Riverside & Old Greenwich, CT Home Insurance

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Riverside and Old Greenwich sit side by side in the southeast corner of Greenwich, split by Long Meadow Creek, the tidal waterway off Greenwich Cove. Old Greenwich ends at Greenwich Point, the 147-acre town park locals still call Tod’s Point. Riverside runs west to the mouth of the Mianus River. Both villages grew up around the water and the railroad, and both put shoreline questions at the center of almost every insurance conversation.

We are Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance, a family-owned independent agency founded in 2005 and licensed in 10 states. For houses from Greenwich Point to the Riverside shore of Cos Cob Harbor, we shop home, flood, boat, auto and umbrella coverage across 40+ carriers. We serve Connecticut from our Connecticut office and by phone, email and online. Questions? Call (603) 431-4020.

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Key takeaways

  • Surge and tidal flooding are excluded from every homeowners policy. Shoreline houses here need a separate flood policy, and many need limits above what the NFIP offers.
  • Most houses in both villages were built before 1970, so roof age, wiring, plumbing and rebuild cost drive the underwriting.
  • Greenwich counts renovation work cumulatively for flood rules, so plan insurance and permits together before a big project.
  • Boats on moorings, docks and seawalls each need their own look. A homeowners policy rarely handles them well alone.

Two villages, one shoreline

Old Greenwich is the older of the two names, and also the newer one. It was renamed Sound Beach after the railroad began stopping there in 1872, to draw summer visitors to the shore (Shorelands Association). In 1931 residents petitioned successfully to restore the name Old Greenwich, according to a state historical marker and the local garden club’s history. The Tods’ Innis Arden estate at the tip of the peninsula became Greenwich Point Park when the town bought it in 1945 (Town of Greenwich; Greenwich Point Conservancy).

Riverside is mostly residential streets between the Post Road and the Sound, with its own Metro-North station and yacht club. Its western edge drops to the Mianus River and Cos Cob Harbor, so some Riverside houses face open Sound while others face a tidal river. That matters for flood zones and wind exposure.

Old houses, mostly

Recent Census estimates (American Community Survey, 2020–2024) put about 2,540 homes in the Old Greenwich census area and about 3,040 in Riverside (B25024, Old Greenwich; Riverside). Most are detached single-family houses: about 2,090 in Old Greenwich and 2,570 in Riverside. Roughly 6,900 people live in Old Greenwich and 9,000 in Riverside.

Age is the bigger story. About 660 Old Greenwich homes date from before 1940, roughly one in four, and the median house was built in 1966 (B25034). In Riverside the single biggest decade is the 1950s, with about 640 homes, and the median year built is 1963 (B25034). Plenty of those houses have been gutted, expanded or replaced since, but on paper most are older than modern building and flood codes.

For insurance, that mix means three recurring questions. When were the roof, wiring, plumbing and heating last updated? What would it actually cost to rebuild the house as it stands today, including the additions? And how high is the first floor compared with the flood elevation on the map?

Where the water reaches

The Western Connecticut Council of Governments’ Greenwich hazard mitigation annex names the whole Greenwich coastline as low-lying, and calls out Greenwich Point Park, Old Greenwich and Cos Cob in particular. Two problem spots stand out in its list:

  • Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich. Town staff report road flooding more often in recent years, from both coastal water and poor drainage. The plan notes that flooding affects emergency access, and that the alternate routes flood too.
  • Shore Road near Greenwich Point. The town reports recurring “nuisance” flooding, and the plan expects Greenwich Point to see more of it as sea levels rise.

Greenwich has 117 repetitive loss properties on FEMA’s list, and the plan puts most of them along the Sound. Add a foot of sea level rise to a 1-in-100-year storm, the plan warns, and water could reach into Greenwich Cove, Indian Harbor and Cos Cob. It also notes the town finished a drainage project along Park Avenue, Highview Avenue, Sound Beach Avenue and Arcadia Road, and that Binney Pond is one of four tidally influenced town ponds studied for sea level rise.

Recent storms show what that looks like. Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011 pushed a 3- to 5-foot surge into Long Island Sound, and Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 brought an 8- to 9-foot surge to much of the western Sound, timed with high tide (MetroCOG hazard plan). A few miles east, the Army Corps recorded a peak water level of 11.1 feet at the Stamford hurricane barrier on the night of October 29, 2012, a record there (USACE). After Sandy, more than 20 Greenwich homes were elevated with federal grant money, and the town says many more were raised privately.

What it means for your policies

Rising water from any of these events is flood. It is excluded from homeowners policies, including high-value forms. Wind that tears off shingles or drops a limb through the roof is a homeowners claim, but on a shoreline house it often triggers a separate hurricane deductible set as a share of the dwelling limit. Know both numbers before the season. Our guide to Connecticut hurricane deductibles explains when that deductible applies.

Flood insurance for Riverside and Old Greenwich

New NFIP flood policies go through Selective, a write-your-own carrier, so the policy follows FEMA’s standard terms. On a house, the NFIP caps building coverage at $250,000 and contents at $100,000; it also restricts basement coverage and does not pay additional living expense (FloodSmart). A new NFIP policy generally takes 30 days to start, with exceptions tied to a mortgage closing.

For many houses here, rebuild cost runs past the NFIP building limit. Then the choice is a single private policy with higher limits, or an NFIP policy with excess flood on top. Our private and excess flood markets are Flow Flood, Neptune Flood, Beyond Floods, The Flood Insurance Agency, CatCoverage and Aon Edge. Which works depends on the address, the elevation certificate and what your lender will accept. Our Greenwich and Westport shoreline flood guide and Fairfield County flood guide go deeper.

  • Zone VE applies where waves add to the flood risk. Building rules are strictest here, and the elevation certificate drives the quote.
  • Zone AE covers much of the low ground behind the beaches and around the coves.
  • Zone X is outside the mapped 1-in-100-year floodplain, but not out of reach. Houses in X along the coves can and do take water.

Pull up your street on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center. If you have an elevation certificate, send it with your quote request. If you do not, ask us whether one is worth ordering before you buy or renovate.

Renovations, teardowns and the town’s flood rules

Greenwich takes an unusually firm line on bringing older flood-zone houses up to code. The annex says the town adds up improvement costs from the time a property fell out of compliance, which can reach back to 1986. A string of smaller projects can add up to a requirement to elevate. Talk to the town’s building and planning staff before you design.

On the insurance side, a big project raises three questions. Does your homeowners carrier know the house is under construction, and is it still occupied? Do you need a builder’s risk policy while the work is open? And once the work is done, does the dwelling limit reflect the new house? Ordinance or law coverage on the homeowners policy and Increased Cost of Compliance on an NFIP policy can both help after a loss, but neither is unlimited.

Homes, carriers and what underwriters look at

The housing ranges from Sound Beach cottages and 1950s capes to center-hall colonials, shingle-style houses near the water and newer homes built after a teardown. Our Connecticut homeowners markets are Andover, Vermont Mutual, Hanover, Liberty Mutual, Providence Mutual, Foremost, Stillwater, Openly, National General and Cincinnati.

At the top end, Cincinnati and Chubb sit side by side: two similar high-value carriers that compete with each other, both willing to write homes at any dwelling limit, so we quote them against each other. For homes up to about $5 million, Openly and National General are in the mix too.

For larger homes, carriers usually want to inspect inside and out and often ask about water leak detection with automatic shutoff, a generator and a monitored alarm. Read our Chubb review and Cincinnati review, and see the Greenwich high-value home insurance page for more on the top end. Our Greenwich homeowners insurance page covers the rest of town.

  • Roof age and type, and when wiring, plumbing and heating were last updated.
  • Distance from the water, first-floor height and what sits in the basement.
  • Seawalls, bulkheads, docks and pool houses, and how each is covered.
  • Trees close to the house. In the March 2, 2018 nor’easter, the annex says, several hundred Greenwich trees came down and power went out for thousands of customers.

Boats, moorings and the clubs

Boating is part of daily life here. Old Greenwich Yacht Club and a public boat launch are at Greenwich Point, and Riverside Yacht Club runs a member mooring field on the east side of Cos Cob Harbor. The town permits every mooring. Riverside Yacht Club members, like members of a few other clubs, go through the club; everyone else applies to the town waitlist (Town of Greenwich).

A homeowners policy covers very little for a boat of any size. Our boat insurance markets are Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Hanover, American Modern and Foremost Specialty, plus Chubb for high-value boats. Tell us how the boat is used, where it is kept in season, and how it is stored for winter. Liability from the boat should line up with your umbrella.

Cars, commuters and liability

Riverside and Old Greenwich each have a station on Metro-North’s New Haven Line (MTA), and many residents split their driving between I-95, the Post Road and the Merritt. Our auto insurance quotes cover the same carriers, and auto can often sit with the company that writes a high-value home. A car flooded in a low driveway during a surge is usually a comprehensive claim on the auto policy, if you carry comprehensive, not a flood policy claim.

Pools, docks, teen drivers and domestic staff all raise liability exposure. A personal umbrella adds a layer above the home, car and boat policies, as long as their limits meet the umbrella carrier’s minimums. A classic car is better off on an agreed-value collector car policy.

Condos and rentals

Renters occupy about 330 homes in Old Greenwich and 570 in Riverside (B25003; Riverside). A rental house or two-family you don’t live in needs landlord coverage, and for one to four units we turn to Liberty Mutual, Vermont Mutual, Providence Mutual, Hanover, Andover and Foremost. An HO-6 for a condo has to dovetail with the association’s master policy. See our landlord insurance page and our Connecticut condo association page. Tenants should carry renters insurance.

Nearby

Cos Cob sits across the harbor, with its own river and historic district. See our Greenwich insurance overview, the Connecticut high-value home insurance hub, our Connecticut page and our guide to luxury home insurance in Greenwich, Darien and Westport.

Request a Riverside or Old Greenwich quote

With 40+ carriers to compare, we can usually find more than one good fit for a shoreline house. Clients have given us 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials (see our client feedback page), and we don’t charge any fees. Tell us about the house in the form below or on the quote page. Request a quote. There’s no obligation to buy. You can also reach us at (603) 431-4020.

Frequently asked questions

Is my Old Greenwich or Riverside house in a flood zone?

Many shoreline streets are, and some houses a few blocks back are too. FEMA’s maps for Greenwich were last revised in 2013, and the zone can change from one side of a street to the other. Look up the address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, then send us the zone and any elevation certificate you have.

Does homeowners insurance cover storm surge from Long Island Sound?

No. Surge, wave wash and tidal flooding count as flood, which takes its own policy: NFIP through Selective, or one of the private markets named on this page. Wind damage from the same storm falls under the homeowners policy and its hurricane deductible.

Sound Beach Avenue floods in big tides. Does that affect my insurance?

Street flooding by itself is not a claim, but it tells an underwriter how close the water gets. The town’s hazard plan lists Sound Beach Avenue and Shore Road near Greenwich Point as recurring trouble spots. Expect questions about the height of your first floor, the basement and mechanicals, and keep flood coverage in force even if your lender does not require it.

We are renovating an older house near Greenwich Cove. What should we check first?

Talk to the town before you design. Greenwich totals improvements over time, in some cases reaching back to 1986, when deciding whether work is a substantial improvement, and crossing that line can mean elevating. Tell us about the project too, so the homeowners policy, a builder’s risk policy if needed, and flood coverage all fit the work.

Which carriers write larger waterfront homes here?

For the largest homes we usually put Cincinnati and Chubb side by side. They compete directly, their policies are similar, and neither caps the dwelling limit. Plenty of village homes also fit the other Connecticut carriers we use. Elevation and how the house is protected decide a lot.

Can you insure the boat we keep on a Greenwich mooring?

Yes, through the boat carriers listed above. The town permits each mooring, so bring the permit details, the boat’s size and use, and your winter storage plan.

How do I get a quote?

Fill in the form below, or phone (603) 431-4020. Helpful to have: declarations pages, roof and system update years, and flood or elevation paperwork. Request a quote. There’s no obligation to buy.

Sources

Written for people who own or rent homes in Riverside and Old Greenwich. It is general information, not a quote, a policy or legal advice. What a policy pays depends on its wording and endorsements and on each carrier’s underwriting, and the public figures cited here can change.

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