Winthrop, MA Home Insurance

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO

Home · Coastal · Condo · Two-Family · Flood · Umbrella · Winthrop, Massachusetts

Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is an independent agency founded in 2005 and licensed in 10 states, including Massachusetts. 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. If you are shopping for home insurance in Winthrop, MA, we compare each house across 40+ carriers. Start with Massachusetts homeowners insurance, or read on.

Winthrop at a glance

The town’s Hazard Mitigation Plan 2026 Update, prepared with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, describes Winthrop as an ocean-side suburban community close to Logan International Airport. It is a peninsula of 1.6 square miles, connected to Revere by a narrow isthmus and to East Boston by a bridge over the inlet to the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation. Settled in 1630, it is one of the oldest communities in the country and one of the smallest and most densely populated in Massachusetts. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 18,647 residents as of July 1, 2025.

The plan counts 8,242 households, with 41.1% of housing units renter-occupied. It notes that flooding can occur on key evacuation routes, including Main Street and Shirley Street.

For insurance, the plan’s repetitive loss list shows the mix: single-family homes, two- to four-family houses and other residential buildings, many close to the water. Each should be insured at today’s cost to rebuild, not market value, and many need a flood policy.

Where you live in Winthrop changes the policy

• Point Shirley. The plan says this is the part of town that floods most often. The east side faces ocean waves and storm surge, and the west side floods when tide-driven surge builds up in Boston Harbor. During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the fire department staged trucks and ambulances on Point Shirley at high tide, and Shirley Street at Tewksbury Street was impassable for a few hours.
• Yirrell Beach and Wyman Street. The seawall from Yirrell Beach to Deer Island is one of the town’s top mitigation priorities. The plan says it is occasionally breached, and because it ends at Wyman Street, that street floods, which can affect up to 40 homes.
• Around Lewis Lake. Lewis Lake drains about half the town. The plan says homes around it flood because the lake is silted up, and the lake overflows in storms.
• Ingleside Park, Lower Nahant Avenue and Bayou Street. The plan lists drainage backups here: Ingleside Park floods when high tides coincide with more than an inch of rain, and the town has built dikes around two homes as a temporary fix.
• The harbor seawalls. Woodside, Somerset and Sargent streets and Cottage Park see surge flooding in storms. The plan says the Pico Avenue seawall needs to be raised for a 13-foot tide, and lists Washington Street and River Road as flooding in every large rain event.

Flood coverage in Winthrop

The plan says Winthrop’s current flood insurance rate maps took effect March 16, 2016. As of May 1, 2025, there were 756 flood policies in force with $194,303,000 in coverage and $932,718 in total premiums. FEMA counts 1,254 closed paid losses totaling $7,391,198, including 25 substantial-damage losses. The plan counts 153 repetitive loss properties, 105 of them single-family homes and 36 two- to four-family homes, plus 11 severe repetitive loss properties.

The plan also notes that its 15 local flood areas do not necessarily match the FEMA flood zones, because some flood from drainage or aging infrastructure. A homeowners policy will not pay for storm surge, tidal flooding or drain backup from rising water. Flood is its own policy, and lenders require it for federally backed mortgages in a special flood hazard area. 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.

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.

Storms, wind and winter in Winthrop

The plan says Suffolk County, including Winthrop, had 37 coastal flood events from 2005 through 2025. It lists March 2018 among the major storms, and during Sandy it recorded 2,100 customers without power at the storm’s peak, downed poles and boats breaking loose in the harbor. Wind damage, fallen trees, ice dams and frozen pipes are generally homeowners claims, subject to your deductible and policy terms. Rising water is a flood claim. Many coastal Massachusetts policies carry a separate wind or named-storm deductible, so know that number in dollars.

Larger and waterfront 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 high-value home insurance in coastal Massachusetts.

Condos, two-families and rentals

Your HO-6 condo policy covers what the association’s master policy does not: usually your interior, improvements, belongings, liability and loss assessments. If your building is in a flood zone, read the master flood coverage closely. If you rent out units in a two- or three-family house, tell us how many units there are and who lives in each; you may need a dwelling or landlord policy. It covers the building, lost rent and your liability.

Renters and tenants in Winthrop

If you rent in Winthrop, 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 Winthrop 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 Winthrop

• 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 flood policy on a home near Point Shirley, Yirrell Beach or Lewis Lake
• No water backup endorsement on a basement unit
• A wind deductible you have never priced in dollars

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 Winthrop

• 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
• Watch king tide and storm surge forecasts, and move vehicles off low streets on Point Shirley before high tide

Buying a home in Winthrop

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 for any elevation certificate and the seller’s flood policy, and check the zone on FEMA’s map. For a condo, ask for the master policy and its flood coverage. We line up the homeowners binder, and a flood binder if you need one, so both are ready for your lender.

How a Winthrop 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 Winthrop from Portsmouth, NH

We do not have a Massachusetts office. We insure Winthrop homes from our Portsmouth, NH office, and work by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020. Nearby, see our Revere, Nahant and Swampscott pages, or our Massachusetts homeowners insurance guide.

Sources

• Town of Winthrop, Hazard Mitigation Plan 2026 Update (adopted August 4, 2026; MAPC)
• 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 Winthrop, MA?

Yes. We’re licensed in Massachusetts and insure Winthrop homes from our Portsmouth, NH office by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020.

Does Winthrop flood?

Yes. The town’s 2026 hazard mitigation plan says Point Shirley floods most often and lists 15 local flood areas, including Yirrell Beach, the Shirley Street neighborhood, Lewis Lake and Ingleside Park. 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.