Tower Hill home insurance review: Cheap rates & rare private flood insurance endorsement
Tower Hill home insurance rates are 50% cheaper than the national average, but its AM Best rating was recently downgraded — meaning it might not have the funds to pay out claims.
By
Jennifer GimbelJennifer GimbelSenior Managing Editor & Home Insurance ExpertJennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor and home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our homeowners insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.
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Our proprietary ratings methodology takes multiple factors into account, including customer satisfaction, cost, financial strength, and policy offerings. See the “Ratings methodology” section for more details.
3.6
AM Best rating
AM Best is a global credit rating agency that scores the financial strength of insurance companies on a scale from A++ (Superior) to D (Poor).
B
Cost
Using a mix of internal and external rate data, we grade the cost of each insurance company's premiums on a scale from least expensive ($) to most expensive ($$$$$).
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The bottom line
Tower Hill home insurance offers cheap rates and lots of coverage add-ons, including a rare private flood insurance endorsement with up to $5 million in protection. But that’s where the good ends.
Now the bad: Tower Hill Insurance averaged five times more complaints than similar-sized insurers in 2021, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. And AM Best, a rating agency that measures whether insurance companies have the funds to pay out claims, downgraded Tower Hill Prime Insurance (one of Tower Hill’s subsidiaries) to a B rating in October 2022 and reported the company’s outlook looks negative.
Private flood insurance endorsement with up to $5 million in coverage
Cheap rates that are 50% lower than the national average
20+ coverages and policy add-ons available
Cons
AM Best rating downgraded to B (fair) in Oct. 2022
Averaged 5 times more complaints than similar insurance companies in 2021
Only available in 21 states
Basic coverages offered
Tower Hill home insurance policies include these six standard coverages to protect your home, belongings, and personal liability:
Dwelling coverage: Pays to repair or rebuild the structure of your home after a covered loss.
Other structures coverage: Pays to repair or rebuild other structures on your property not connected to your home, including detached garages, storage sheds, and fencing.
Personal property coverage: Pays to repair or replace your personal belongings after a covered loss, including furniture, clothing, tech gadgets, and other stuff you own.
Loss of use coverage: Pays for hotel stays, restaurant bills, pet boarding fees, and other temporary living expenses after a covered loss if you need to live elsewhere while your home is being rebuilt.
Personal liability coverage: Pays for legal and medical expenses if someone is injured or their belongings are damaged while at your home and you’re found legally responsible.
Medical payments coverage: Pays for small-dollar medical bills if someone is injured while at your home — regardless of who is at fault.
Additional coverages offered
The following coverages are either included or can be added to your Tower Hill homeowners insurance policy for an additional cost:
Extended replacement cost for your home: Extends your dwelling coverage limit up to 25% in the event rebuild costs exceed your policy limit after a covered loss.
Replacement cost for personal property: Pays to replace your personal belongings with new items, regardless of depreciation or wear and tear.
Water backup: Protects your home and belongings from water backup damage caused by a sump pump overflowing or clogged sewer.
Flood endorsement: Tower Hill’s private flood insurance endorsement lets you add up to $5 million in private flood coverage to your existing home insurance policy.
Equipment breakdown: For $50 per year, you can add equipment breakdown coverage to your home insurance policy to pay for repairs to your refrigerator, washing machine, and other home appliances due to mechanical or electrical breakdown.
Personal injury: Expands liability coverage to include personal injury to others, such as slander, libel, wrongful eviction, or false arrest.
Identity theft: If your identity is stolen, Tower Hill will help cover the cost of legal fees, lost wages, and other expenses you incur during the recovery process.
Debris removal: Covers the cost to remove debris after a disaster.
Food spoilage: Covers spoiled food if your refrigerator or freezer stops working due to a power outage or breakdown.
Lock and key replacement: Pays to replace locks and keys on your home.
Landscaping: Pays to replace plants, shrubs, and trees after a covered loss.
Fire department service charge: Reimburses you for out-of-pocket fees if the fire department is called to your home.
Credit cards: Covers damages for the unauthorized use of your credit card.
Home cyber: Protects you from cyber attacks, extortion, online fraud, data breaches, and cyber bullying.
Mold, fungus, or rot damage: Pays for damage to your home and belongings caused by mold, fungus, or rotting.
Mobile home insurance: Insures your manufactured or mobile home with the standard coverages listed in the above section.
Condo insurance: Purchased as a supplement to your condo association’s master policy, condo insurance covers your personal belongings, the interior structure of your condo unit, and personal liability.
Renters insurance: Includes coverage for the personal belongings in your rental home or apartment against fire, vandalism, theft, windstorms, and water damage, as well as personal liability and loss of use coverage.
Tower Hill Insurance earns a near-perfect score on our price rating scale thanks to its average annual home insurance rate that’s 50% cheaper than the national average. It also offers eight discount opportunities to save even more on your premiums.
Customer experience
1.5/5
Tower Hill Insurance Group wasn’t included in J.D. Power’s 2022 overall customer satisfaction, claims satisfaction, or digital experience surveys since it’s a regional insurance company with limited reach. This means its below-average customer experience score is based solely on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Complaint Index Report. In 2021, Tower Hill’s four subsidiary home insurance companies — Tower Hill Prime, Signature, Exchange, and Preferred — averaged five times more complaints than similar insurance companies of their size.
Coverage options
4.9/5
Tower Hill earns a near-perfect score on our coverage options rating scale thanks to the slew of coverages you can add on to your policy, including extended replacement cost coverage for your home, water backup and equipment breakdown protection, and a rare private flood insurance endorsement with up to $5 million in coverage.
Financial strength
1.7/5
Tower Hill Insurance Group doesn't have ratings with credit agencies Standard & Poor’s or Moody's. This means its below-average financial strength rating is based solely on Tower Hill Prime’s B score with leading insurance rating agency AM Best. In fact, the agency just downgraded the company in October 2022 and reported the outlook for the company looks negative. This means the company may not have the funds available to pay out claims in the wake of a disaster.
How much does Tower Hill home insurance cost?
The average cost of home insurance with Tower Hill is $1,128 per year for $300,000 in dwelling coverage — that’s 51% lower than the national average.
Here’s a look at the average annual cost for Tower Hill home insurance based on different dwelling coverage limits:
Dwelling coverage limit
Average annual cost
$100,000
$528
$200,000
$809
$300,000
$1,128
$400,000
$1,499
$500,000
$1,803
Rates are based on our analysis of 2022 sample home insurance quotes from across the country provided by Quadrant Information Services. Actual rates will vary based on location, policy limits, coverages, claims history, and other factors.
Compare home insurance quotes from Tower Hill Insurance and other top insurers
You can save on the cost of Tower Hill home insurance if you qualify for any of these discounts:
Fire protection: If your home has a fire and smoke alarm system — whether it’s connected to a third-party central station with trained operators or simply sounds an alarm.
Security protection: If your home has a burglar alarm system — whether it’s connected to a third-party central station with trained operators or simply sounds an alarm.
Deadbolts, smoke alarm, and fire extinguisher: If your home has deadbolts, smoke alarms, and a fire extinguisher.
Claims-free: If you’ve gone three years without filing a home insurance claim.
Paid-in-full: If you pay your premiums in full at your policy start date.
Paperless: If you sign up to receive your policy and documents electronically.
Private fire company tax credit: If you live in a neighborhood with private fire protection services.
Tower Hill home insurance state availability
Tower Hill Insurance offers home insurance policies in 21 states throughout the Southeast and beyond:
Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.
What to expect with Tower Hill home insurance
How to get a quote: You can get a Tower Hill home insurance quote online through Policygenius or Tower Hill’s website.
Customer service options: You can get in touch with a Tower Hill Insurance customer service rep by calling 352-332-8800.
How to file a claim: You can file a Tower Hill home insurance claim by calling 800-342-3407 or logging in to your Tower Hill Insurance online account.
How to cancel your policy: You can cancel your Tower Hill home insurance policy by calling your Tower Hill Insurance agent directly — their contact info should be on your policy declarations page.
Tower Hill Insurance in the news
In October 2022, AM Best downgraded Tower Hill Prime’s rating from B+ (good) to B (fair) and reported the outlook for the company looked negative. At the same time, Tower Hill announced its Prime subsidiary plans to exit the Florida insurance market some time in 2023 and any Prime home insurance policies would be moved to its Tower Hill Insurance Exchange subsidiary instead. (Insurance Journal)
In May 2022, Tower Hill announced it was shutting down its Tower Hill Preferred and Tower Hill Signature subsidiaries, and any Preferred or Signature home insurance policy renewals would be rolled into its Tower Hill Insurance Exchange subsidiary. (PR News Wire)
In January 2022, Tower Hill launched its new Florida subsidiary: Tower Hill Insurance Exchange. (Tower Hill Insurance Group)
Tower Hill Insurance vs. other home insurance companies
Compare Tower Hill home insurance to other popular insurers in the industry:
Tower Hill Insurance is not a good company when it comes to customer complaints and financial stability. It has a low B rating with AM Best, an insurance rating agency that measures whether a company has the funds to pay out claims. And Tower Hill Insurance averaged five times more complaints with the NAIC than similar-sized insurance companies in 2021.
Who owns Tower Hill Insurance?
Tower Hill Insurance is still owned by the family that founded it in 1972. Tower Hill Insurance Group is the holding company of four insurance subsidiaries: Tower Hill Preferred, Tower Hill Prime, Tower Hill Signature, and Tower Hill Insurance Exchange.
Does Tower Hill offer homeowners insurance in Florida?
Jennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor and home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our homeowners insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.
Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®, is a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius. Previously, he was a financial advisor at MetLife and MassMutual.
