EXHIBIT 31.1


                            CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
                  SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002




     I, Michael H. Lee, certify that:

1.  I have reviewed the Quarterly Report of Tower Group, Inc. (the "Company") on
    Form 10-Q for the period  ending June 30, 2005 as filed with the  Securities
    and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the "Report");

2.  Based on my knowledge, the Report does not contain any untrue statement of a
    material  fact or omit  to  state a  material  fact  necessary  to make  the
    statements made, in light of the  circumstances  under which such statements
    were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by the Report;

3.  Based  on my  knowledge,  the  financial  statements,  and  other  financial
    information included in the Report,  fairly present in all material respects
    the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the Company
    as of, and for, the periods presented in the Report;

4.  The  Company's   other   certifying   officer  and  I  are  responsible  for
    establishing and maintaining  disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
    in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the Company and have:

    a)  designed  such  disclosure  controls  and  procedures,  or  caused  such
        disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision,
        to ensure that material information  relating to the Company,  including
        its  consolidated  subsidiaries,  is made  known to us by others  within
        those  entities,  particularly  during the period in which the Report is
        being prepared;

    b)  evaluated the  effectiveness  of the Company's  disclosure  controls and
        procedures  and  presented  in the  Report  our  conclusions  about  the
        effectiveness of the disclosure  controls and procedures,  as of the end
        of the period covered by the Report based on such evaluation; and

    c)  disclosed in the Report any changes in the  Company's  internal  control
        over  financial  reporting  that occurred  during the  Company's  second
        quarter of 2005 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
        materially   affect,  the  Company's  internal  control  over  financial
        reporting; and

5.  The Company's other  certifying  officer and I have disclosed,  based on our
    most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting,  to the
    Company's auditors and to the audit committee of the Board of Directors:

    a)  all significant  deficiencies  and material  weaknesses in the design or
        operation  of  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  which  are
        reasonably  likely to adversely affect the Company's  ability to record,
        process, summarize and report financial information; and

    b)  any fraud,  whether or not material,  that involves  management or other
        employees who have a significant role in the Company's  internal control
        over financial reporting.


/S/ MICHAEL H. LEE
-----------------------
Michael H. Lee
Chief Executive Officer
August 12, 2005

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