Tower triumphs as New Zealand’s best home and contents insurer for 2024

Tower triumphs as New Zealand’s best home and contents insurer for 2024 | Insurance Business New Zealand

Insurance News

Tower triumphs as New Zealand’s best home and contents insurer for 2024

Award aims to identify insurers that offer superior coverage, customer service, and value for money

Insurance News

By
Roxanne Libatique

Tower has secured Canstar’s Home and Contents Insurer of the Year Award for 2024.

The award aims to guide New Zealanders in identifying insurance providers that offer superior coverage, customer service, and value for money.

“To this end, we commend Tower for its award win. It’s a great result for Tower’s range of insurance products, which help give Kiwi homeowners peace of mind,” said Tom Slee, Canstar group manager – wealth, health & New Zealand.

Canstar’s review of Tower Limited

Canstar, a financial comparison site, conducts an annual review of New Zealand’s primary insurance providers to help consumers make informed decisions regarding their home and contents insurance.

Tower’s Standard and Plus policy options were particularly noted for their comprehensive coverage and affordability.

The review also highlighted Tower’s strong performance in covering events such as floods, storms, and earthquakes, which are critical for many New Zealand households.

Tower CEO Blair Turnbull reiterated the company’s commitment to safeguarding New Zealand communities.

“In the face of climate change, insurance has never been more important to ensure our personal and economic resilience. That’s why we’re offering customers innovative products and tools like our hazard ratings which give homeowners more information about the risks their homes face and features like ‘ways to save’ in My Tower, our self-service digital platform,” he said. “Our teams work hard to deliver fair and transparent insurance products for our customers and are constantly reviewing our pricing to ensure insurance remains affordable and accessible for Kiwi households. We’re absolutely thrilled to be named Canstar Home and Contents General Insurer of the Year.”

Tower was also honoured with the Canstar Home and Contents Outstanding Value Award for both 2023 and 2024 and holds the Canstar 2023 Innovation Excellence Award and Canstar 2023 International Travel Outstanding Value Award.

Canstar’s Home & Contents Insurer of the Year Award

The Insurer of the Year Award is based on Canstar’s Outstanding Value Home & Contents Insurance Awards. These awards use a ratings methodology that compares both the costs and features of various insurance policies.

The Insurer of the Year Award recognises the insurer offering exceptional value through its products and services, along with high levels of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction metrics include evaluations of customer service, value for money, comprehensiveness of cover, communication, and cost, based on survey responses from home and contents insurance customers.

According to AM Best, the latest rating reflects the insurer’s strong balance sheet, consistent operational performance, straightforward business model, and robust enterprise risk management.

The agency noted that Tower’s risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by AM Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), remains very strong as of fiscal year-end 2023.

Despite a decrease in fiscal year 2023, Tower’s regulatory solvency margin is expected to improve in the medium term due to retained earnings.