Second Home Insurance in New Hampshire

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO

Second Home · Seasonal Home · Lake House · Seacoast Cottage · New Hampshire

New Hampshire has a long tradition of second homes. Families keep camps on the big lakes, cottages a short walk from the ocean in Hampton and Rye, and farmhouses in the hills that fill up on long weekends. These homes sit empty for weeks, ride out winter storms with nobody there and sometimes host guests, so they are insured differently from the house you live in.

Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is a family-owned independent agency founded in 2005, with our office in Portsmouth, NH. We are New Hampshire’s highest-rated agency on Google, with 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials, and we are licensed in 10 states. We compare 40+ carriers and charge no fees. If your question is about the home you live in full time, start with our guide to homeowners insurance in New Hampshire. For the general basics of secondary and seasonal home coverage, see our secondary and seasonal home insurance page. This page focuses on what is specific to New Hampshire second homes.

Why does a New Hampshire second home need its own policy?

A homeowners policy is built around a residence premises: the place where you live. A second home is a separate location with its own building, contents and liability exposure, so it normally needs its own policy. Nobody is there to notice a dripping supply line or a furnace that quits, so small problems can grow before anyone arrives.

Depending on the home and the carrier, a second home may be written on a homeowners form or on a dwelling fire form. The two can differ in which causes of loss they cover, how contents and liability are handled and whether rental use is allowed. Our post on dwelling fire vs homeowners insurance explains those differences. Some carriers prefer to insure a second home alongside the primary home, so it often makes sense to review both together.

How do vacancy and unoccupancy clauses affect a seasonal home?

This is the part of the policy that matters most for a home you close up for the winter. Two words do a lot of work:

• Unoccupied generally means your furniture and belongings are still in the home, but nobody is living there right now. A lake house in February is usually unoccupied.
• Vacant generally means the home is empty of the contents needed to live there, such as a cottage you have cleared out to sell or renovate.

Many property policies restrict coverage for certain losses, such as vandalism, glass breakage, theft or water damage, once a home has been vacant beyond a set period. Some second home policies also have conditions that apply while the home is unoccupied, especially for freezing. The exact wording and time periods vary by carrier and policy form, so the definitions in your own policy control.

If you are selling the home, renovating it or leaving it empty for an extended period, tell us. A standard policy may not fit, and a vacant dwelling policy or endorsement may be needed. Our post on what to review before leaving a property empty goes into the details. For an Upper Valley example, our Lyme, NH page covers the town police vacant-house check and what to have in place before you leave for the winter.

What should you do before closing up for the winter?

Freezing is a leading cause of trouble at New Hampshire seasonal homes. A pipe that bursts in a house nobody visits can run until the next time someone stops by. Many policies limit freezing losses at a vacant or unoccupied home unless you kept the heat on or shut off the water and drained the system. A typical closing list looks like this:

• Decide whether the house will stay heated or be fully winterized, and do one or the other completely.
• If you keep the heat on, keep it steady. The American Red Cross recommends setting it no lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit when you will be away in cold weather.
• If you winterize, have a qualified plumber drain the supply lines, water heater and fixtures, and add antifreeze to traps where appropriate.
• Shut off the main water supply when nobody is there, and know where the shutoff is.
• Install a low-temperature alarm and water-leak sensors that alert your phone, and keep a backup plan if the power or internet goes out.
• Arrange fuel deliveries, snow removal and roof raking so the home is reachable and ice dams do not build up.

Keep receipts and a short log of what was done and when. Records like these help if there is ever a freezing claim.

Does a caretaker or property manager change your coverage?

A caretaker can be one of the most useful things a second home owner arranges. Someone who walks through the house after a cold snap or a Nor’easter can catch a frozen pipe, a failed furnace or storm damage within days rather than months. Some carriers ask whether the home is checked on a regular schedule.

A few points to settle in writing:

• How often the home will be checked in winter, and what the caretaker looks at each visit.
• Whether the caretaker or property manager carries their own liability insurance, especially if they plow, rake roofs or hire subcontractors.
• Who has keys and alarm codes, and who gets the alerts from your temperature and leak sensors.

What is different about insuring a New Hampshire lake home?

A lake house on Winnipesaukee, Squam, Sunapee or one of the smaller ponds brings its own questions. Carriers may ask about the distance to the nearest fire station and hydrant, how the road is maintained in winter, and whether the home is on an island or reachable only by water. Those answers can affect which carriers will write the home. If you are in the Lakes Region, our Wolfeboro insurance agency page covers that area in more detail. For Winnipesaukee and Squam towns, see Moultonborough, Meredith, Tuftonboro, Holderness and Sandwich, and for mountain-view second homes up north, Sugar Hill.

• Docks, boathouses and boat lifts. These may be covered as other structures, covered with limits, or excluded, depending on the policy. Ice damage to docks is a common exclusion. Ask how yours is treated.
• Boats and personal watercraft. A homeowners policy typically offers little or no coverage for boats with larger motors. Most lake owners need a separate boat policy, and a personal umbrella should be coordinated with it.
• Wells and septic. Water backup, sump pumps and well pumps are frequent questions for camps off the town water system. Water backup coverage is usually an endorsement.

What about a Seacoast cottage?

Second homes near the ocean in Hampton, Rye, North Hampton, New Castle and Seabrook face a different set of risks than lake homes. Wind and wind-driven rain from Nor’easters, salt air on roofs and siding, and coastal flooding all come up during underwriting. Some older beach cottages were built for summer use only, and carriers may ask whether yours is heated.

Expect carriers to ask about the age and condition of the roof, the electrical and heating systems, and how close the home is to the water. Some coastal policies carry a separate wind or named-storm deductible, so look at the deductible section, not just the main deductible. If your cottage is a condominium unit, our New Hampshire condo insurance guide explains how your unit policy fits with the association’s master policy.

Is flood insurance worth it for a lake or coastal second home?

Flood is excluded from homeowners and dwelling policies. The New Hampshire Insurance Department notes that the homeowners exclusion reaches flood, surface water, wave and tidal water and the overflow of a body of water. That covers exactly the risks that sit next to a lake or ocean.

Flood coverage is available through the National Flood Insurance Program, which we write for new business through Selective, and through private flood carriers. According to FloodSmart.gov, NFIP coverage generally goes into effect 30 days after purchase, with limited exceptions such as buying in connection with a mortgage. For a Seacoast example of how flood zones and coverage choices work, see our page on flood insurance in Hampton, NH.

Can you rent out your second home part of the year?

Many owners rent a few weeks in July and August. That can work, but it changes the risk, and your carrier needs to know first. Some second home policies tolerate occasional rentals, some require an endorsement, and some exclude rental activity altogether. Frequent nightly or weekly renting usually calls for a dwelling or specialty rental policy rather than a second home policy.

Two other items come up with rentals. Liability exposure goes up when guests use the dock, the boat or the deck, so review your liability limits and consider a personal umbrella. And the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration says a short-term rental listing must include the operator’s Meals and Rooms (Rentals) license number. Some towns also regulate short-term rentals, so check the local rules first.

How do we quote a New Hampshire second home?

We compare carriers that are a good fit for the way you actually use the home. To get started, we ask for:

• The address, year built and a short description of the home, including any updates to the roof, wiring, plumbing and heating.
• How many months a year it is occupied, whether it is heated or winterized, and who checks on it.
• Whether you rent it, and how often.
• Your current declarations pages for the second home, your primary home, flood, auto and any umbrella.

We then compare policy forms, vacancy and freezing conditions, deductibles and liability side by side, and point out the differences.

Get a second home insurance quote

Tell us about the home and how you use it, and we will compare carriers. Prefer to talk? Call (603) 431-4020.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a separate policy for my second home in New Hampshire?

Usually, yes. A homeowners policy is written for one residence premises, so a lake house or Seacoast cottage normally needs its own policy. Some carriers let you add liability for a second residence to your primary policy, but the building and contents still need their own coverage.

What is the difference between vacant and unoccupied?

Policy wording controls, but in general a home is unoccupied when your furniture and belongings are still there and nobody is staying, and vacant when it is empty of the contents needed to live there. Many policies restrict certain losses after a home has been vacant for a set period, so read the vacancy condition in your own policy.

Will my policy cover frozen pipes at a seasonal home?

Often only if you took reasonable care, such as keeping the heat on or shutting off the water and draining the system. Many policies limit freezing losses when a home is vacant, unoccupied or under construction unless those steps were taken. Ask us to walk you through the freezing condition on your policy before you close the house.

Does it matter that we only use the lake house in summer?

Yes. Carriers ask how many months a year the home is occupied and whether it is winterized or heated. A summer-only camp, a three-season cottage and a heated year-round lake house are different risks, and some carriers write only some of them. Describe how you really use the home on the application.

Can I rent my second home a few weeks a year?

Possibly, but tell your carrier first. Some second home policies tolerate occasional rentals, some need an endorsement, and some exclude rental activity altogether. Frequent nightly or weekly renting usually calls for a different policy form. In New Hampshire, renting rooms to guests can also bring a Meals and Rooms (Rentals) tax license requirement.

Is flood covered on a lakefront or Seacoast second home?

Not by a homeowners policy, which excludes flood. You would need a separate flood policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood carrier. NFIP coverage usually starts 30 days after purchase, so do not wait for a storm forecast.

Do you charge fees to quote a second home?

No. We do not charge fees on any policy we write. We compare 40+ carriers for New Hampshire second homes and can review your primary home, auto, boat and umbrella at the same time.

Sources

• New Hampshire Insurance Department: Homeowners and Renters Insurance
• FEMA FloodSmart: What you need to know about buying flood insurance
• New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration: Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax FAQ
• American Red Cross: Frozen Pipes

This page is general information about second home insurance in New Hampshire and is not a coverage guarantee. Coverage depends on the policy wording, endorsements and underwriting of each carrier, and the definitions in your policy control. It is not legal or tax advice. Call (603) 431-4020 with questions about a specific property.