Which Massachusetts Counties Have the Most In-Force Policies
Third Installment in Four-Part Overview of Annual Home Insurance Report
This is the third look at the Commissioner’s Annual Report on Home Insurance in Massachusetts. Since 1996, the DOI has been required to produce a home insurance report pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175 Sec. 4A & 4B. Unlike private passenger auto insurance in Massachusetts, there are no specific laws requiring that a property owner purchase home insurance.
Home insurance coverage rates by Massachusetts County
There was a total of 2,057,471 home insurance policies in-force during the Calendar Year 2020. This number represents an increase of approximately 8,760 policies from the previous year, when 2,048,711 policies were in-force. Of that number:
- 1,431,655 were Single Homeowner Insurance Policies,
- 356,421 were Tenant Insurance Policies, and
- 269,395 were Condominium Insurance Policies.
Similar to past years, Middlesex County continues to have the greatest number of homeowners and home insurance policies in the Commonwealth, in addition to having the largest population. After Middlesex, Worcester, Essex, and Norfolk, round out the counties with the largest number of in-force policies. The following table breaks down the total number of policies according to Massachusetts county.
2020 Home Insurance Policies Ranked by Size
| Massachusetts County | No. of Home Insurance Policies |
|---|---|
| 1. Middlesex | 469,891 |
| 2. Worcester | 249,925 |
| 3. Essex | 231,707 |
| 4. Norfolk | 218,453 |
| 5. Suffolk | 190,677 |
| 6. Hampden & Hampshire | 176,267 |
| 7. Plymouth | 161,310 |
| 8. Bristol | 156,723 |
| 9. Barnstable, Dukes & Nantucket | 131,424 |
| 10. Berkshire & Franklin | 71,094 |
Percentage of Home Insurance Policies Voluntary vs. FAIR Plan
The FAIR Plan wrote the majority of its homeowners’ policies in the Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket Counties. In total, it wrote approximately 36.6% of the total policies on the Cape and Islands. The county with the second-largest proportion of FAIR Plan policies written was Suffolk County, which has typically been the second-biggest market for the FAIR Plan in Massachusetts.
How to read the other articles on this year’s Home Insurance Report
For those individuals interested in reading our earlier articles on the Annual Home Insurance Report from the Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner, please refer to the following articles:
- The 2022 MA Home Insurance Report | Part I
- The 2022 MA Home Insurance Report Part II | MA FAIR Plan Review
