Travelers Auto Insurance Review

Travelers offers a wide range of auto insurance discounts, features, add-ons, coverage options, and unique insurance plans, like public sector commercial auto coverage. With more than a century of experience selling auto insurance, strong financial ratings, and affordable rates ($1,620 annual national average), Travelers is a dependable and all-around solid provider.

Who It’s Best For

• People who need commercial auto insurance
• People who want insurance add-ons and coverage features
• People who want to be insured but don’t own cars
• Safe drivers

Who It’s Not Best For

• Anyone outside of Colorado and Illinois who wants rideshare insurance
• Parents who want to add teen drivers to their policies

Pros and Cons of Travelers Auto Insurance

• Bodily injury liability: Bodily injury liability covers any injuries or deaths that you cause with your vehicle. Every state except Florida, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Virginia requires bodily injury liability coverage.
• Property damage liability: Like bodily injury liability, most states require property damage liability, which provides you with coverage for damages that you cause to someone else’s car or their property (such as their house, fence, or garage). Bodily injury and property damage coverage make up liability coverage.
• Collision: Collision insurance helps cover incidents where you collide with another vehicle or stationary object (such as a streetlight or a fence) or someone crashes into your car, parked or moving. Although no state requires collision coverage, we recommend adding it, since liability coverage only covers the other party.
• Comprehensive: Comprehensive coverage reimburses you for thefts and damages that don’t result from collisions, such as falling trees, fires, rocks, potholes, and natural disasters. Collision and comprehensive coverage are part of full coverage insurance, while insurance products such as roadside assistance, accident forgiveness, and personal property protection are extra.
• Medical payments: Medical payments coverage takes care of any medical bills that you or your passengers incur in an accident. Medical payments coverage is required in only 15 states, but we recommend it for the added protection it provides you and your passengers.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: If you get into a collision with someone who is uninsured or underinsured, this coverage reimburses you if they’re at fault. This is a good option for hit-and-run situations, as well.
• New-car replacement: Travelers will pay to replace your new car if you total it in the first five years of ownership. You’ll get a brand-new car of the same make and model.
• Rental coverage: Also known as rental reimbursement, this type of coverage will help you pay for a rental if your car is damaged in a covered accident and is undrivable for more than 24 hours.
• Gap insurance: If your car is totaled, gap insurance will pay the difference between the cash value of your car and the unpaid loan/lease balance that you owe.
• Named non-owner coverage: Named non-owner coverage will provide you with insurance if you need to drive but don’t own a vehicle. This type of insurance best applies to people who:
  • Rent vehicles often.
  • Drive company cars for personal use.
  • Use rideshare services.
  • Often borrow cars from people they know.
  • Provide care for someone they live with and drive that person’s vehicle often.
• Rideshare coverage (available only in Colorado and Illinois): If you drive for a rideshare service such as Uber or Lyft, rideshare coverage fills the insurance gap that neither your personal insurance nor the rideshare service’s insurance will cover. Rideshare companies provide insurance only after you’ve accepted a ride or while you’re transporting a passenger. At the same time, your personal insurance may not cover you during the window in between rides (also known as period one) because you’re technically working as a contractor. If you get into an accident while your rideshare app is on and you’re waiting for a request, you might have to pay for the damages or injuries without any help from a provider. That’s where rideshare coverage comes in.

The average cost of car insurance with Travelers is $1,620, which is significantly lower than the national annual average of approximately $2,000. While this average provides a general idea of the cost of a provider, only a Travelers agent can determine your actual rate. Factors such as where you live, your driving history, your marital status, your gender, and more all determine your car insurance rates.

Travelers offers several discounts that you might be eligible for. The best way to learn if you can benefit from a discount is to speak to a local agent.

• Multipolicy discount: You can save up to 13 percent on your car insurance when you also purchase home or condo insurance with Travelers.
• Safe driver tracking discount: You can save up to 30 percent on your car insurance by allowing Travelers to track your driving habits with the IntelliDrive app. Safe driving habits (speed, braking, the time of day you drive, etc.) can lead to discounts, while poor driving habits can lead to increases in your premium.
• Multivehicle discount: If you insure more than one car on a Travelers plan, you could be eligible for a discount.
• Homeownership discount: Unlike with the bundling discount, you can save on car insurance just by owning a home or condo (even if you insure it with a different company).
• Safe driver discount: If you had no accidents, violations, or major claims in your household for the past three years, you could be eligible for a safe driver discount.
• Hybrid/electric car discount: If you own or lease a hybrid or electric car, you could be eligible for another car insurance discount.
• New-car discount: Purchasing a car or owning a car that is less than 3 years old could qualify you for a new-car discount.
• Electronic, pay-in-full, and good payer discounts: You can earn more discounts on your car insurance when you pay in full, use an electronic fund transfer, enroll in payroll deduction, or pay your premium on time consistently.
• Early-quote discount: If you’re a new Travelers customer and ask for a quote before your current policy expires, you could earn a discount on your car insurance policy.
• Good student discount: High school and college students who maintain B averages or better might be eligible for a good student discount.
• Student away-at-school discount: If one of your dependents is away at school at least 100 miles from home and won’t be driving one of your Travelers-insured cars, you could qualify for a discount.
• Driver training discount: Pass a Travelers-approved driver education course and you could qualify for another discount.

The percentages and rates of these discounts vary from state to state and person to person, so be sure to speak with an agent to find out how much you can save.

Have a question, or want to check the status of a claim or change your current plan? Access your policy through the mobile app, the online portal, or Travelers’ FAQs page (https://www.travelers.com/contact-us/faq), or call 1-800-842-5057.

The Travelers mobile app is intuitive, modern, and thorough in its features and capabilities. With the mobile app and online portal, you’ll be able to:

• Download your insurance card.
• Pay your bills.
• File and track claims.
• Manage and update your policies.
• Contact your agent directly.
• Chat live with a Travelers representative.

The app has a 4.7 rating from over 40,000 ratings in the Apple App Store and a 3.5 rating from over 1,160 ratings in the Google Play store. You can also manage your safe driver tracking program through the IntelliDrive app, which has a 4.2 rating in the Google Play store and a 4.5 rating in the Apple App Store.

All you need to do is download the app and allow it to track your habits while you drive, and you’ll benefit from the savings you earn from driving safely. The app has a seamless dashboard that allows you to check your driving performance, review driving trips, and look at trip reports with detailed insight into where you can improve as a driver.

Travelers has excellent customer service and financial strength scores.

• J.D. Power Index: The 2022 J.D. Power U.S. Insurance Shopping Study looked at customer satisfaction ratings with car insurance companies across two categories: large and midsize insurers. J.D. Power gave Travelers a score of 853 out of 1,000, which is about 1.2 percent below the average (863). Although Travelers received a below-average score among other providers, an 853 is still high on the 1,000-point scale.
• Better Business Bureau rating: Travelers has an A rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which is the second-highest-possible BBB rating. Travelers’ BBB rating correlates with how the company interacts with its customers, which means Travelers has a respectable track record when working with customers.³
• AM Best financial strength rating: As recently as July 2022, AM Best gave Travelers an A++ (Superior) rating for its financial strength and stability, which is the highest possible score an insurance provider can earn. A robust financial rating means claim satisfaction; a provider will likely be able to cover your claims, follow through with benefits, and provide the financial support that you expect from it.
• National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC): In 2021, the NAIC recorded only five Travelers customer complaints, giving it a Complaint Index score of 0.11.⁴ The index mean for expected complaints is always at 1.0, which means Travelers receives only 10 percent of the expected number of complaints in the auto insurance industry. The lower the score, the better. Travelers’ competitors have higher complaint rates, with GEICO’s score at 1.92 and State Farm’s at 1.18.

James G. Batterson, a businessman from Hartford, Connecticut, founded Travelers in 1864 with a group of townsmen. Although the company has introduced several insurance add-ons (such as adding space policies for space exploration in 1969) since its inception, the company has offered accident and auto insurance from its earliest days in business.

Travelers has seen one significant merger, with The St. Paul Companies Inc. (an insurance provider specializing in fire coverage) in 2004, forming the St. Paul Travelers Co. Inc. However, in 2007, the company changed its name back to The Travelers Companies, which is what we know Travelers by today.

As of 2022, Travelers is the tenth-largest auto insurance provider in the country, has earned a place on the Fortune 500 list, and continues to provide coverage for millions of Americans every day.

• Property insurance: Homeowners, renters, condo, landlord, and home warranty
• Business insurance: Commercial auto and trucking, cyber, general liability, property, security bonds, workers’ compensation, and business owner’s policy (BOP)
• Miscellaneous: Umbrella, pet, flood, travel, and weddings/events

Travelers does not have any cancellation or early termination fees. To cancel your Travelers insurance, contact your local agent or call the customer service team at 1-800-842-5075.