Rockport, MA Home Insurance: Bearskin Neck, Pigeon Cove and Cape Ann Coastal Homes

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO

Home · Flood · Condo · Umbrella · Massachusetts

Rockport homes range from old village houses near Bearskin Neck and the harbor to cottages along Long Beach, homes in Pigeon Cove and larger houses with open-ocean views. Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is an independent agency licensed in Massachusetts. We insure Rockport homes from our Portsmouth, NH office by phone, email and online, and shop each one across 40+ carriers. We are the most-reviewed independent insurance agency in New Hampshire, with 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials across our two offices. Start with Massachusetts homeowners insurance, or keep reading.

Rockport at a glance

The town’s 2020 hazard mitigation plan update describes Rockport as sitting at the tip of Cape Ann, surrounded by the Atlantic on three sides with Gloucester on the fourth, about 40 miles from Boston. It puts the 2019 year-round population at 7,282, rising to as many as 20,000 in summer, and names tourism as the major industry, with Bearskin Neck drawing thousands of visitors to its shops. Rockport has its main harbor plus three others where pleasure and fishing boats moor.

Where you live in Rockport changes the policy

• Bearskin Neck, the Old Harbor and downtown. The plan says FEMA identifies the Old Harbor, Bearskin Neck and some properties seaward of Mount Pleasant Street on Rockport Harbor as coastal floodplain that would be inundated in a 100-year flood, with added hazard from storm waves. It says land along Main Street and Beach Street between the Old Harbor and Rowe Point is in the floodplain, and properties seaward of Main Street in the Old Harbor could flood to a depth of 1 to 3 feet. In a March 2013 storm, the plan records overwash over the tip of Bearskin Neck that undermined the harbor parking lot. Older buildings packed close together near the water raise questions about construction, wiring and heating, and mixed-use buildings with shops below may need a different policy form.
• Long Beach. A state environmental filing for the Long Beach seawall project reports that portions of the project area are in FEMA’s VE zone, with a base flood elevation of 14 feet (NAVD88). The hazard plan lists seawall repairs and new concrete stairs at Long Beach among its storm-surge projects, and notes that the town challenged the 2015 FEMA map update for downtown and the Long Beach community. Elevation and foundation matter a lot here.
• Back Beach, Front Beach and Old Garden Beach. The plan lists Beach Street at Back Beach and Millbrook Park across from Front Beach among areas that flood from coastal storm surge, notes the Back Beach seawall was rebuilt and raised, and says coastal banks just south of Old Garden Beach have slumped and eroded.
• Pigeon Cove and the north side. The plan says the Pigeon Cove breakwater and seawall have been rebuilt twice since 1978 due to storm action. Homes on higher, rocky ground may have less flood exposure, but wind exposure off the open Atlantic is still a major underwriting factor.
• Loblolly Cove, Pebble Beach and Straitsmouth Gap. The plan lists Penzance Road near Pebble Beach and at Loblolly Cove, and Marmion Way at Straitsmouth Gap, as areas repeatedly hit by surge, washout and storm debris.
• Inland streets. Away from the shore, roof age, older-home systems and rebuild cost usually matter most.

Older homes and rebuild cost

Much of Rockport’s village housing is old, and older homes cost more to rebuild than their square footage suggests. We build the replacement estimate around restoration-quality work, add ordinance or law coverage for code upgrades after a loss, and look at carriers comfortable with older construction. See historic home insurance.

Flood coverage in Rockport

A homeowners policy will not pay for rising water, whether it is surge into the harbor, waves over a seawall or a beach road flooding at a storm tide. Flood is its own policy. The town’s plan notes that chronic flooding is predominantly caused by coastal storm surge and that these events have become more frequent in recent years. Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Lenders require flood insurance for federally backed mortgages in a special flood hazard area.

• 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.

More on how flood policies work is in our flood insurance overview.

Hurricane and named storm deductibles: know the dollar figure

Shoreline policies in Massachusetts commonly carry a separate hurricane or named storm deductible. The Massachusetts Division of Insurance puts the usual range at 1% to 5% of insured value. Because it is a percentage, the more your house is insured for, the larger the check after a storm. We convert each option to dollars so you can weigh a lower premium against a bigger deductible, or the reverse. If no standard carrier will write a house, the Massachusetts FAIR Plan is a last resort, and we will put it side by side with any private option.

Larger homes

Under about $2 million, most of our 40+ carriers are in play. Andover writes up to about $2.25 million in Massachusetts, sometimes higher with underwriting approval. Around $2 million to $3 million, Hanover is among the carriers we compare. Over about $3 million, Cincinnati is our go-to, and Chubb, which focuses on high-value homes, joins it at $5 million and up. Whatever the size, we build the dwelling limit around the cost to rebuild, not the market value, and we look at extended or guaranteed replacement cost where a carrier offers it.

See coastal Massachusetts high-value home insurance.

Summer homes, rentals and condos

With a summer population that the town plan says can nearly triple, many Rockport properties are second homes or seasonal rentals. Carriers treat a house you rent by the week differently from one you live in, so tell us how it is used. See Massachusetts second home insurance and, for condo owners, Massachusetts condo insurance.

Liability for hosts and boaters

Summer guests, rental tenants, boats in the harbors and rocky shorelines all add liability exposure. A personal umbrella sits above your home, auto and watercraft limits.

Common coverage gaps we see in Rockport

• 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
• A weekly rental insured as an owner-occupied home
• No flood policy on a home near the harbor or a beach seawall

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 Rockport

• 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
• Secure outdoor furniture, boats and anything that could become windborne off the water

Buying a home in Rockport

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 harbor or a beach, ask for any elevation certificate and the current flood policy, which can sometimes be assigned to a buyer. We line up the homeowners binder, and a flood binder if you need one, so both are ready for your lender.

How a Rockport 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 Rockport from Portsmouth, NH

We do not have a Massachusetts office. We insure Rockport homes from Portsmouth, NH, by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020. Nearby, see our Gloucester, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Ipswich and Marblehead pages.

Sources

• Town of Rockport, Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2020 (draft PDF)
• Town of Rockport, Final Hazard Mitigation Plan page
• MEPA Environmental Notification Form, Long Beach Seawall Stabilization, Rockport (2018)
• Massachusetts Division of Insurance, hurricane preparedness
• Massachusetts FAIR Plan
• FEMA Flood Map Service Center

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

Can I get homeowners insurance on an oceanfront Rockport home?

Usually, yes, though fewer carriers write the most exposed addresses. We compare 40+ carriers, and the Massachusetts FAIR Plan is a last resort.

Is my Rockport home in a flood zone?

Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. The town’s hazard plan identifies the Old Harbor, Bearskin Neck, parts of Main Street and Beach Street, and the Long Beach area as flood-prone.

What is a named storm deductible?

A separate deductible, usually a percentage of the insured value, that applies to qualifying storms. We show it in dollars.

You’re in Portsmouth, NH. Can you insure a home in Rockport?

Yes. We are licensed in Massachusetts and insure Rockport homes from our Portsmouth, NH office by phone, email and online.

Do you charge fees?

No. We do not charge any fees on any policy we write, including home, flood, condo, auto and umbrella.