Tower is New Zealand’s only NZX-listed general insurer — a locally owned, locally focused company with over 150 years of history in New Zealand. Its most distinctive feature is risk-based pricing, which prices each customer more precisely based on their individual risk profile.
Who Is Tower?
Tower Insurance Limited (NZX: TWR) was originally established as the Government Life Insurance Corporation in 1869. After various transformations and ownership changes, it listed on the NZX and operates today as a fully NZ-owned and listed insurer.
Tower focuses on NZ and Pacific markets. All underwriting decisions, claims decisions, and investment decisions are made in New Zealand.
Tower’s Risk-Based Pricing Model
Tower was the first NZ insurer to openly adopt risk-based pricing for car and home insurance. Rather than using broad categories (age, car type), Tower aims to price based on your specific risk:
Factors Tower uses:
- Your specific location (street-level flood and theft risk data)
- Your driving history
- The specific vehicle (make, model, age)
- Your claims history
- How the car is used (personal, business, rideshare)
What this means in practice:
- Drivers who are low-risk for their specific profile can get very competitive premiums
- Higher-risk profiles may face premiums above the market average
- Tower’s quotes can vary significantly from other insurers — sometimes better, sometimes worse
The implication: Always get a Tower quote, because it may be significantly better or worse than competitors depending on your specific profile. Risk-based pricing eliminates cross-subsidisation — low-risk customers don’t subsidise high-risk ones.
Tower Car Insurance Cover Options
Comprehensive
- Accidental damage to your vehicle
- Third-party property damage
- Fire and theft
- Flood, storm, weather damage
- Windscreen and window glass
Third Party, Fire & Theft
- Third-party damage
- Fire and theft for your vehicle
Third Party Only
- Third-party property damage only
Tower Excess
Tower applies a standard excess on comprehensive policies. A separate natural hazard excess also applies for weather/natural disaster claims — check the specific amount in your quote.
Young driver excess: Age-related excess applies for under-25 drivers. Tower’s risk-based model may price some young drivers more competitively than traditional approaches — worth getting a quote if you’re a young driver with a clean record.
Claims Experience
Tower’s claims process is:
- Online claims lodgement (Tower’s digital platform is well-regarded)
- Phone claims available
- Approved repairer network available
- Cash settlement option available
Tower has invested heavily in digital claims infrastructure. For digitally confident customers, the online experience is often more streamlined than larger competitors.
Customer satisfaction: Tower performs reasonably well in customer surveys — generally positive for digital experience, sometimes behind AA Insurance on personal service metrics.
What Tower Does Well
- NZ-owned — decisions made locally
- Risk-based pricing can be very competitive for lower-risk profiles
- Strong digital experience
- Transparent about what drives your premium
- Long NZ history and local focus
What to Watch
- Risk-based pricing means premiums can be higher for elevated-risk profiles (older cars, flood-prone areas, higher-risk postcodes)
- The model changes premiums more frequently as risk data updates — premiums can shift at renewal more than traditional models
- Natural hazard excess is separate — understand both excesses before buying
Is Tower Right for You?
Tower is worth including in your comparison if:
- You’re in a lower-risk area (urban but not flood-prone)
- Your car is in good condition with a clean claims history
- You want an NZX-listed NZ company
- You prefer a digital-first insurance experience
Get a Tower quote and compare against AA Insurance and AMI side by side for your specific vehicle and postcode.
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