Tower is a New Zealand and Pacific insurance company that provides car, home, contents, business, boat, pet, travel and other general insurance.
History
In 1869 the New Zealand Government provided the capital for the creation of the New Zealand Government Life Insurance Department (better known simply as Government Life). It became Tower Corporation in 1987 at a time when several New Zealand government departments and organisations were being corporatised or converted into state-owned enterprises. Three years later, ownership of Tower was transferred to policyholders as the business was mutualised.[1]
Being a mutual caused difficulties in raising capital and nine years later, in 1999, Tower demutualised and listed on the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges.[2] Seven years later, in November 2006, Tower's Australian and New Zealand operations were separated with the approval of its shareholders and the high court. Today Tower is still shareholder-owned and listed on the NZX and ASX.[1][3]
Diversification from plain life insurance
In 1989, Tower bought the National Insurance Company of New Zealand Limited. Originally founding its Head Office in Dunedin in 1873, the National Insurance Company had now grown its operations throughout the world. National Insurance had bought the failed Standard Insurance Company Limited in 1961.[4] These businesses provided Tower's fire and general insurance divisions.
In 2012, Tower sold both its medical insurance (Tower Medical Insurance Limited) and its investment (Tower Managed Funds Limited) divisions. This was followed in 2013 with the sale of Tower's life insurance business.[5]
In line with many other New Zealand insurance companies, Tower announced on 10 April 2013 that it was moving away from full replacement house policies towards nominated sum insured covers, attributing this change to international reinsurers.
In August 2021, Tower began offering boat insurance policies online.[6]
In August 2022, Tower launched Contract works – Renovation cover, which covers damage to the renovation work being done at your house and theft of materials during the construction period.[7]
Digital transformation
Tower’s signature self-service digital platform, My Tower, was first launched in New Zealand in late 2019.[8] In March 2022 Tower launched My Tower in Fiji.[9] My Tower is the first insurance online portal in the Pacific that allows people to pay their insurance premiums, lodge a claim, get a quote, update their personal details, purchase a policy and view their insurance policies. By March 2023, My Tower was available in all Pacific island countries that Tower operates.[10]
In June 2021, Tower launched Quick Quote, an online quoting tool that automatically pulls publicly available sources and pre-populates information to cut down the number of questions asked of customers when sourcing an insurance quote.[11]
In November 2021, Tower announced it would share flood risk ratings with all New Zealanders by using data to match flood premiums to risk more accurately.[12] Customers’ properties are categorised as low, medium or high and premiums are priced accordingly.
In November 2021, Tower announced it was taking complete ownership of its subsidiary National Pacific Insurance Limited (NPI) to streamline its New Zealand and Pacific operations.[15] In August 2022, NPI began re-branding to Tower.[16]
In October 2022, Tower began piloting a parametric insurance product,[17] Cyclone Response Cover in Fiji, in collaboration with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).[18]Cyclone Response Cover is now available to all customers in Fiji, Samoa[19] and Tonga.[20]
In 2024, Tower celebrated 150 years of operation in the Pacific.[21]
Today
Today, Tower operates across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands,[2] providing personal lines insurance and SME insurance for more than 319k customers,[22] and has ~9.2% market share of the NZ personal lines market.[23]
In November 2024, Tower reported its result for the year to 30 September 2024 recording an underlying net profit after tax of $83.5m (vs $7.1m in FY23) and a reported profit of $74.3m (vs $1m loss in FY23).[24]
Tower’s head office is located in a 6 Green Star building on Fanshawe Street, Auckland.[25]
Tower’s recent awards include 2024 Canstar Home & Contents Insurer of the Year,[26] 2024 IBANZ Top Insurance Employers Award,[27] 2024 IBANZ 5-Star Diversity Equity and Inclusion Award,[28] 2024 IBANZ 5 Star Innovators Award, 2024 IBANZ 5-Star Claims Award,[29] Excellence in Workplace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award at the 2024 New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards, 2023 & 2024 Canstar Home & Contents Insurance Outstanding Value Award, 2023 Canstar Innovation Excellence Award for its flood risk rating tool,[30] 2023 & 2024 Canstar Outstanding Value International Travel Insurance Award, 2023 & 2024 Canstar Outstanding Value Trans-Tasman Travel Insurance, 2024 Canstar Outstanding Value Cruise Travel Insurance, 2024 Canstar Outstanding Value Seniors Travel Insurance, 2022 & 2021 Canstar Car Insurer of the Year Award & Canstar Outstanding Value Car Award,[31] 2022 Insurance Asia Insurtech Initiative of the Year - New Zealand[32] and the 2022 Insurance Business New Zealand General Insurer of the year.[33]
Tower released its new brand identity ‘Thinking Ahead’ in March 2022. The new branding matches Towers' growth strategy and customer-centric approach.[34]
In May 2022, Tower announced the acquisition of TSB's insurance portfolio for $5.2 million. Tower has been underwriting TSB's portfolio since 2004. This is in addition to Tower’s recent acquisitions of Club Marine, ANZs insurance business and a small Westpac legacy portfolio.[35] In 2024, Tower announced a new partnership with Kiwibank.[36]
Industry partnerships
Tower's current partnerships include:
Kiwibank, the New Zealand state owned bank and financial services provider, which offers its customers house, contents, car and specialist insurance via Tower[37]
Trade Me Group, which offers customers online, home, contents and car insurance via Tower under the ‘Trade Me Insurance’ offering.[38]
Ray White, as a partner for its Concierge service Ray White refers customers to Tower for their insurance needs following their house purchase.[39]
The University of Auckland’s not-for-profit arm, UniServices, that analyses data on customer experience to improve insurance buying and claiming processes.[40]
Allianz, one of the world’s leading travel insurance specialists, who deliver travel insurance and pet insurance products.[41]
The New Zealand Defence Force in 2021, providing tailored insurance policies, for current and former service men and women, and their families.[42]
Coastguard New Zealand, the country’s primary maritime search and rescue charity organisation. Tower supports Coastguard’s core operations and volunteers.[43]
TSB, the New Zealand bank and financial services provider, with its own branded portfolio of insurance unwritten by Tower as well as referring its customers to Tower for their insurance needs.[44]
The New Zealand Defence Force, providing tailored insurance policies, for current and former service men and women, and their families.[45]
New Zealand Financial Services Group (NZFSG), a leading financial services provider in New Zealand, dedicated to empowering 1,150 advisers with a choice of services to help them excel in insurance, residential, commercial and asset finance. With a focus on innovation and excellence, NZFSG is committed to helping Kiwis secure their financial futures.
Kiwi Advisor Network (KAN), an advisory firm, to streamline insurance referrals to KAN advisors and ensures a Tower adviser handles the insurance quote process from start to finish.[46]
Government Life postage stamps
A unique (in New Zealand) feature of the Government Life office was its use of custom postage stamps, first issued in 1891. This was the result of a dispute between the office and the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department over the correct calculation of postage costs.[47] All issues featured lighthouses, either in abstract designs or specific lighthouses from around New Zealand. New designs were issued in 1905, 1947 (surcharged at the time of decimalisation in 1967), 1969, and 1981. The use of these stamps was finally withdrawn in 1989.
^McLintock, Alexander Hare; James Oakley Wilson, D. S. C.; Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Standard Insurance". An encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, 1966. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
