Homeowners Insurance in New Hampshire

What a homeowners insurance policy covers, why a lender may require it and flood insurance, the rules on cancelling a policy, and how to file a claim and complain.

Checked against its sources October 26, 2026.

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APA: Granite Record. (n.d.). Homeowners Insurance in New Hampshire. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://graniterecord.org/guides/homeowners-insurance
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At a Glance

A homeowners policy covers the structure of your home, your belongings and your liability for injuries to others or their property while they are on your property, the Insurance Department explains. Most mortgage lenders require it for as long as you have a mortgage, and most homeowners policies do not cover flood damage. Once a policy has been in effect for 90 days, the insurer may cancel it only for the reasons the law lists, and it may not refuse to renew it solely because you filed a single valid claim in one policy term. If an insurer handles your claim unfairly, you can complain to the Insurance Department.

Do you have a mortgage?
- YesMost lenders require homeowners insurance, and flood insurance in a high-risk flood area.
- NoThe Insurance Department’s first reason to buy it is to protect your assets.
If you have a loss, tell your insurer and keep a record of what you send.
If you disagree with how it is handled, complain to the Insurance Department.

Step by Step

Your policy

What homeowners insurance covers
New Hampshire’s law on home insurance covers policies on a household’s real property (the house), its personal property (belongings) and its legal liability for injury to other people or damage to their property. The Insurance Department’s Homeowners and Renters Insurance page explains that homeowners insurance covers the structure of your home and your personal property, and your legal responsibility for injuries to others or their property while they are on your property.
Homeowners and renters insurance (Insurance Department)
The law: RSA 417-B:1
What a lender may require, and flood insurance
Most mortgage lenders require you to have insurance for as long as you have a mortgage, and to list them as the mortgagee on the policy, the Insurance Department explains. If you let your insurance lapse, your lender will likely insure the home itself: the premium might be much higher than a policy you would buy, the coverage is limited to damage to the structure, and the lender can require you to pay it until you get your own homeowners insurance again.
Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage, says FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program. You must have flood insurance if you own a home in a Special Flood Hazard Area and have a government-backed mortgage, and some lenders require it outside those areas. If the property has received federal disaster assistance before, it needs flood insurance to qualify again.
Who needs flood insurance (FloodSmart, FEMA)
If your insurer cancels or will not renew your policy
An insurer may not cancel or refuse to write or renew your policy solely because of your age, where you live, your race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, marital status or lawful occupation, because another insurer turned you down, or on your credit information alone. It may not refuse to renew a homeowners policy solely because you filed a single valid claim in one policy term, and asking about your coverage is not a claim.
Once a policy has been in effect for 90 days, or once it has been renewed, the insurer may cancel it only if you do not pay the premium, are convicted of a crime that increases a hazard insured against, commit fraud or material misrepresentation in a claim, act with gross negligence that substantially increases a hazard, make physical changes that leave the property uninsurable, or ask it to.
It must send written notice that states its specific reasons, at least 45 days before the cancellation or nonrenewal takes effect, or 10 days for not paying or in the first 90 days of a new policy.
The law: RSA 417-B:2, RSA 417-B:2-a, RSA 417-B:3-a, RSA 417-B:3, RSA 417-B:4

After a loss, or a dispute

If you have a loss: filing a claim
Tell your insurance company about the loss as your policy directs, and keep a record of what you send and when. The law treats it as an unfair claim settlement practice for an insurer, without just cause, to fail to act promptly on what you send about a claim, to fail to try in good faith to settle fairly and promptly once its liability is reasonably clear, or to fail to say whether it covers the claim within a reasonable time after you send the proof of loss forms.
The law: RSA 417:4
If you disagree with your insurer: complain to the Insurance Department
The New Hampshire Insurance Department takes complaints about insurance companies and agents. Its Filing a Complaint page has an online complaint form, and a printable Consumer Complaint Form to mail or fax to the Department. If you complain for someone else, such as a spouse, an adult child or a friend, also send its Release of Information Form. A Consumer Services Officer reviews what you send and, if the Department has authority over it, forwards it to the company or agent for a response; if not, the officer refers it to the agency that has and tells you by letter. The Department is not always able to get you the remedy you want. The Insurance Commissioner may examine and investigate an insurer’s practices.
With a question, call Consumer Services at (603) 271-2261, toll free in New Hampshire at 1-800-852-3416, or email [email protected].
If the Department finds that an insurer broke the law and its finding becomes final, a consumer harmed by the practice may sue the insurer for the loss, and one who wins also recovers the cost of the suit, reasonable attorney’s fees included. If the Department takes no action within 120 days of receiving your complaint, that counts as a finding of no violation, which you may appeal.
File a complaint (Insurance Department)
The law: RSA 417:5, RSA 417:19, RSA 417:20