£1 offer on the table to purchase Towergate

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Sandyshore

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An offer from the bond holders to purchase the ailing Insurance Broker for £1 has been made with the bond holders absorbing £715,000,000.00 debt out of a potential debt of one billion(wow)
Doubts as to how long Towergate can survive are rife.
Mardon the direct arm has allegedly closed down with reports on this forum renewal invites posted from Towergate with increases of 25%.
Worrying times what happens with claims and alterations to policies and what will the regulator do if they go bust.
Has any one any encountered any problems or just biting the bullet and arranging insurance with another insurer as the debt is massive and you have to ask how the banks allowed the amount to spiral.
 
Their brand spanking new and most reassuringly splendid offices in Maidstone which once were ablaze with light when I passed by most Sunday nights, now have a noticeable stygian gloom . !
 
You have to be careful with these stories that are often not well reported by the press. The underlying business is profitable; the problem is just that it cannot support the LBO debt in the parent company. This sort of stuff will get restructured away, with the equity investor losing everything and the debt holders taking a haircut but getting control. Business as usual in an underperforming LBO (and leveraged roll up, in this case). None of this means Towergate is going to cease trading, lay off 5000 employees and nail plywood over the office windows.

BTW, I'm just saying it as it is and not writing propaganda for them. My main interactions with Towergate have been punch-ups where I've burnt a lot of time giving them a bloody nose, so I'm not on their Christmas card list
 
jfm said:
Frankly you might want to consider an alternative policy even if Towergate were the richest and most profitable insurance firm in the world, in my opinion.
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Probably sensible advice, thanks. Towergate gave a good quote back in 2010 when I first insured the boat, so I've stuck with them - and the premium has been reasonable.
They insure me 365 days in the water without any questions asked, so I'm loathe to upset the apple-cart.
 
rubberduck said:
I have found them very good for business, & willing to do things others wouldn't. Also very fair on claims, If I say this customer is important & need paying out despite flaws in the claim, they pay.
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OK but balance against that a much more relevant example, namely that Towergate's marine arm refused Seahope's claim for his whole boat when it sank and the scuttlebutt poster's big claim when his rig was lost, both of which were life-changing amounts of money for the forumites involved. The claimants won in the end, but only after a pretty massive fight.
Just saying, though quite loudly!
 
Claims Handling by the Insurer is one of the most important factors when choosing insurance of any sort.

Have family and friends who work in the insurance business and their advise has always been to consider this before going for the cheapest quote
 
Robert Wilson said:
Probably sensible advice, thanks. Towergate gave a good quote back in 2010 when I first insured the boat, so I've stuck with them - and the premium has been reasonable.
They insure me 365 days in the water without any questions asked, so I'm loathe to upset the apple-cart.
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BUT would they have coughed-up in the event of a problem
 
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