# Tower Group Companies

Tower Group Companies is an Insurance based in New York, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Insurance
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** New York, NY, United States
- **Founded:** 1989
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** twrgrpintl.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/tower-insurance-company-of-new-york

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Tower Group Companies is a US-based insurance company headquartered in New York. It manages approximately $4 billion in assets, primarily serving the North American market.

## Sectors

- Insurance

## Questions

### What caused Tower Group Companies to fail?

Tower Group disclosed $365 million in prior-year reserve deficiencies in mid-2013. The shortfall traced to acquired workers' compensation and general liability books where claims costs significantly exceeded original estimates. Multiple earnings restatements followed, A.M. Best downgraded the firm to non-investment grade, and shareholders were wiped out in the subsequent recapitalization and forced sale to AmTrust.

### Who ran Tower Group before the restructuring?

Michael Lee led Tower through its early acquisition phase and IPO. Mark Thompson served as CEO from 2010 until his resignation in August 2013 following the reserve charge disclosure. William Fox stepped in as interim CEO during the restructuring and run-off negotiations.

### How large was Tower's investment portfolio at its peak?

Tower reported roughly $2.4 billion in total invested assets at year-end 2012, just before the reserve deficiency emerged. The portfolio was concentrated in fixed-income securities managed internally by the company's investment team, per its regulatory filings.

### Who acquired Tower Group's remaining business?

AmTrust Financial Services acquired the remnants of Tower Group in August 2014 for $179 million in a transaction facilitated by the New York Department of Financial Services. The deal included renewal rights, unearned premium, and certain admitted assets after a multi-creditor restructuring led by Angelo Gordon.

### Was Tower Group structured as an asset manager or an insurance company?

Tower was an insurance company—specifically a publicly traded property and casualty holding company. Its investment portfolio supported policyholder reserves and was not managed as a third-party asset management business. The firm wrote direct insurance through multiple wholly owned subsidiaries.

## Related profiles

- [Tower Foundation of San José State University](https://altss.com/profile/tower-foundation-of-san-jos-state-university)
- [Tower Health](https://altss.com/profile/tower-health)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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