Local News

Looking to insure coastal property? Here’s what you need to know.

My auto insurer declined to give me a quote.

Cars drove through flooding on Oakville Street in Lynn after Tropical Storm Elsa last year.

By The Boston Globe

September 8, 2022

I recently renewed my homeowners insurance, but before I did, I asked my agent for a quote from the insurer who has my auto insurance. Most insurers offer a sizable discount when you “bundle” your home and auto insurance together (as high as 25 percent), and I wanted to give it a try.

But my auto insurer declined to give me a quote. Why? Because my house, located a block and a half from an ocean bay, was considered too risky due to its “coastal proximity,” even though flood waters have never reached my home in more than 30 years.

And a friend recently told me she got the same “thanks, but no thanks” treatment when she asked for a quote from an insurer, even though her house is on fairly high ground about a mile from the ocean. Why? “Because we’re considered coastal,” she told me.

Peak hurricane season is upon us in New England (mid-August to late October), and the National Weather Service is predicting above-average hurricane activity this year.

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