TWR - Tower Insurance

[Left Field]

Tower showing some good strength of late.   Those dividends are so delicious. 

Nice to see TWR SP climbing again after recent cyclone fears.

Happy holder.

[Left Field]

A reminder of how the recent Cyclone event is BAU for TWR and why I remain a holder.

I live in a coastal village, my house is on a hill 100 metres above the beachside township and is insured with TWR.

Last week, a friend sought to insure a property on the town's main street some 200 metres from the beach. The property's LIM report notes it is located in possible EQ liquification and potential sea level rise flood zones.

In responding to his request for house insurance and after entering the property's address,  the TWR web site quickly informed them: "We're sorry...the details you've given mean that we're currently unable to offer you cover."

[Basil]

Address specific risk measurement is also a fabulous tool to use when looking to buy a property.  If Tower won't cover it, there's almost certainly a very good reason not to buy it.  Just go online with Tower and enter the property address and bingo, Tower says you should keep it on your watchlist or delete it.  Very handy.  Disc: Happy Tower holder.

[Shareguy]

A reminder of how the recent Cyclone event is BAU for TWR and why I remain a holder.

I live in a coastal village, my house is on a hill 100 metres above the beachside township and is insured with TWR.

Last week, a friend sought to insure a property on the town's main street some 200 metres from the beach. The property's LIM report notes it is located in possible EQ liquification and potential sea level rise flood zones.

In responding to his request for house insurance and after entering the property's address,  the TWR web site quickly informed them: "We're sorry...the details you've given mean that we're currently unable to offer you cover."

We also have a holiday home in Coastal town that Tower won't cover. We have never had any issues or made a claim. Others I contacted do Insure our property including Initio.

https://initio.co.nz/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=964517484&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkYLPBhC3ARIsAIyHi3SiG-UJSCMiTVhBu570hseqrjOYgljkv1UWjjwM_g21XaL7uGy8FFYaAgR2EALw_wcB

[mike2023]

I've just insured a post quake house in north Canterbury with tower. 30% higher premium than a bigger more expensive property I had in Hamilton. But still cheaper than the competition by give or take 10%.

[BlackPeter]

Interesting to compare Tower with other health insureres in the recent consumer survey. According to the article:

"It's parent company, Tower, performed poorly though, coming last for contents insurance, and towards the bottom of the pack for house insurance."

More info (as well about the better performers - no, not Tower) - and table under

https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/best-and-worst-insurance-providers 

 (paywalled - but I guess the annual subscription for the Consumer is well worthwhile).


.. and by the way - in the various examples is Tower not even in the lower premium range - dear and unloved!

So - absolutely, if you want to get an unloved insurance ... by all way - include Tower. Just make sure, that you never need them!

If you might however need an  insurance from time to time, it might be worthwhile to consider one of the (often cheaper) competitors with a higher customer satisfaction rating.

[winner (n)]

From the Consumer page PeterH made this comment - need to pay to see what the reply was -

I am curious. How do you reconcile the fact Canstar rate Tower very highly yet Consumer rate it in the lower half of their ratings?

[BlackPeter]

From the Consumer page PeterH made this comment - need to pay to see what the reply was -

I am curious. How do you reconcile the fact Canstar rate Tower very highly yet Consumer rate it in the lower half of their ratings?

Well, Consumer is easy - they do an annual survey, and the result is basically whatever with Tower inured members picked. Not that good, isn't it?

No idea what Canstar is and what they do. If its any relevant, than maybe one should ask them.

Edit: Actually, I did a quick check on Canstar:

Canstar is a privately owned "comparison site" which mainly reviews the companies who pay them and, if they feel according to whatever judgement, that the companies which pay them deserve a good judgement, they allow these compnaies to pay them a bit more to use the top rating they they gave them. Clearly - no problems with conflict of interests or similar.

https://www.canstar.co.nz/about-canstar/

So - clearly - Tower pays Canstar for using this amazing rating which Canstar gave them for one reason or another.

I suppose its a bit like Tinas ads in the TV. If you pay, you can send your ads ... and if you don't pay, than you can't.

[Playa]

Claims must be through the roof with an increase in weather events
New Zealand experienced a record-high 46 severe storms between autumn 2025 and summer 2026, marking a significant increase in severe weather. Data shows a near-weekly occurrence of storms, with a 256% increase in storm-related claims to 33,174, highlighting a surge in frequency and intensity.

[HAWKDOG]

A storm every 8 days last year.

[Basil]

Comparing an unusually wet period with an unusually dry period is something I believe IAG have done for dramatic effect, perhaps softening up the market for price increases.

Tower have done a great job with their risk based pricing which positions them well to handle the variable weather conditions.

I think we've likely now seen the back of the cyclone season and I still think there will be some surplus from their $45m extreme event reserve to be paid out as a special dividend at year end.

[LoungeLizard]

The recent Wellington event wasn't a cyclone - it was flash flooding due to torrential rain. We're just entering the rainy season so expect more of these events in the coming months.

NZ's combination of coastal towns, low lying rural areas and hilly cities makes us particularly vulnerable to climate change and our chronic underinvestment in storm water drains, stop-banks etc is all coming back at us.

One things for sure - there's going to be a lot more of these events, many of which will have material effect on Towers bottom line. Under full disclosure rules I suspect we'll be hearing from Tower a lot more in the future.

[Basil]

Maybe so but in the network news last night on this topic it contained the data (from memory it was from the Insurance council or some such body) that total premiums paid in N.Z. were just over $10 Billion and total payouts from insurance companies was just under $5 Billion last year so its still a very lucrative industry and of course they can adjust premiums further in future years to account for the effects of future climate change. 

Frankly IAG under its various brands, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAG_New_Zealand dominate the industry in New Zealand and have by some accounts nearly an 80% market share.  If Tower as a Kiwi owned company wasn't keeping them honest with competition on their premiums, the Australian dominant company would be price gouging Kiwi's like there was no tomorrow.  For this reason alone I am very pleased to be a Tower customer and shareholder but I still believe that in an average weather year in the 2020's for Tower, the metrics at around $2 make it a compelling investment. 

[mike2023]

I read an article yesterday on weather and downpours in Wellington. Nothing has changed,  it's the same weather Wellington has always had since anyone kept a record. 

We have gotten better at assessing risk. That's good.

There are some good stories around earthquakes in Canterbury from early settlers if you look.

[HAWKDOG]

I asked copilot if the weather in Wellington has changed over time.  Here is the response:

Here's a clear, evidence‑based summary of how Wellington's weather has changed over time, drawing on long‑running observations and recent assessments from NIWA, Stats NZ, and local councils.

1. Temperature: steadily warming

Wellington has warmed by about 1°C since the early 1900s, consistent with national trends measured in NIWA's long‑running temperature records. [niwa.co.nz], [sciencemed...ntre.co.nz]
Warm days are becoming more common, while frosts are less frequent. Recent NIWA modelling shows more days above 25 °C already being observed compared with mid‑20th‑century conditions. [niwa.co.nz]
Most of New Zealand's warmest years on record have occurred since 2013, reflecting an ongoing warming trend that also affects Wellington. [sciencemed...ntre.co.nz]

What this means locally: warmer summers, milder winters, and increased heat stress during summer heatwaves.

2. Rainfall: more variability and heavier downpours

Total annual rainfall in Wellington has not changed dramatically, but how rain falls has changed—with more intense short‑duration rainfall events. [wellington.govt.nz], [gw.govt.nz]
Heavy rainfall events are becoming more extreme, increasing flooding risk, especially in urban catchments and low‑lying areas. [wellington.govt.nz]
At the same time, longer dry spells are being observed between rain events, affecting water supply reliability. [gw.govt.nz]


3. Wind: still windy, but trends are mixed

Wellington remains New Zealand's windiest major city, but national data show no uniform increase in extreme wind gusts across all sites. [stats.govt.nz]
Some exposed locations show small increases in extreme gusts, while others show decreases, meaning year‑to‑year variability still dominates over long‑term trends. [stats.govt.nz]


4. Extreme weather: becoming more disruptive

Extreme rainfall, heatwaves, and coastal flooding events are becoming more disruptive, even if they are not happening every year. [wellington.govt.nz]
Recent regional assessments identify compound risks—for example, heavy rain combined with high tides causing surface flooding in Wellington's CBD and transport corridors. [gw.govt.nz]


5. Sea level rise: a major change factor for weather impacts

Sea levels around Wellington have risen by around 20–25 cm since the late 1800s, based on tide gauge records. [sealevel.nz]
Even small increases in sea level mean that storm surges now cause flooding more easily than in the past. [wellington.govt.nz]
Wellington City Council notes that flooding once described as "1‑in‑100‑year events" is now occurring far more frequently. [wellington.govt.nz]


6. Big picture: what's changed overall?
Compared to earlier generations, Wellington's weather today is characterised by:

Warmer average temperatures
More intense rain events
Longer dry spells between rains
Higher coastal flood risk due to sea‑level rise
Greater disruption from extremes rather than changes in day‑to‑day weather

These changes align closely with scientific expectations for a warming climate and are well‑documented in both national and regional assessments. [niwa.co.nz], [wellington.govt.nz], [gw.govt.nz]