Sherman, CT Home Insurance

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO

Home · Lakefront · Rural · Trees & Wind · Flood · Umbrella · Sherman, Connecticut

Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is an independent agency founded in 2005 and licensed in 10 states. We are the most-reviewed independent insurance agency in New Hampshire, with 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials. We shop each Sherman home across 40+ carriers. Start with Connecticut homeowners insurance, or read on.

Sherman at a glance

The town’s WestCOG Hazard Mitigation Plan annex for Sherman (August 2021) describes about 23.4 square miles of rural land: a narrow central valley between high hills, with peaks near 1,300 feet in the southwest. It says the need for on-site water and septic limits density, and that low-density homes cluster around Candlewood Lake and along Routes 37, 39 and 55. A small town center sits just north of the lake at Routes 37 and 39. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 3,618 residents as of July 1, 2025.

The annex lists many private lake communities and associations on Candlewood Lake, among them Holiday Point, Atchinson Cove, Candlewood Lake Estates, Deer Run Shores, Pinewood Shores, Candlewood Echoes and Sail Harbor, plus Timber Trails. For insurance, that means lake homes, rural homes on large lots and a lot of trees. Each home should be insured at today’s cost to rebuild, not market value.

What drives home insurance in Sherman

• Cut-off roads and bridges. The annex says Farm Road is the only access into a 22-home subdivision and can be overtopped by up to a foot, three houses lie beyond the Old Greenwoods Road Extension bridge over Tollgate Brook, which officials called vulnerable to washout, and the Sawmill Road bridge is the only way out for 15 homes, the town beach and the town marina.
• Drainage in lake communities. Shallow flooding occurs in Candlewood Echoes when storm drains along Route 39 clog, and heavy rain is damaging the only access road into Candlewood Lake Estates, the annex says.
• Beavers. Beaver dams on Naromi Brook at Beaver Creek Lane cause minor flooding, and the annex notes nuisance flooding from beaver dams around town.
• Outages. In the February 2013 winter storm, the annex says outages were widespread and seriously affected Timber Trails and other lake communities.
• Past storms. The April 2007 storms overloaded drainage on Barlow Farm Road, flooded Church Road near Babbling Brook Drive and damaged the Old Greenwoods Road bridge. The Sawmill Road bridge needed heavy repairs after Tropical Storm Floyd in 1999.

Flood coverage in Sherman

The annex says Sherman participates in the NFIP. Its original flood maps were published June 18, 1987, and updated October 16, 2013, with the Fairfield County flood study. Floodplains with elevations are mapped along the Tenmile and Housatonic rivers, and 1,583 acres are inside the 100-year flood boundary. The annex reports no repetitive loss properties. Because steep terrain limits wide-scale flooding, most problems hit roads, bridges and drainage. A homeowners policy will not pay for a brook or river over its banks, or for surface water. Flood is its own policy, and it is worth pricing even outside a mapped zone. Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.

• 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.

See our flood insurance overview and our Fairfield County flood insurance guide. 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.

If you own on Candlewood Lake or Lake Mauweehoo, ask us how docks, boathouses and boats are covered; they are often handled separately from the house.

Trees, wind and winter claims

Fallen trees, wind damage, roof damage from snow, ice dams and frozen pipes are generally homeowners claims, subject to your deductible and policy terms. A tree that falls without hitting anything usually isn’t covered, and removing a dying tree before it falls is maintenance. Some Connecticut policies carry a separate hurricane or named-storm deductible, so know that number in dollars.

If your power goes out in a winter storm, a whole-house generator, a monitored low-temperature alarm and a water leak shutoff can prevent the largest winter losses, and some carriers credit them.

Larger homes

Under about $2 million to rebuild, almost all of our 40+ carriers can fit, so we compare the full field. For homes over about $3 million, we look first to Cincinnati, alone or alongside Chubb, which focuses on high-value homes. Whatever the size, we build the dwelling limit around the cost to rebuild, not the market value, and look at extended or guaranteed replacement cost where offered.

See high-value home insurance in Connecticut.

Rentals, condos and older homes

Your HO-6 condo policy covers what the association’s master policy does not: usually your interior, improvements, belongings, liability and loss assessments. If you rent out a house in Connecticut, you need a dwelling or landlord policy; we place Connecticut landlord and dwelling policies with Vermont Mutual and Andover. It covers the building, lost rent and your liability. For an older home, carriers will ask the age of the roof, heating, wiring and plumbing.

Renters and tenants in Sherman

If you rent in Sherman, 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.

Auto, umbrella and the rest of the household

Most Sherman 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 Sherman

• 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 plan for a multi-day outage
• A dwelling limit set years ago and never updated to rebuilding cost
• Docks and boats assumed to be covered by the homeowners policy

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 Sherman

• 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
• Know a second way out if your road crosses a brook or a single bridge

Buying a home in Sherman

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. Ask about the age of the roof and systems, any docks or boathouses, the access road, and whether the home has ever had a flood or water claim. We line up the homeowners binder, and a flood binder if you need one, so both are ready for your lender.

How a Sherman 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 Sherman from our Connecticut team

We serve Connecticut by phone, email and online, with a Fairfield County office opening November 1, 2026. Call (603) 431-4020. See our Connecticut insurance agency page and our Fairfield County, CT insurance hub.

Sources

• Western Connecticut Council of Governments, Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2021–2026, Sherman Municipal Annex (August 2021)
• U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 subcounty population estimates
• 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 Sherman, CT?

Yes. We serve Connecticut by phone, email and online, with a Fairfield County office opening November 1, 2026. Call (603) 431-4020.

Does Sherman flood?

Not widely, but locally. The town’s 2021 hazard plan annex says steep terrain limits wide-scale flooding, and the main problem is roads and bridges that cut off neighborhoods, such as Farm Road and the Sawmill Road bridge. 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 don’t charge fees on any policy we write, including homeowners, condo, renters, landlord, dwelling and auto.