Pros Explained
- Rich history: Established in 1864, Travelers is a historical institution that has been a Fortune 500 company since 1995.
- Mobile claims filing: The MyTravelers app gives policyholders an easy way to immediately file a claim with additional claims tracking services.
- Multiple discounts: With 16 available discounts, Travelers offers far more ways to save than most of its competitors.
Cons Explained
- Poor customer service ratings: With the exception of a few areas, Travelers rates are below average in many of J.D. Power’s 2021 regional insurance studies.
- Limited rideshare service: Travelers only offers rideshare insurance in Colorado and Illinois.
- Not available everywhere: Travelers auto insurance is only available in 42 states plus Washington D.C.
Introduction
Travelers sells several types of insurance, including auto, home, condo, renters, and landlord insurance. There are several types of business insurance as well, like workers’ compensation and small business insurance.
Travelers has been a Fortune 500 company since 1995 and it has the sixth largest market share in the U.S. for auto insurance. Employing about 30,000 people, Travelers holds more than $117 billion in total assets with total revenue of $32 billion in 2020.
Travelers has a pretty wide service area, but if you'd like some other options see our picks for the best car insurance providers.
Company Overview
Travelers was founded in 1864 by Hartford businessman James G. Batterson, who served as President from 1864 to 1901. Later, the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company was founded to provide fire insurance, before merging with Travelers in 2004 to form St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc. By February 2007, the company had changed its name once more to The Travelers Companies, Inc.
There are 13,500 independent agents and brokers to help with selling and servicing auto insurance in 42 states plus Washington D.C. Travelers is also available in other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
Types of Coverage
Travelers has a variety of insurance products available. In addition to typical auto insurance, there are additional types of coverage including boat, yacht, and motorcycle insurance.
For your Travelers car insurance policy, several types of car insurance coverage are available. Take note that some coverages and levels vary by state.
Liability Coverage
When you are found at fault for an accident, the liability portion of your insurance policy includes two different types of liability coverage. Bodily injury coverage helps compensate bodily injury to others, while property damage liability handles physical damages to another’s vehicle.
Collision Coverage
When you are in an accident, collision coverage helps pay for any damage to your vehicle from colliding with another person or object, including accidents with other cars.
Comprehensive Coverage
Comprehensive coverage protects against non-collision damages, such as hail, theft, or vandalism.
Medical Payments Coverage
If you or your passengers are injured in a car accident, medical payments coverage will provide compensation for eligible medical expenses no matter who is at fault for the accident.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Not all drivers on the road may have car insurance, so uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage protects against property damages and medical expenses that you might incur from an accident with a driver that does not have enough or any car insurance at all. This is required for drivers in certain states.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP Insurance)
Personal injury protection, or PIP insurance, protects you regardless of who is at fault. It covers medical expenses, and even certain damages and lost wages, depending on the situation and your policy. It is required in some states.
Roadside Assistance
If you run into trouble on the road, roadside assistance can provide valuable support, such as fuel delivery, tire changes, and towing.
New Car Replacement
Travelers offers its Premier New Car Replacement coverage to counteract the normal depreciation of vehicles. With this protection, you can receive a brand-new replacement of your exact make and model if you total your car within the first five years of owning it.
Accident Forgiveness
Accidents happen, so Travelers’ Responsible Driver Plan provides accident forgiveness to prevent the rate increases normally assessed after a claim. With this coverage in place, Travelers will forgive one accident per specified period.
Rideshare Coverage
Rideshare coverage provides extra insurance that is needed when you drive for a ridesharing service like Uber or Lyft. However, this coverage is only available in two states, Colorado and Illinois.
Named Non-Owner
Named non-owner insurance is a type of unique coverage for drivers who do not own a car. It provides protection for you and your passengers if you drive regularly but do not have your own vehicle.
Umbrella Insurance
Umbrella insurance provides enhanced liability coverage that goes beyond the limits of the standard car insurance policy.
Discounts
Travelers offers several popular and exclusive car insurance discounts to help you save on your policy. Some discounts may vary by state.
Safe Driver
- IntelliDrive Program: Travelers’ IntelliDrive is a safe driving program that uses your smartphone to track your driving for 90 days. You will then receive a safe driving score which can reduce the cost of your overall premiums. However, this program is limited to certain states.
- Safe Driver Discount: Travelers may reward you with lower rates when your household does not have any accidents or major claims in the past three to five years. This is not available in California.
Individual Discounts
- Home Ownership Discount: If you own your home or condo, Travelers may give you extra savings through its Home Ownership discount, even if you don’t insure it through Travelers.
Customer Discounts
- Continuous Insurance Discount: You can also save with the Continuous Insurance Discount, which rewards you when you have continuous car insurance from Travelers without any interruption to coverage. This is not available in California.
- Driver Training Discount: Another way to save on your car insurance policy is to successfully pass an approved driver education course.
Vehicle Discounts
- Hybrid/Electric Car Insurance Discount: If you own or lease a hybrid or electric vehicle, you could save with the Hybrid/Electric Car Insurance Discount.
- New Car Discount: Travelers may discount your auto insurance policy if you drive a car that is no more than three years old. This is not available in California.
Student Discounts
- Good Student Discount: Students can save with the Good Student Discount if they are attending high school or college full-time with a minimum “B” average.
- Student Away at School Discount: The Student Away at School Discount is another special offer that applies when a student leaves their car at home while attending a school a minimum of 100 miles away.
Ask your agent about which of Travelers’ many car insurance discounts may apply to your policy.
Payment Discounts
There are also several payment-related incentives to help you save money on your car insurance.
- Affinity Programs: Travelers offers exclusive discounts on both car and home insurance for employees and members of certain companies, associations, and credit unions.
- Early Quote Discount: New customers can save when they obtain a quote from Travelers before their current non-Travelers policy expires.
- EFT Discount: When you sign up for electronic funds transfer (EFT), you could receive a discount on your premiums.
- Pay in Full Discount: When you pay for your policy in full upfront, Travelers may reward you with a discount.
- Good Payer Discounts: Travelers offers discounts when you make timely payments on your policy.
- Multi-Policy Discount: When you purchase more than one policy from Travelers, you could receive a discount on both policies. Travelers offers up to 13% off car insurance when you purchase a home, condo, or another insurance policy.
- Multi-Car Discount: You can also receive a discount when you insure more than one vehicle on a single Travelers policy.
Payment Options
Travelers allows for online payments and account management; you can opt for one-time payments via the website or MyTravelers app, or enroll in autopay.
You may pay for Travelers insurance premiums using your bank’s online bill pay service. You can also pay with a Visa or Mastercard credit card.
If you’d like to pay by phone, call the number on the top-right corner of your bill. If you need to send a payment by mail, use the correct address:
| Payment Type | Mailing Address |
|---|---|
| Personal insurance policies | Travelers Personal Insurance P. O. Box 660307 Dallas, TX 75266-0307 |
| Overnight/certified mail delivery | Travelers Insurance Attn: Lockbox Operations Box 660307 1501 North Plano Rd. Suite 100 Richardson, TX 75081 |
| Claim subrogation (FedEx only) | Travelers Insurance Attention: Travelers – 4210 3000 Kellway Drive, Suite 120 Carrollton, TX 75006 |
Loss Ratio
A company’s loss ratio is a way to determine fairness in pricing, with a low loss ratio typically coinciding with low pricing. Travelers has a 60.72% loss ratio, which suggests that its low pricing is in line with the number of claims it services.
Other Features
Travelers offers a convenient way to manage your policy through the MyTravelers mobile app. You can use the app to access your policy ID cards and make payments. You can also file claims and track their progress.
Customer Service
Travelers makes it easy to obtain help when you need it with 24/7 customer service that is available 365 days a year. Although, other departments are limited to business hours. In addition, there are over 12,000 claim representatives to help during your time of need.
| Travelers Customer Service | ||
|---|---|---|
| Reason for Contact | Address/Phone Number | Hours |
| Corporate Headquarters | Travelers One Tower Square Hartford, CT 06183 | |
| Travelers Auto Insurance Payments | Travelers Personal Insurance PO BOX 660307 Dallas, TX 75266-0307 | |
| Get a Quote | 1-866-618-7445 | Monday – Friday 8 a.m. –11 p.m. ET Saturday 8:30 a.m. –6:30 p.m. ET Sunday 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET |
| Billing and Policy Service | 1-800-842-5075 | 24/7 |
| Report a Claim | 1-800-252-4633 | 24/7 |
| Check Status of a Claim | 1-800-252-4633 | Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (local time) |
| MyTravelers Technical Assistance | 1-877-754-0481 | Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. ET |
| Roadside Assistance | 1-800-252-4633 | 24/7 |
| Customer Advocacy | 1-866-336-2077 | 24/7 |
Third Party Ratings
Even with all of its customer service options, it is still important to check ratings from industry leaders. Things such as financial strength and customer satisfaction are always good check.
Financial Strength
A company’s AM Best score is a way to assess its financial strength, and Travelers certainly performs well. With an A++ (Superior) rating, Travelers earns the highest grade that a company can receive. It shows strong financial reliability and efficient claims processing.
Travelers receives mixed scores for customer service.
Satisfaction Ratings
J.D. Power is another industry leader that rates companies each year based on customer satisfaction. Despite its many customer service options, Travelers receives lackluster scores in almost every category.
In J.D. Power’s 2021 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study, Travelers ranked toward the bottom of large insurers, receiving an overall score of 860/1,000 which was below average. It also underwhelms in the 2021 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study with below-average scores and rankings toward the bottom for both service and shopping. The insurer also rates below-average in J.D. Power’s 2021 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study.
Also of consideration is J.D. Power’s 2021 U.S. Auto Insurance Study, which rates insurers based on different areas of the U.S. Travelers was not rated in all regions, but where it was, it did not perform well. Although it ranked just below the average in Florida and the Mid-Atlantic, it rated below average in many other areas, even earning the worst rating in the Southwest. Only in New York does Travelers excel, earning the second-highest rating for the region.
Complaint Index
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) tracks the number of complaints that an insurance company receives each year, and then assigns a score using 1.00 as the industry average score.
Travelers scored far below industry averages with a score of 0.18 in 2021 and 0.44 in both 2019 and 2020. Despite the poor satisfaction ratings in the previous section, Travelers receives far fewer than the average number of complaints with the NAIC.
Account Management
You can manage your Travelers account in multiple ways. Quotes are available online, but you can also send an email or contact a local agent. There’s a convenient search tool right on the website to help you find an agent. The MyTravelers app is an easy way to manage your account, track claims progress, and download ID cards.
With the MyTravelers app, you can instantly file and track your car insurance claims.
How Travelers Compares to Other Auto Insurance Companies
Travelers ranks 10th in national market share rankings, but trails many of its competitors in customer service and satisfaction.
Based on internal research, the average annual premium of Travelers car insurance is $2,501. That makes it more affordable than other car insurance companies like Farmers, Allstate, Auto Club, and Kemper. However, it does average more than others like USAA, Progressive, American Family, and Erie.
Final Verdict
Travelers offers a wide array of discounts to help you save with convenient add-on coverages like umbrella and rideshare insurance. The cost of car insurance is about average for the industry, but there is no shortage of ways to save, thanks to Travelers’ generous discount programs. Just watch out for the customer service because although there are many ways to contact support, you may not always be satisfied with the service you receive.
Methodology
Investopedia is committed to providing readers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of auto insurance companies. All of our reviews are based on extensive research and analysis of each company’s coverage, customer service, pricing, years in business, accreditation, and more. To rate providers, we developed an auto insurance review methodology that compares the auto insurance coverage types, additional features, discounts, account management, and other features.
