Name: Tower Hill Insurance Review
Item: Tower Hill Insurance
Rating: 4
Author: Policygenius

Overview

The Sunshine State is no stranger to catastrophic tropical weather, and homes close to the coast face the seemingly omnipresent risk of windstorm and hurricane-related damage. Very few Florida insurers are equipped to cover costly risks as well as Tower Hill Insurance.

Tower Hill iis one of the more versatile home insurance companies in Florida, featuring two highly customizable policy options for your home — one for low- to mid-value homes, and one for high-value homes up to $5 million.

Tower Hill also offers flood insurance, which they sell as both a standalone policy and endorsement to your home policy. If you get Tower Hill’s flood endorsement, they’ll package the flood coverage under one bill instead of two if you get a standalone plan.

For example, with a private flood policy, you’re able to file one claim for wind and flood damage as opposed to two separate claims for the same weather event. When it comes to claims, Tower Hill is well-positioned to handle every type of loss. The company has dedicated teams for all causes of claims, from the most minor to most egregious claims.

However, Tower Hill, like many other Florida insurers, is in somewhat of a precarious position financially. They have an A- (Excellent) rating with A.M. Best – the benchmark of home insurance financial stability – but Best’s financial outlook for Tower Hill was reported as “negative”, which indicates that based on industry trends, Tower Hill could see a dip in their credit rating in the future.

Pros

Comprehensive home and expensive-valuables coverage
Two flood insurance options to choose from
Excellent claims filing and responsiveness
Policies offered by 850 different agencies across Florida

Cons

We encountered an error when using their quoting tool
Reported instances of low claim settlement amounts and denials
Not a whole lot of information about coverage endorsements or policy discounts

Tower Hill by the numbers

Founded: 1972

Market share: N/A

A.M. Best rating: A-

Better Business Bureau rating: A+

Consumer Reports: N/A

J.D. Power: N/A

What states is Tower Hill available in?

Tower Hill Insurance is currently only available in Florida, but the company’s subsidiaries and speciality line carriers (Tower Hill Prime, Tower Hill Preferred, Tower Hill Select, Tower Hill Signature, and Omega Insurance) have begun writing policies in a handful of states as early as 2018.

Policy details

Tower Hill offers two types of home insurance coverage tiers — a base policy, and their Imperial Shield policy for high-valued homes.

Tower Hill’s standard policy protects your home with all of your common coverages, along with replacement cost value for your home, optional replacement cost value for your personal belongings, and a number of optional coverage endorsements, like water backup coverage, loss assessment coverage, and ordinance or law coverage.

With Tower Hill Imperial Shield, you have all of your standard coverages but with higher levels of coverage and additional coverages, like scheduled personal property and identity fraud protection.

Tower Hill also gives you the option of upgrading your base policy coverage through a package of endorsements called their Emerald coverages. With Emerald coverages, you have increased coverage limits on rare and expensive valuables and broadened liability coverages.

Replacement cost value dwelling coverage
Coverage for most types of water damage
$10,000 in mold coverage
Up to $3,000 in loss assessment coverage
Optional Emerald Coverage and Emerald Coverage Deluxe endorsement

20% to 50% extended replacement cost for dwelling, other structures, and personal property
Scheduled personal property coverage up to 50% of personal property coverage, up to $1 million
Up to $50,000 in loss assessment coverage
Landscaping coverage at 5% of dwelling coverage, $2,500 per item
$10,000 credit card, forgery, counterfeit money coverage
$15,000 identity fraud expense coverage
Personal liability limits up to $1 million
Deductible options up to $50,000
Deductible waiver for losses over $50,000

How much does Tower Hill cost?

When rating your policy, Tower Hill underwriters will look at several factors, including how close your house is to the shore, your proximity to a fire station or hydrant, your claims history, and the age of your home. To keep your costs down, be sure to look at what kind of discounts Tower Hill offers; you may be missing out on some serious savings.

You should also review your coverage amounts and make sure you’re not over-insured. That doesn’t mean you should forgo a flood insurance policy if you live close to a floodplain. But it may mean reducing your personal property coverage to 25% of your dwelling limit if you don’t own that much stuff, or reducing your other structures coverage if your home is the only structure on your property.

Home insurance in Florida is expensive across the board, as underwriters must factor in not just the kind of losses your home is exposed to, but the likelihood of a loss as well.

From a rating standpoint, Tower Hill is among the most competitive in the industry. Here’s a sample quote for a 3,000-square-foot, four-bedroom Tampa home with a pool, a $5,000 coverage deductible, and a 5% hurricane deductible.

Primary coverages	Policy limits
Dwelling	$500,000
Other structures	$10,340
Personal property	$258,500
Personal liability	$300,000
Medical payments for guests	$5,000
Loss-of-use	$103,400
Premiums	$3,000

Additional coverages

Water backup coverage - Protects your stuff in the event your sewage goes in the reverse direction of where its supposed to go
Ordinance or law coverage - If your home is five years or older, an ordinance or law endorsement pays for any increases in rebuild costs that are caused by the enforcement of building regulations and laws. Available in increments of 10%, 25%, and 50% your dwelling limit
Loss assessment coverage - Extended coverage for communal property where you’re not the primary owner
Scheduled personal property coverage - Up to 50% your personal property coverage limit and expanded protection for jewelry, silverware, furs, art, cameras, and musical instruments
Credit card coverage - Up to $10,000 in coverage if your credit cards are stolen and used fraudulently
Identity fraud expense coverage - Reimburses you up to $15,000 for expenses incurred as a result of identity theft
Private flood endorsement - Coverage for your home if it's damaged or destroyed by flood waters

Here’s how Tower Hill stacks up against the competition in terms of the most common coverage endorsement offerings:

homeowners insurance coverage endorsements by insurer

Discounts

Auto/home discount - Save 5% when you pair your home policy with an auto policy of a Tower Hill partner
Central station fire & smoke alarm - Get 5% off your policy if your home fire alarm is linked to a local fire station
Central station burglar alarm discount - Discount of 5% if your security system is linked to your police station
Smoke or burglar alarm discount - Save 2% if your home is fitted with a standard smoke or burglar alarm that isn’t linked to local authorities
Deadbolts, smoke alarm & fire extinguisher discount - 5% bill reduction if your home has deadbolts, a smoke alarm, and a fire extinguisher
Claims-free discount - 20% off if you haven’t made a chargeable claim in the last three years
Paid-in-full discount - 5% off if you pay your premiums for the year in one lump-sum payment
Paperless discount - 1% discount when you opt for paperless billing

Company details

Application process

There isn’t much information about Tower Hill’s application process. When we attempted to apply online through the website’s “quick quote”, we plugged in the home’s address and received a prompt that instructed us to contact an agent and apply over the phone. This may just be a short-term bug with the website, but as of this review we couldn’t apply for Tower Hill online.

To inquire about a Tower Hill policy, you can access the agency search function from the website’s resources tab to find a partnering broker nearest you. But you can also apply for Tower Hill policies through Policygenius.

Claims process

While Tower Hill’s web application process seems unwieldy, their claims fare a little better. If you’re a Tower Hill customer, you can access the insurer’s claims portal by logging in online. You can also make claims through Tower Hills mobile app and their 24/7 claims hotline.

Other types of property insurance offered

Flood insurance - Protects your home and personal belongings against flood damage
Renters insurance - Protection for stuff in your rental unit (and outside your rental unit)
Condo insurance - Protects your condo's structure, all your stuff inside, and any additional liability coverage you need to supplement your HOA's master policy
Watercraft insurance - Insurance for boats of all sizes, from sailboats to fishing boats to yachts
Landlord insurance - Coverage in case your tenants burn your building down
Mobile home insurance - Insurance for mobile and manufactured homes

Digital tools

Tower Hill mobile app
Web policy viewer
Web and mobile claims

Contact info

Website: www.thig.com
Phone: (352) 332 - 8800
Headquarters: P.O. Box 147018 Gainesville, FL 32614

Policygenius’ editorial content is not written by an insurance agent. It’s intended for informational purposes and should not be considered legal or financial advice. The review on this page is only for the carrier’s homeowners insurance products. Not all carriers are currently available through Policygenius. Speak to one of our licensed experts for more information on carrier availability.

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Yes, we have to include some legalese down here. Read it larger on our legal page. Policygenius Inc. (“Policygenius”) is a licensed independent insurance broker. Policygenius does not underwrite any insurance policy described on this website. The information provided on this site has been developed by Policygenius for general informational and educational purposes. We do our best efforts to ensure that this information is up-to-date and accurate. Any insurance policy premium quotes or ranges displayed are non-binding. The final insurance policy premium for any policy is determined by the underwriting insurance company following application. Savings are estimated by comparing the highest and lowest price for a shopper in a given health class. For example: for a 30-year old non-smoker male in South Carolina with excellent health and a preferred plus health class, comparing quotes for a $500,000, 20-year term life policy, the price difference between the lowest and highest quotes is 60%. For that same shopper in New York, the price difference is 40%. Rates are subject to change and are valid as of 2/17/17.