or terms. See coastal home insurance in Rhode Island and flood insurance.
High-value and second homes
High-value Rhode Island homes, from historic Newport properties to larger Watch Hill houses, often need a carrier built for higher dwelling limits, ordinance-or-law coverage and scheduled valuables. Chubb and Cincinnati write homes at any dwelling limit, and we also compare Providence Mutual, Vermont Mutual and Foremost for Rhode Island homes. We do not write Progressive condo or HO-6 coverage. See Rhode Island high-value home insurance and Rhode Island homeowners and second-home insurance.
Two-unit condex buildings have their own questions about the master policy and the unit-owners form. See condex insurance in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island auto insurance
Rhode Island requires $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability and $25,000 in property damage, or a $75,000 combined single limit. Uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage must equal your liability limits unless you choose otherwise in writing. For Rhode Island auto, the carriers we write include Progressive and Bristol West, alongside other markets that can wrap a car policy with the house when that is the better fit. See Rhode Island auto insurance.
Boats and moorings in Narragansett Bay and along the south shore have their own season and haul-out questions. See boat insurance in Rhode Island.
Disclosure: Coverage, eligibility and price depend on each carrier’s underwriting and your details. Nothing on this page is a quote or a promise of coverage.
Carriers we write in Rhode Island
For Rhode Island, the carriers we write include Providence Mutual, Vermont Mutual, Foremost, Progressive, Bristol West, Cincinnati and Chubb. For homes we look first at Providence Mutual, Vermont Mutual, Foremost, Cincinnati and Chubb. Progressive and Bristol West are markets we compare for auto; Progressive also writes renters. Availability depends on the home, the drivers and underwriting.
Rhode Island areas we serve
Town pages already on the site:
Statewide Rhode Island guides:
- Auto insurance
- Boat insurance
- Coastal homes
- Condex insurance
- High-value homes
- Homeowners and second homes
Also licensed nearby: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut and Vermont.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Rhode Island?
No. Our office is at 601 Islington St, Unit 206, Portsmouth, NH. We’re licensed in Rhode Island and work with Rhode Island clients by phone, email and online. You can also start a quote online.
Can you insure a coastal home in Newport or Westerly?
Yes. We compare coverage for coastal and barrier-beach homes, including wind and hurricane deductibles, and we quote flood separately because a standard homeowners policy excludes flood and storm surge. See coastal home insurance in Rhode Island, homeowners insurance in Newport and Watch Hill and Westerly high-value homes.
What auto insurance does Rhode Island require?
Rhode Island requires $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability and $25,000 in property damage liability, or a $75,000 combined single limit. Insurers must include uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage equal to your liability limits unless you choose otherwise in writing. See Rhode Island auto insurance.
Can you insure a high-value home in Rhode Island?
Yes. For high-value Rhode Island homes we compare carriers such as Chubb and Cincinnati, which write homes at any dwelling limit, alongside other Rhode Island home markets we write, including Providence Mutual, Vermont Mutual and Foremost. See Rhode Island high-value home insurance and high-value homes in Newport.
Does a Rhode Island homeowners policy cover flood or storm surge?
No. Standard homeowners policies exclude flood, including storm surge and rising water. Flood needs its own policy. We quote new NFIP flood policies through Selective and compare private flood options. See coastal home insurance in Rhode Island and our flood insurance page.
I own a home in Rhode Island and one in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. Can one agency handle both?
Yes. We’re licensed in 10 states, including Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, so we can quote both homes and the cars together and keep liability limits consistent for an umbrella policy. Start with Rhode Island homeowners and second-home insurance.
Get a Rhode Island insurance quote
Have your current declarations pages handy, plus each driver’s license number and each car’s VIN. For a coastal home, bring the roof age and any wind or flood policy you already have. We’ll compare options from multiple carriers and explain the differences in plain language. Call (603) 431-4020, email insure@portsmouthatlanticins.com or start a quote online.