Insurance for island properties

Waco1148 · 05-26-2021, 09:41 AM

Having trouble getting homeowners/fire insurance for an island property, they say that in case of fire it would be a total loss, therefore won't issue a fire policy. There are hundreds of cottages and homes on unbridged islands on Winni, some much nicer than mine. Hard to believe that none of them have insurance, so what do they have? Would appreciate any advice on this subject.

Sue Doe-Nym · 05-26-2021, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waco1148

Having trouble getting homeowners/fire insurance for an island property, they say that in case of fire it would be a total loss, therefore won't issue a fire policy. There are hundreds of cottages and homes on unbridged islands on Winni, some much nicer than mine. Hard to believe that none of them have insurance, so what do they have? Would appreciate any advice on this subject.

I just talked to our Allstate agent in Wolfeboro. They might be able to help you.
Jon Clark or Courtney Corbett @569-0110. Good luck.
Sue

Formula260SS · 05-26-2021, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waco1148

Having trouble getting homeowners/fire insurance for an island property, they say that in case of fire it would be a total loss, therefore won't issue a fire policy. There are hundreds of cottages and homes on unbridged islands on Winni, some much nicer than mine. Hard to believe that none of them have insurance, so what do they have? Would appreciate any advice on this subject.

Try State farm

Slickcraft · 05-26-2021, 11:05 AM

Also try an independent agency like NFP or Cross.

https://www.co-opinsurance.com/agent...s-Wolfeboro-NH

We were setup with the Concord Group insurance by NFP. In order to cover the island property, we also had to list our home and auto insurance with them.

Descant · 05-26-2021, 11:12 AM

Mine happens to be with Liberty Mutual. My understanding is they usually do thius as accommodation to existing customers, not as a lead line. That could have changed since I started many years ago.
There are other threads here that discuss this issue, many local agents who will cover island properties. Whoever handles your primary home/auto/boat, even if out of state, should be the first call. If all your business is scattered, it will be more difficult.

Diana · 05-26-2021, 12:54 PM

Melchor and Prescott got ours for us, i think it's Vermont mutual.

The Real BigGuy · 05-26-2021, 03:30 PM

I recently got a policy from Liberty Mutual thru Geico when I bundled my home, auto, and Island home with them.

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CowTimes · 05-26-2021, 05:49 PM

We and a few of our island neighbors go through Avery Insurance in Wolfeboro. We have had our policy through Phenix Mutual for probably 10+ years, and I know that they also do island insurance through Hanover (but I think Hanover requires you to do a bundle for them to cover island properties). My suggestion is to go through a local insurance agency around the lake like Avery, as island property insurance seems to raise a whole bunch of peculiarities that most agents/companies aren’t familiar with (I recall the fact that we drew water from the lake instead of a well was somehow an issue for a lot of companies, and that was just one of the issues when I tried to find an insurance company on my own).

Winilyme · 05-26-2021, 08:50 PM

Call these guys. Very helpful and responsive. They'll hook you up with some options.

https://the-insurance-outlet.com/

codeman671 · 05-26-2021, 09:14 PM

We use Hanover and bundle with our home and vehicles.
It was much cheaper and gave us all of the same liability coverages and benefits our main house has. Other providers were just offering a fire loss only policy for 2x what we pay.

MAXUM · 05-27-2021, 01:01 PM

I have State Farm. They did dictate the terms of the policy and coverage limits since I also carry an umbrella policy with them. It’s pretty much written up as a catastrophic policy due to the location it’s expected that if something like a fire were to break out the building would be a total loss. Coverage is identical in terms of comparing to my primary residence just that the cost is more due to the aforementioned. Annual cost is not bad since I use them for everything and heavily discount bundled insurance policies.

Bear Islander · 05-27-2021, 03:22 PM

A few years ago we did a survey of where Bear Island residents got their insurance. Some carriers will keep you on if you are grandfathered. Some will take you if you bundle with other insurance. Some offer limited policies.

The only carrier we could find that was writing new, stand alone, full coverage was Lloyds. The American version of Lloyds of London. We are signed up with them through Decotis www.decotis.com However there are other agents that use Lloyds.

Mink Islander · 05-28-2021, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bear Islander

A few years ago we did a survey of where Bear Island residents got their insurance. Some carriers will keep you on if you are grandfathered. Some will take you if you bundle with other insurance. Some offer limited policies.

The only carrier we could find that was writing new, stand alone, full coverage was Lloyds. The American version of Lloyds of London. We are signed up with them through Decotis www.decotis.com However there are other agents that use Lloyds.

Lloyd’s is where we ended up a few years ago when our prior insurer (where we were bundling all our business), dropped us on the island homeowners. Needless to say, we moved all or other business….

Keel Holler · 06-04-2021, 09:13 PM

When we bought our island place a couple years ago, we had the same problem. We had used State Farm for years for other property and cars, but State Farm wouldn’t insure the island place. We called around, but kept finding that companies just automatically refused island property.
Anyway, we ended up using Avery in Wolfeboro, and we could only get bundled insurance. We moved all our policies to Hanover. In all- I second CowTimes & suggest you talk to Avery or another local agency.

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05-26-2021, 09:41 AM	#1
Waco1148 Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 41 Thanks: 1 Thanked 47 Times in 22 Posts	Insurance for island properties Having trouble getting homeowners/fire insurance for an island property, they say that in case of fire it would be a total loss, therefore won't issue a fire policy. There are hundreds of cottages and homes on unbridged islands on Winni, some much nicer than mine. Hard to believe that none of them have insurance, so what do they have? Would appreciate any advice on this subject.

05-26-2021, 11:05 AM	#4
Slickcraft Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Welch Island and The Taylor Community Posts: 3,283 Thanks: 1,216 Thanked 2,055 Times in 945 Posts	Also try an independent agency like NFP or Cross. https://www.co-opinsurance.com/agent...s-Wolfeboro-NH We were setup with the Concord Group insurance by NFP. In order to cover the island property, we also had to list our home and auto insurance with them.

05-26-2021, 11:12 AM	#5
Descant Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Merrimack and Welch Island Posts: 4,310 Thanks: 1,328 Thanked 1,614 Times in 1,047 Posts	Mine happens to be with Liberty Mutual. My understanding is they usually do thius as accommodation to existing customers, not as a lead line. That could have changed since I started many years ago. There are other threads here that discuss this issue, many local agents who will cover island properties. Whoever handles your primary home/auto/boat, even if out of state, should be the first call. If all your business is scattered, it will be more difficult.

05-26-2021, 12:54 PM	#6
Diana Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 65 Thanks: 343 Thanked 15 Times in 13 Posts	Melchor and Prescott got ours for us, i think it's Vermont mutual.

05-26-2021, 03:30 PM	#7
The Real BigGuy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 1,306 Thanks: 125 Thanked 467 Times in 285 Posts	I recently got a policy from Liberty Mutual thru Geico when I bundled my home, auto, and Island home with them. Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

05-26-2021, 05:49 PM	#8
CowTimes Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Posts: 140 Thanks: 9 Thanked 124 Times in 66 Posts	We and a few of our island neighbors go through Avery Insurance in Wolfeboro. We have had our policy through Phenix Mutual for probably 10+ years, and I know that they also do island insurance through Hanover (but I think Hanover requires you to do a bundle for them to cover island properties). My suggestion is to go through a local insurance agency around the lake like Avery, as island property insurance seems to raise a whole bunch of peculiarities that most agents/companies aren’t familiar with (I recall the fact that we drew water from the lake instead of a well was somehow an issue for a lot of companies, and that was just one of the issues when I tried to find an insurance company on my own).

05-26-2021, 08:50 PM	#9
Winilyme Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Ice in = CT / Ice out = Winnipesaukee Posts: 479 Thanks: 132 Thanked 284 Times in 152 Posts	Call these guys. Very helpful and responsive. They'll hook you up with some options. https://the-insurance-outlet.com/

05-26-2021, 09:14 PM	#10
codeman671 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,454 Thanks: 220 Thanked 802 Times in 480 Posts	We use Hanover and bundle with our home and vehicles. It was much cheaper and gave us all of the same liability coverages and benefits our main house has. Other providers were just offering a fire loss only policy for 2x what we pay.

05-27-2021, 01:01 PM	#11
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	I have State Farm. They did dictate the terms of the policy and coverage limits since I also carry an umbrella policy with them. It’s pretty much written up as a catastrophic policy due to the location it’s expected that if something like a fire were to break out the building would be a total loss. Coverage is identical in terms of comparing to my primary residence just that the cost is more due to the aforementioned. Annual cost is not bad since I use them for everything and heavily discount bundled insurance policies.

05-27-2021, 03:22 PM	#12
Bear Islander Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bear Island Posts: 1,762 Thanks: 32 Thanked 440 Times in 207 Posts	A few years ago we did a survey of where Bear Island residents got their insurance. Some carriers will keep you on if you are grandfathered. Some will take you if you bundle with other insurance. Some offer limited policies. The only carrier we could find that was writing new, stand alone, full coverage was Lloyds. The American version of Lloyds of London. We are signed up with them through Decotis www.decotis.com However there are other agents that use Lloyds.

06-04-2021, 09:13 PM	#14
Keel Holler Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2021 Posts: 13 Thanks: 2 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	When we bought our island place a couple years ago, we had the same problem. We had used State Farm for years for other property and cars, but State Farm wouldn’t insure the island place. We called around, but kept finding that companies just automatically refused island property. Anyway, we ended up using Avery in Wolfeboro, and we could only get bundled insurance. We moved all our policies to Hanover. In all- I second CowTimes & suggest you talk to Avery or another local agency. Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app